Warhammer: Striving to Be a Grinding Man

Chapter 42 Setting Sail Again

Preparations for the Black Pearl's departure were completed by early morning.

At 4:00 AM, Phyllis submitted the final supply list—a complete set of supplies for the current authorized force of 4,200 personnel, including starch, spare water, energy packs, and enough ammunition for the entire crew to conduct multiple high-intensity operations. Marcus signed the list and noted in the bridge duty log, "Supplies complete, no items missing."

The berths were illuminated by cool white spotlights in the morning light. The docking supports had all been retracted, and the power and water lines had been disconnected from the ship's sides. The mechanics were pushing the empty transport platforms back to the port authority in formation. Outside the airlock, the morning light of Lucis Spaceport cast greyish-white patches of light onto the floor through the bulletproof glass.

Liu En stood on the bridge, a holographic projection displaying the departure route map. Marcus sat in the tactical officer's seat, his fingers performing a final system self-check on the panel. Sera calibrated the subspace positioning array at the navigation console, her long silver hair tied in a braid at the back of her head, her light-colored eyes fixed on the data stream on the screen.

Hera Voss's voice came through the communication channel, hoarse but steady: "Captain, the interstellar communication array is ready. No emergency broadcasts received, and the surrounding psionic background noise is within normal limits."

"Received. Stay on standby."

Liu En pressed the ship's broadcast button.

"Black Pearl, all departments, final status check before departure."

The responses came in turn from each department. Engine room, weapons systems, Geller field, Void Shield, logistics, medical, garrison regiment—all normal. Regiment Commander Kara's reply was concise and powerful: "The garrison regiment of 1,200 men is fully in position, and the boarding and defensive formations have been deployed."

Liu En glanced at the crew list. The Black Pearl had now completed its current phase of expansion, with a total of 4,200 personnel. The garrison regiment, numbering 1,200, was under the unified command of Regiment Commander Kara and comprised three infantry companies. All personnel were equipped with ceramic powered armor, explosive guns, and plasma pistols, making them the ship's most elite boarding force. The remaining 3,000 personnel were distributed across different departments: the engine department had 400 personnel responsible for the daily maintenance of the three plasma reactors and subspace engines; the navigation and communications department had 150 personnel, including a team of navigators and star-speaker support staff; the logistics and supplies management department had 300 personnel, overseen by Phyllis; the medical department had 50 personnel, with Dr. Liss as its chief; the weapons maintenance and technical support department had 200 personnel responsible for the maintenance of all ship's turrets, Geller field generators, and various equipment; the ship's internal services and cabin management department had 500 personnel, covering mess hall, cleaning, and supplies handling; and the remaining 1,400 were in general positions, including communicators, recorders, observers, maintenance workers, engine room managers, and various specialized technical sergeants. All non-garrison crew members are equipped with basic weaponry according to Astral Army standards—each person can retrieve an M36 laser rifle and a set of light body armor from the nearest armory in case of emergency, sufficient for self-defense needs during boarding operations. These weapons and armor are stored in dozens of small weapon cabinets throughout the ship and are regularly maintained by Phyllis's logistics team.

"Port authorities, the Black Pearl requests permission to depart."

A confirmation came through the communications channel from the Lucis Spaceport controller: "Black Pearl, departure clearance confirmed. Please proceed along Designated Path Two to leave your berth. Best wishes for a safe voyage."

The thrusters ignited. The hull shuddered slightly, and the five-kilometer-long steel behemoth slowly slid out of its berth, its attitude thrusters silently spewing out streams of ion in the vacuum. Outside the porthole, the lights of the Lucis Spaceport gradually shrank into a patch of light.

Marcus made a gesture on the holographic platform, and the Black Pearl entered its designated course, steadily increasing its speed. No one spoke in the bridge; only the beeping of the instruments and the low binary pulses of the servitors could be heard.

The regular voyage will last nearly a day. The Black Pearl will enter subspace at Mandeville Point on the edge of the system, with its first stop being Dulob Sand—the yellow marker in Marcus's data, the battlefield ruins of the M37 Imperial Expeditionary Force.

Liu En left the bridge and walked along the main passage towards the canteen.

The corridor lights were switched to daytime mode, a warm white. The new recruits of the garrison regiment, dressed in their training uniforms, emerged from the training room, led by a veteran, and lined up against the wall, saluting Liu En. He nodded and walked past the ranks. Several marine engineer technicians approached from the opposite direction, wearing dark gray overalls with a gear and skull insignia embroidered on their chests, carrying testing equipment, and quietly discussing a parameter of the reactor.

The cafeteria was already full of people.

The Black Pearl had more than one mess hall, but the largest, located midships, could accommodate nearly a thousand people at once. At this moment, almost all the seats were full, the air thick with the aromas of synthetic starch cakes, Grox steaks, and heated vegetable porridge, mingled with the bitter scent of coffee. Veteran soldiers from the garrison regiment moved between tables with trays, while new recruits sat awkwardly in the corners. Technicians in overalls chatted in small groups about engine maintenance and pipework repairs. Several female soldiers from the logistics department sat by the window, flipping through data panels.

Lars sat by the window, his new left arm steadily holding a soup bowl. Opposite him sat a young recruit, who looked to be under twenty, not yet issued power armor, and wearing the dark gray training uniform of the garrison regiment. Lars was speaking, and the recruit listened intently, nodding occasionally.

Liu En took a plate—Grookes steak, starch cake, and vegetable puree, along with a cup of synthetic coffee. He carried the plate to an empty table in the corner and sat down.

Carlos walked over with a tray and sat down opposite him. "Captain."

"sit."

Carlos forked a piece of steak and took a couple of bites. "These new recruits are alright. It's just that I'm not confident about the warp."

"It's the same for everyone the first time they enter the Warp," Liu En said, cutting a piece of steak. "Didn't your legs go weak the first time too?"

Carlos grinned. "I was slumped in my seat, staring at the armored hatch of the porthole, trembling. The sergeant lifted me up and told me to get over my fear and go back to guard duty."

"You stopped?"

"I stopped. My hands were shaking terribly, but I didn't fall." Carlos swallowed the meat. "After that, I wasn't afraid anymore."

At the table next to him, a veteran was explaining subspace travel to some new recruits. His voice wasn't loud, but the mess hall was quiet, and Liu En could hear him clearly.

"...All the armored hatches on the portholes will fall down. You won't be able to see anything. You won't be able to see outside, and you won't be able to see outside. This isn't a matter of daring; it's the rule. A rule that has been in place for tens of thousands of years in the Empire. Anyone who dares to open an armored hatch in the Warp will be thrown out by the Captain before the demons even come looking for them."

A new recruit asked, "Are there really demons?"

The veteran paused for a moment. "It's hard to say. But remember one thing—in the warp, any sounds that arise in your head are not yours. Don't listen, don't think, don't respond. Just do what you're supposed to do."

The recruits exchanged bewildered glances. Another veteran chimed in, "What's there to be afraid of? This ship's been sailing for almost a year, going in and out of warp space, has anything happened to it?"

"no."

"That settles it then. Let's eat."

The atmosphere in the cafeteria became more relaxed.

Liu En finished his last bite of food and his coffee, then carried his tray toward the recycling bin. Passing the Imperial Shrine, he saw new candles lit on the altar before it, the smoke of frankincense slowly dissipating in the ventilation system. Several crew members were kneeling before the shrine, their foreheads pressed against the cold metal floor, their lips silently reciting prayers.

He didn't stop and walked through the side passage.

Inside the bridge, Marcus was staring at the navigation panel. Sierra was adjusting parameters at the navigation console.

"Everything is normal," Marcus said without looking up. "There are still fourteen hours left at Mandeville."

Liu En sat down in the commander's seat and glanced at the star map on the holographic platform. The Black Pearl was located in the outer region of the Lucis system, still quite a distance from Mandeville Point.

"You keep an eye on it." He stood up.

"Yes."

Liu En walked out of the bridge and down the corridor into the depths of the ship. He passed the engine room, where the watch sergeant's green standby light was flashing, and the low hum of the reactor could be heard from inside. He passed the cargo hold, the doors tightly closed, with straps and lashing cables securing the supplies firmly to the deck. He passed the medical bay, where Dr. Liz was organizing the medicine cabinets and nodded at him.

He walked past the garrison's training area. Several veterans were instructing new recruits on how to don power armor, repeating the movements over and over until the recruits could complete the entire suit of gear in thirty seconds. Commander Kara stood to the side, arms crossed, watching expressionlessly.

He walked past the armory. The hatch was open, and several logistics personnel were checking ammunition boxes. The ammunition racks for explosive rifles were neatly arranged, the brass-colored shell casings gleaming under the lights. Next to it was another small armory, filled with hundreds of M36 laser rifles and neatly stacked light body armor—self-defense equipment for non-garrison crew members; several similar storage points were set up on each deck.

The whole process took almost an hour. He didn't speak to anyone; he just walked by, looked around, and continued walking.

The Black Pearl was changing every single day. Not in a way that was visible to the naked eye, but in the things hidden within the armor plating and buried in the pipe trenches. Today, the terrazzo here was replaced with refined gold, tomorrow the detector array there was upgraded, and the day after, the entire piping system in another compartment was replaced. The crew was unaware of these changes. They only knew that the ship was running smoothly, the equipment rarely malfunctioned, and the Geller position readings were always in the green zone.

Liu En returned to his private workshop, the cabin door closing behind him.

On the workbench, the design that combined the Dark Eldar cloaking array with the Imperial energy network still hung in mid-air. He sat down at the table, pulled up the latest data, and unfolded the complete blueprint of the Dark Eldar frigate in a higher dimension.

He had already completed atomic-level reverse engineering of the core generator of the Shadow Field in the database. It was an energy field completely different from the Imperial Void Shield—it didn't warp spacetime to transfer attacks to the warp, but rather created a dual blind spot for both vision and instruments by actively interfering with the electromagnetic wave reception of enemy sensors. In principle, it was similar to the Imperial holographic projection, but it was more efficient, consumed less energy, and did not rely on any psionic power.

The problem lay in how to integrate it into the Empire's energy system. The Dark Eldar's technology was built on a completely different path of physical constant optimization; their energy conduit material formulations, energy flow modulation methods, and even the most basic voltage standards were incompatible with Imperial standards. Liu En spent several weeks analyzing the material composition information of all the energy pipelines on the frigates, creating a massive cross-reference table in the database.

He needed to find a way—not to modify the Dark Eldar's equipment to fit the Empire's interface, but to reshape an entirely new system, starting from the ground up, embedding the core logic of the Shadow Field into the Empire's standard energy framework. This wasn't a simple "reassembly and reconstruction," but a complete redesign of a composite system at the atomic level.

In a higher-dimensional space, tens of thousands of atomic-level structures were operating in parallel. He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into that dimensionless space. The core algorithm of the Shadow Field unfolded in his consciousness, comparing, fusing, and optimizing layer by layer with the lattice structure of the Imperial Energy Network. Failed designs were discarded, and new designs grew from the ruins.

This isn't something that can be accomplished in a few days. But he can wait. The Endurance's several-week voyage will give him enough time to move the project to its core phase.

The Black Pearl entered subspace.

The ship shuddered, and the armored porthole covers all fell down. Only the faint light of the instrument panels remained on the bridge. Sierra's voice came from the navigation station, steady as ever: "Subspace navigation status stable. Estimated travel time—thirty-five days. Current path star flow normal, Geller field pressure readings within safe range."

Commander Kara issued instructions over the garrison's communications channel: "Attention all companies, the duty roster remains unchanged during subspace travel. New recruits will undergo acclimatization training in batches, with veterans accompanying them throughout. Anyone feeling unwell should report immediately; do not push yourself."

There were fewer people in the mess hall than usual. Several new recruits, pale-faced, sat in a corner, their food barely touched. A veteran walked over, sat down next to them, and whispered something.

Liu En sat in the corner with a coffee cup in his hand. Lars walked over and sat down opposite him.

"Captain, this ship is incredibly stable in warp space." Lars held his coffee cup steadily with his new left arm. "I've been on so many trips before, and I've never seen anything like it."

"It's good that the ship is stable." Liu En took a sip of coffee.

Lars nodded. "I know. It's just that I'm a little unsure. It's too safe."

"If the boat is stable, the people will be safe too. There's no harm in it."

Lars didn't say anything more. He finished his coffee, stood up, saluted, and left.

On the bridge, Marcus stared at the navigation panel. Liu En sat in the commander's seat for a while, then stood up and walked towards the private workshop.

He switched consciousness.

Inside the crew cabin of the Resolute, Enp opened his eyes. The low-frequency pulses of the engines seeped in from outside the bulkhead, regular and steady. Weeks of subspace travel were drawing to a close.

Hawke's hoarse voice came over the loudspeaker: "Attention all ships. We are about to leave warp space. All personnel return to their designated positions."

Enp stood up, walked out of the cabin, and headed towards the bridge.

Inside the bridge, Hawke stood behind the command console, his mechanical right arm hanging at his side. The first mate stared at the gravity readings on the navigation panel. All the armored covers on the portholes remained tightly shut.

"Three, two, one. Jump out."

The ship shuddered. The armored hatches didn't open, but the instrument panel showed that the Perseverance had returned to physical space. The first mate's fingers danced across the panel, comparing pulsars against the star map.

"My lord. Location confirmed. Galos system."

Hawke's jaw tightened slightly. His voice boomed across the ship from the loudspeaker: "All ships, Level One Alert. Sensors at full power scan."

The first mate stared at the screen for several seconds before looking up. "No activity signals detected. No ships, no communications, no heat sources. Normal deep space background radiation. No activity traces from the last thousand years."

Hawke tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest. The sensor officer added, "There are no Imperial-registered facilities in the planet's orbit. This system was last updated on the Imperial star map three thousand seven hundred years ago."

"Understood." Hawke's voice calmed down. "The third planet approaching Hengxing. Garros Main Planet. Full speed ahead, expected to enter orbit in two days."

Enp stood to the side and slightly behind the control panel, remaining silent. Two days later, the orbit was anchored, and the spaceport module would unfold in the sky above Garros.

Two days later, Perseverance entered orbit around Galos Prime.