Chapter 51: The Star Chart
Walking to the stasis field, Lucan saw a palm-sized mechanical device. Judging by its overall manufacturing style, it was definitely not something made by the current Imperium of Man.
When Lucan deactivated the stasis field and took out the object inside, it immediately reacted.
A massive holographic projection instantly enveloped the entire treasury.
"A star chart?"
Individual planets and entire star systems were clearly and completely marked on the star chart.
After a period of searching, Lucan even found the gateway to the Expanse, the Fury System, on it, and even his own capital world, Agathos.
Besides some familiar star systems, Lucan also saw many planets he had never heard of before.
"Wait a minute… could this star chart have been left by those explorers from Mankind's Golden Age?"
Lucan knew that humanity's territory back then was much larger than it is now. Although they also relied on Warp travel at that time, the Warp was not as violent as it is today.
The speed of conventional engines was also much faster than current Imperial warships, and the warships themselves were more powerful. The omnipotent STCs supported countless fleets exploring ever deeper into the cosmos.
Humanity's range of exploration was far greater than that of the Imperium of Man; it was a peak era for humanity.
If all the planets on this star chart truly existed, then it was a treasure so vast it was almost unimaginable!
The wealth brought by any single unexplored, valuable planet would be enough to tempt any faction in the Expanse.
Lucan could also understand why the Dark Mechanicum and the Word Bearers had targeted his Dynasty's treasury.
After pledging oneself to Chaos, the demand for various resources was even greater than in the material universe.
If the forces of Chaos were to truly obtain this and absorb and convert the resources of these planets, who knew what kind of disaster it would bring to the entire Expanse…
However, how the Mongorte Dynasty had found it was now unknowable; Ludwig was dead and had told him nothing.
Perhaps more secrets were lost with Ludwig's death, their lineage of knowledge broken.
But if they possessed this star chart, would the Mongorte Dynasty simply watch and not utilize it? If they had used it earlier, the Mongorte Dynasty would probably have become the largest Dynasty in the Expanse.
And on the star chart, a distant planet was marked with a distinctive red dot, exceptionally glaring.
However, professional matters should be left to professionals. Lucan had Navigator Eunice from the warship brought over.
In a quiet conference room, Lucan activated the star chart again.
"By the God-Emperor… this… this is…"
Eunice had thought Lucan perhaps just wanted to chat with her, but who would have expected him to show her something so astounding.
"Captain, your guess is correct… This is indeed a star chart. Many of the star systems and routes on it are not recorded in Imperial star charts!
If these routes are all navigable, then the value of this star chart is enough to drive the entire Expanse mad!
It records planetary coordinates and clear Warp routes – evidently, someone successfully reached all of them."
"Then what does this red marker mean?" Lucan asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be the place where that explorator fleet lost contact or crashed, because beyond this red dot, no new star systems or planets are marked out!"
"Do you have a way to verify this star chart?"
"I can try, but I must first return to the Navigator's Sanctum!"
"Do it immediately!"
"I'll return to the Golden Ram at once!"
Lucan immediately arranged for Damon and a squad of Raiders to personally escort Eunice back to the Navigator's Sanctum.
After an anxious wait, Eunice's weak voice came through the communicator.
The Light of the Astronomican could not even reach those unexplored star systems.
Only through the Navigators' special talent could navigable routes be found in the Warp.
Yet, even with the help of this star chart, the effort had nearly exhausted Eunice.
"Captain… this star chart is incredibly ancient… I was only able to use the star system coordinates to find passable Warp routes to one or two nearby systems.
Most of the routes have already changed. Violent Warp storms have completely taken over the previously charted safe passages. Wanting to traverse to those locations is now almost impossible!"
Eunice's voice was also filled with disappointment. If this star chart were truly useful, it wouldn't just be the Mongorte Dynasty that would take off; her Navigator House, allied with the Mongorte Dynasty, would also soar to prominence.
In the Expanse, apart from some star charts provided by Imperial officials, everyone hoarded their own discoveries; almost no one would share the routes they had explored with others.
But hearing Eunice's words, Lucan finally understood why the Mongorte Dynasty possessed it but had never used it. It wasn't that they didn't want to use it, but that they couldn't. Directly following the Warp routes on this star chart, given the current conditions of the Warp, would be no different from suicide.
So, it could only be placed in the treasury and revered.
For Chaos forces, however, their ability to withstand Warp storms was much greater than that of Imperial humans.
Not only might their crews already be highly corrupted and mutated, allowing them to resist the Warp-induced corruption, but their warships, built with blasphemous technology or even possessed by daemons, also had stronger resistance to Warp storms.
If worst came to worst, they could even use rituals and sacrifices to appease the Four Gods and temporarily calm a Warp storm, though this depended on the mood of the Four Gods and whether they were willing to exert themselves.
But even so, Warp storms were still deadly to them, let alone to the Imperium.
However, Lucan wasn't worried at all. Others might not have a way, but he did!
"You guys can't use it… but it seems I can, right? At the place where the explorator fleet lost contact, could there be a human warship from the Dark Age of Technology? Even if it's wrecked, I'm not worried!"
As long as the key components were still there, SCVs could repair it!
The Yamato-class Battlecruisers from his Starport could begin production immediately; all he lacked were qualified crew members.
Perhaps the combat power of the Battlecruiser itself was weaker than Warhammer world warships.
But its production rate was high, it could operate within a planet's atmosphere, and most importantly, it would allow Lucan to conduct long-range travel without relying on the Warp.
Later, he could completely organize a fleet composed of Yamato-class Battlecruisers to develop the planets on these star charts!
And even if he encountered unmanageable dangers in unfamiliar star sectors, he could use their jump capability for guerrilla tactics or to flee directly back to Agathos.
Lucan was now incredibly excited about that Dark Age warship and the technology it might contain.
His two current cruisers, the Golden Ram and the Tyrant, were still somewhat lacking.
These specially modified light cruisers were sufficient for a Rogue Trader, as Rogue Trader Dynasties rarely engaged in large-scale fleet battles. But against a truly powerful fleet, they would probably be destroyed in two volleys.
However, he had to temporarily shelve his plans for exploring unknown regions. His most important priority was still to resolve the rebellion on Agathos.
The underhive had yet to be retaken, those few Word Bearers were still hiding there, and the source of the rebellion, Valentin, had not yet been captured.
He needed to restore order to Agathos as quickly as possible.
(End of Chapter)