Journey to Rimward Lithesh

After dealing with the war on Kronus, the Allure of the Void heads back to the Ludd system so Niko can go fix himself and check up on the work that's been progressing in our absence. Meanwhile, the Allocution of Silence will travel to the Excellon subsector with Cornelius, Kol, and Midozu on board. Probably stop off at Eldritch first and undertake negotiations then head off to High Khessar and do more diplomatising and trading there.

## Eldritch

General plans: get support from the sector government and Adeptus Astartes for our schemes

### Governor's office

* Speak with Lord Governor Lithesh - sector governor
* Gaianan Subsector is the new hotness.
* Saint Highdown is here and it'll be much easier to manage if we're off crusading to reclaim lost worlds in the Gaianan Stretch rather than causing political problems in the main sector.
* Drakon would make an excellent subsector capital.
* This will definitely be good for the sector's coffers and won't take much of its battlefleet. It may not be great for the sector's troop numbers, but we just (hopefully) won the Kronus war so you can't complain

### Departmento Munitorum

* Speak with Lord General Militant - head of sector's Astra Militarum forces (Niko is only one rank below them; Van Holstein is their equal)
* Niko can provide some contacts for us to make use of
* We need lots of the most capable troops from various fortress and death worlds, commanded by their best, most flexible officers
* We’ll need about 250 regiments (~500-750k troops) to start with, plus additional forces as the campaign ramps up

	+ ~60 regiments' worth of troops inducted straight into the 1st Expeditionary Force
	+ ~60 regiments sent to Ludd system for long-term training as reserves for the 1st Expeditionary and auxiliaries to PDF.
	+ ~30 regiments permanently stationed in Ludd system as defence force
	+ ~100 regiments stationed in Drakon system
* Will require Departmento Munitorum base on Drakon V. We'll help build it but they need to provide manpower and materiel (we'll provide our own materiel for our best troops, but it's useful to have a shitload of basic tanks and guns in storage just in case).
* Establish groundwork for administration of newly compliant planets and negotiate tithe brackets

### Smurfmarines

* We're totally on board with Bobby G so don't even sweat it.
* We're planning on taking the warp corridor and kicking ass in the Dark Imperium if they want to get involved.
* More support for Celestial Lions needed
	+ Need Astartes backing for acquiring materiel from Forge Worlds for the Celestial Lions (we can handle the transport and “divert” some resources for Niko to tinker with)
	+ While production is being kicked into gear, a smattering of materiel would be wonderful
	+ Also would like Primaris pls
	+ Is a battle barge too much to ask? The Lions will at least need another Strike Cruiser and a Gladius/Hunter or two

### Others

* Adeptus Arbites
	+ Could do with an Arbites precinct house on Drakon V
* Adeptus Astra Telepathica
	+ Major Astropath palace on Drakon for adequate interstellar communications
	+ Dozens of astropaths for robust inter-ship comms

## High Khessar

General plans: Cornelius (+ Kol and Midozu if they're interested?) politicks with nobles and gets support from key organisations.

Top priority:

1. Make time-sensitive investments
2. Set up Lithex AdMech meeting
3. Debrief with Harlocke
4. Deal with Admiralty

### Nobility and traders

* Lay groundwork for Gaianan Crusade

	+ Make some savvy investments before news of the Gaianan sub spreads
	+ Acquire the Stars Alight
* Gain support for Gaianan Subsector

	+ Pitch it as an opportunity for Excellon interests to head off de facto expansion of the Correndor subsector, and get in on the ground floor of a lucrative crusade of reconquest across a resource-rich region
	+ Sell adventurous nobles on the beauty of Drakon, and how its new status as sub-sector capital will bring riches
	+ Start a banking cartel

		- Get support from noble families willing to invest in the Gaianan Subsector
		- Use Ichor XII riches as collateral

* Set up major trade route from Drakon to High Khessar

	+ Khessari trade partners handle route from HK to Ffrikssonbrannd, drop off at (soon to be created) Highdown waystation there, then we handle transport to Drakon.
* Support from Khessari regiments

	+ Gentlefolk tankers
	+ Elite drop troops and grenadiers
	+ Large quantities of mech infantry
	+ Veteran underhive murder-hobos

### Inquisition (not sure if on High Khessar)

* Cornelius needs to visit Harlocke and catch up properly

### Imperial Navy

* They’re going to need to set up a new battlefleet for the incipient Gaianan Subsector. This is a problem for the overstretched naval capacity of Battlefleet Lithesh.
* As such, we’ll do them a favour - the Highdown fleet will serve in an auxillary capacity to the official Battlefleet Gaiana. All they need to do is establish a naval base in the Drakon system (we already have a moon they can use) and provide a modest battlegroup to be based there. In time, the system will be churning out ships and they can be used to ease the burden on Battlefleet resources, even providing a net gain to the sector Battlefleet. We humbly request the dispatch of:

	+ Two Admirals

		- Battlegroup 1 (Drakon defence): St Sebastian's Wrath (Kronus battlecruiser), two firestorms, two swords
		- Battlegroup 2 (convoy protection/pirate patrol): Dauntless light cruiser, six cobras
	+ Miscellaneous troop transports, fuel tenders, scout sloops, etc.
* In order to enable House Highdown to effect control over the new subsector, and as a contribution to the crusade effort, we will require a battleship hull (preferably Emperor class), most likely from the mothballed reserve fleet. We will take on the burden of maintaining and supplying this vessel. We’ll also need a hundred thousand or so capable voidsmen plus several thousand skilled NCOs and fleet officers.
* We will also take our reward for dealing with Pink Ork

### Adeptus Mechanicus

Set up meeting between reps of each Lithex Forge World as soon as we arrive at HK - gives them some time to arrive

* Before meeting, would be useful if Niko can provide:

	+ Survey data of the archaeotech site in Drakon, including details of the most enticing devices
	+ Teardown data of the archaeotech lance, archaeotech ships’ bridge, and weird ass plasma battery.
	+ Intel on all three FWs

* Set up separate meetings with representatives of each Forge World and smooth things over before inviting them all to a joint meeting.
* As a taster, hand over overview data from the lance/bridge/plasma battery
* We request that they:

	+ Each establish a presence in the Drakon system

		- Shipyard
		- Forges
		- Planetary defences
		- Intensive farms
	+ Cooperate on a complete refit of the Highdown flagship
	+ One Secutor-Class Monitor-Cruiser
	+ Provide production capacity on an ongoing basis for the Crusade, including Astartes gear for the Celestial Lions - to be constructed in the Drakon system where possible.
* In return we will provide:

	+ As a gesture of good faith, each forge world will get access to one of our pieces of archaeotech - the lance for Maximus, the bridge for Dominus, and the plasma battery for Optimus (though they don't get to keep them). For now, they can enjoy the full teardown data that we have, but in due course they'll have an opportunity to study the technology in detail.
	+ House Highdown’s industrial capacity can assist in construction of facilities to their specifications
	+ They will get joint access to the archaeotech cache on Drakon I. We will be establishing a colony there and they will all get to learn from the secrets hidden in the ancient technological trove.
	+ Reduction in the strategic uncertainty that could occur if one Forge World becomes dominant over the Gaianan Subsector and it becomes a major force in sector politics
	+ Priority access to archaeotech found during the Gaianan Crusade
	+ We'll put pressure on the Departmento Munitorum and other Imperial organisations to ease their production quotas to offset the increased activity in the Gaianan Stretch