Streams of dense data flowed swiftly across the screen as Hades stared fixedly at them.
The report on Graia's mineral deposits was submitted already. The tech-priests' reply was to wait a bit.
Hades was in no hurry either. He had his hands full with habitat construction anyway. He held a somewhat amused mindset, watching the magi hastily pack up their various experimental equipment, seemingly ready to abscond at any moment.
Apparently these magi were also nearly driven mad by Barbarus' baffling research environment.
As information flowed by, Hades blinked and refocused his attention on the screen.
Rings dotted with white noise were displayed.
According to Hades' preliminary negotiations with the magi, the Barbarus habitats would support 95% of the planet's current populace.
Manufacturing industries in the rings would further develop and diversify, no longer limited to just the previous offerings.
Hades decided to allocate more of the Legion's civil supplies to the Barbarus rings. Though not much for a fully industrialized world, it was ample for the relatively sparse ring population.
As for the roles of Barbaruns—unlike Mortarion who favored tough farmer-warriors, Hades actually hoped to provide the people some education instead.
Under most planetary management models, only a tiny elite aristocracy could receive schooling.
But presently, Barbarus had no social classes whatsoever for education to be monopolized.
Rather, Barbarus simply lacked education altogether!
In Barbaran traditions, books and schooling had always been the sole privileges of xenomorph overlords. The only education humans could access was apprenticeships under their trade elders for rudimentary vocational skills.
In a way, Mortarion had been the most educated among the early rebellion, raised personally by an overlord father and reading quite a number of books even.
Though what he read was probably numerology for the most part...
So the Death Guard was direly lacking in educated personnel.
First—recruitment worlds for the Legion. The XIV would not just have Barbarus and Garspa. More recruitment planets in future meant exponential growth in needs for administrative staff too.
Presently, managing Barbarus and Garspa was already draining the Legion's limited pool of capable administrators. But it could not meet the massive vacancies still.
Mainly Garspa—after Mortarion executed all former administrators en masse, the abrupt hollowness was far too huge to fill.
Barbarus had been fine initially since governance used to center around just two major outposts run by the Death Guard anyway.
But with cities in the rings now, all kinds of administrative oversight had to catch up too.
They could not let the Barbarus habitats degrade into something like the Hive Cities after all.
Secondly, apart from administrators requiring education, selection personnel for the Legion also needed enhanced military knowledge.
On agriworld Maccrage governed by battle-hungry Primarch Roboute Guilliman, military academies were set up with Adeptus Astartes aspirants picked directly from among the graduates.
Hades felt this merited consideration. Military schools could at least ensure a steady pool of reserves.
However, he could not simply will an education system into existence just by thinking about it.
Firstly, Hades had to scrape together some educated folk from elsewhere. Then he needed learning materials and such too.
Peering at the basically illiterate Barbaruns and Garspians, Hades sank deeply into an existential dilemma.
After careful deliberation, he decisively approached Mortarion—
"We need to petition the Imperium for some educated officers, for the Death Guard's logistical development."
Mortarion looked at Hades with a 'you seeing ghosts?' expression.
"..."
"Why involve the Imperium?" Hades faltered.
Because Barbarus and Garspa were utterly hopeless for finding suitable candidates!
And if they looked to neighboring systems instead, they would likely get ripped off badly...
Those educated nobles and elites were living comfortably back home. Who would come to someplace like Barbarus for no reason?
So...they could only cry poor to Malcador and the Emperor!
Hades looked solemnly at Mortarion. The Primarch had clearly just been reviewing documents on Garspa—
"Because we need to be fighting on the frontlines, not approving papers in the backline."
"Fine."
Mortarion directly put the documents down, grabbing a random piece of paper to draft a letter to the Emperor.
He had long been fed up anyway. Although he could not really comprehend Hades' recent bustling to recruit and build up education, this proposal likely was not a losing deal since Hades suggested it.
Moreover, Mortarion had not felt great ever since his brothers came visiting that first time.
The Emperor had promised him back then that he would meet brothers who "understood" him.
Mortarion had truly believed he could encounter humans just like him.
All outstanding, ambitious, of similar mind... Or rather, Mortarion had always harbored some unrealistic fantasies about brothers who, like himself, could never blend in among regular mortals—the same way he once held fantasies when joining the Imperium.
Yet clearly, apart from being far larger than humans, Mortarion completely failed to see any common ground he shared with his supposed "blood" kin. He found it even harder imagining what topics he could possibly have in common with an "infant" brother much bulkier than him who overflowed with maudlin empathy.
The Emperor had obviously lied to him again.
Untrustworthy swindler! Mortarion cussed inwardly.
Hades watched, satisfied, as the densely packed encrypted words crept across the paper—his letter to Malcador.
Although Hades was unaware of any standardized Imperial official letter formats (which likely did not exist anyway), he still felt his writing was marvelous!
He first offered simple well wishes to Malcador in the opening, before segueing into lengthy pleasantries. Hades dearly wished to directly ask Malcador in person—why the fine Untouchables promised to them ended up completely botched. But lacking means to meet Malcador, Hades exercised conversation skills honed over years of internet discourse to subtly convey dissatisfaction with this batch of Blanks instead.
Malcador could undoubtedly see through these little tricks. Hades simply wanted to tick him off without deeper motive.
What followed was another chunk of nebulous griping to depict the Death Guard's current plight, Barbarus perpetually on the verge of imminent doom, and Mortarion's noble determination to chop psykers daily.
Finally, Hades circumspectly reiterated their Legion's difficulties toward the new ending, subtly bringing up needs for supplies and talent, plus educated officers capable of instruction that the Death Guard sorely required.
Just in case, he emphasized specifics on the minimum standard for these "educated talents".
He also utilized the letter to hurry up the Black Ships. If the Silent Sisters still failed to show, Hades might just squeeze Little Kor Phaeron into the Death Guard order of battle somehow.
Sign off.
Hades, your writing is marvelous!
But he still had conscience, hence considerately adding this thoughtful tagline at the very top:
"If pressed for time, just read final paragraph"
Hades silently sealed the finished letter to dispatch via courier.
He hoped that when Malcador saw this message and their batch of Death Guard rejects, whatever shreds of conscience left could prick him somewhat.
Alas, Malcador clearly lacked any conscience whatsoever. Some days later when faced with another batch of rejects touted as "educated talent", Hades sank into thought once more.
Malcador had even gifted Hades an imprint of his personal crest. Hades eyed the faintly shimmering brand—no matter how he looked at it, this seemed like Malcador mocking him!
Meanwhile on the other end, Mortarion's letter bordering on outright curses mailed to the Emperor instead resulted in a new wave of transport ships from Mars for the Death Guard. The warships lost at Garspa rapidly restored with ample supplies to boot.
Such were the whims of fate...