Encounter with the Squats

"I can't wait to board the shuttle and achieve a perfect victory." Fulgrim smiled as he thought about riding in the same aircraft as the Imperial Aquila on his chest.

His friend, Ferrus Manus, asked in a voice as heavy as lead.

"Have you resolved your legion's issues?"

"Yes," Fulgrim said with a smile, his eyes gleaming, "The 'Emperor's Children' will once again traverse the Galaxy, and I will set out from Terra, marching northeast."

"I've heard that pirates are harassing the northeastern part of the Solar Segmentum."

Upon hearing this, Nimrod couldn't help but recall the star map of the northeastern part of the Solar Segmentum.

The words "Solar Segmentum, Northeast Direction, Pirates" stirred Nimrod's memories.

Almost instantly, he knew that the area that Fulgrim had heard about was the area where Alicia was located.

Alicia is not only the Homeworld of the future elite Astra Militarum, the "Alicia Airborne," but it is also located on a major Warp trade route in the region.

Therefore, the area around Alicia is known for its pirates and is a haven for both humans and Eldar Pirates.

Nimrod thought to himself as he realized that Fulgrim might discover Alicia.

Alicia is a commercially developed world, which naturally has disputes that require arbitration, making it a suitable world for recruiting soldiers for the First Chapter.

The "Alicia Airborne" are also elite Astral World soldiers, and Alicia's developed commerce makes it extremely valuable.

Malcador requested that I supply more Aquila Shuttles, Alicia could serve as a sales location for it and various future products.

Nimrod also realized that the Legion currently only possessed a dozen or so star systems centered around Necromunda.

Alicia's location is more advantageous and can serve as another foothold.

With that in mind, he decided to use the Dice of Prophecy to divine Alicia's fate later.

As Nimrod pondered, the Mars Fabricator-General stepped into the council hall at the last minute, at the twelfth second, a time symbolizing the sacred number of the God of All Machines.

After he took his seat, Psionic Energy projections of the Emperor and Constantin Valdor Flash Step.

Amidst the salutations of the crowd, Nimrod heard a new voice addressing the Old Man in Yellow as "My Lord"—it was the powerful voice of Lion El'Jonson.

The Emperor surveyed the crowd and began to speak:

"I've gathered you here today to discuss how to deal with this newly discovered special species. They are willing to trade with the Imperium, but refuse to join us."

"More than thirty Expeditionary Fleets reported discovering that they lived in a vast underground city. They were a short, hardworking, and tenacious race, but also stubborn and conservative, and were named after the first world group to discover them Squat."

"The Biologis Magos accompanying the ship conducted genetic testing on them, confirming that they belonged to the human category."

Upon hearing this, Nimrod realized that the Old Man in Yellow was referring to the Squats.

He knew that the Squats were replicant templates created to mine minerals in the extremely dangerous environments of the Galaxy core and stars, where gravity and radiation are high.

The Squats were dispatched to that dangerous region before the Imperium was established, and therefore had little contact with humans from other regions.

Nimrod knew that because of the dangerous environment, very few forces would enter the core of the Galaxy until the Great Rift opened and many forces were drawn into the Cicatrix Maledictum that tore the Galaxy apart.

Besides the Leagues of Votann, there are only Orks, which are equally tough, resilient, and highly adaptable.

The Imperium is not actually located in the physical center of the Galaxy.

The central region of the Galaxy is actually located in the Ultima Segmentum.

For ease of administration, the Imperium of Man divided the region around Terra, but in reality, it also designated a much larger area as the Ultima Segmentum.

The future Ultima Segmentum is the largest among the five major starfields, and that is precisely why.

[I recall that after the Imperium rediscovered the Squats, a portion of them, located on the edge of the Galaxy core, officially joined the Imperium of Man, but retained a high degree of autonomy.]

Nimrod knew that although the Squats did not have the sheer size of the Imperium of Man, they were still enormous compared to many Xenos.

There are numerous alliances among them, some nominally joined by the Imperium of Man, some completely independent, and others hostile to the Imperium.

However, even getting the Squats nominally to join the Imperium came at a considerable cost.

The Mark III Iron Pattern Power Armor was specifically developed after bloody battles fought in underground cities in worlds Squat.

Nimrod knew that the future Mark III Iron Pattern, from its design to its widespread use, was not intended to replace the Mark II Expedition-pattern, but rather a special adaptive version developed for environments such as boarding and underground operations.

It sacrifices flexibility for increased defense, but it's not as extreme as the Terminator. Of course, it also requires far fewer resources to forge, allowing for widespread adoption.

No sooner had the Master of Mankind finished speaking than the Mars Fabricator-General eagerly raised the demands of the Adeptus Mechanicus:

"Their technology is unique and differs greatly from the technology we possess today."

"Assessed as high value, we must acquire their technology."

"Since the Biologis Magos have determined that they are human, we should adopt a more gentle approach." Vulkan admired the resilient Squats; he could see the shadow of the Nocturne People in these short human groups.

Both are resilient and hardworking, but the Nocturne people are tall while the Squats are short.

"Furthermore, their willingness to engage in trade indicates that contact with them is possible."

Leman Russ curled his lip and said in a hunter's manner:

"These dwarves resist joining the Imperium; only blood and fire can make them face reality."

"We should send envoys again and try to persuade them to join the Imperium through diplomatic means," Malcador's voice came from beneath his hooded robe.

Subsequently, all the Primarch expressed their opinions, supporting Malcador's proposal.

The Emperor then made a decision. "Magnus, your Thousand Sons are closer, so you will be in charge of the negotiations."

Nimrod knew that "Thousand Sons" were often dispatched as diplomatic envoys.

Because they are eager to collect knowledge from various civilizations, they tend to be more moderate in their interactions with different powers.

More importantly, they use Psionic Energy to get the other party to accept their conditions.

"Thousand Sons," along with the outstanding-looking "Emperor's Children," attempted to cultivate a perfect image for themselves, not just as Horus's "Luna Wolves," a war commander, and the "Ultramarines," skilled in politics and diplomacy, who undertook almost all diplomatic activities during the "Great Crusade."

But this time, the Old Man in Yellow miscalculated. The Squats were resilient and had a certain resistance to Psionic Energy, so even Thousand Sons could not persuade them.

Thousand Sons's diplomatic efforts will fail just like Gardinal's.

As Nimrod pondered, his gaze swept over Ferrus Manus.

The Battle of Gardinal was a glorious victory for Manus, but also a battle in which he realized he was merely Conqueror and not suited to be a Warmaster.

After the war, he told his friend Fulgrim, "I want you to know that it won't be me, and whoever ends up in that position, I will support them."

Nimrod knew that Manus had close ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus and that during the Great Crusade, he conquered mostly industrial planets.

Each of them is Industrial World that can meet the Forge World standards, and many have even been directly colonized by Tech-priest.

In terms of scale and capacity, among the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, only a handful, such as Calth, can compare.

However, their numbers were relatively small overall, and like Medusa, Manus did not directly rule them, but merely extracted resources and production capacity.

This is also why the "Iron Hands" armored forces have always been the best among all legions.

[Among the many worlds I have conquered, Vostonia, Triken, and Cepra Mandy in the Segmentum Obscurus, and Calth and Ganyun in the Ultima Segmentum, are no worse than Manus's.]

Gardinal is undoubtedly the brightest jewel Manus conquered during the "Great Crusade," and I can take control of it ahead of time, bringing eleven advanced Industrial Worlds and hundreds of billions of people into my territory.

Nimrod gathered his thoughts and turned his attention back to the Squats, then spoke.

"The Squats have already refused once; getting them to join the Imperium might not be so easy."

"We should prepare in advance. I was just in the underground caves of Calth..." Nimrod glanced almost imperceptibly at Guilliman and continued.

"In the battle against the Xenos creature also named Gorgon Serpent, I discovered that underground combat requires stronger protection due to the lack of cover."

He looked at the Mars Fabricator-General, "Can Mars provide new equipment for this?"

Nimrod speculated that the Old Man in Yellow might have dispatched his Pegasus to personally engage in the battle against the Squats.

In order to gain an advantage and reduce losses in underground operations, he made a request to the director of Mars Fabricator-General.

Nimrod believed that Mars, which was eager to obtain Squats technology, would be happy to provide assistance.

"Nimrod, Mars naturally has the capability to provide more suitable equipment for underground operations."

"Before the Great Crusade began, research was underway on armor with improved defensive capabilities, and this project progressed when Father Malevolus participated in the forging of the Manus Armor."

"Named the Cataphractii-pattern Terminator Armor, it is already ready for deployment. Mars will prioritize providing equipment to legions participating in the battle against the Squats."

Nimrod nodded. He knew that the Cataphractii-pattern Armor, as the first Terminator armor to be deployed, was constantly adjusted based on feedback from actual combat after being equipped by the Astartes Legion.

Before the Great Birthday Celebration, the Cataphractii-pattern was already quite mature, and many units in the legion were equipped with it, with the "Luna Wolves" and "Iron Hands" being deployed on a large scale.