The Expedition Plan Passed, the Expedition Begins

The Governor's Mansion conference room on Gamma World.

It was cleaner and more orderly than anywhere in Utopia, filled everywhere with gold and sanctity—the complete opposite of the Imperium's gloom and oppression.

Everyone qualified to attend Gamma World's meetings was part of this world's upper echelon, at the very least the head of a relevant department. The seats nearest Sislane, at either hand, were reserved for the chiefs of the key departments: diplomacy, military affairs, finance, and science.

Together, these people determined Gamma World's future course and policies.

Of the seats, only Chief Scientist Brown's and the Chief Necromancer's were temporarily vacant. The Governor and Chief of Finance had yet to arrive.

Every other seat was occupied.

Two more seats had been added at the very end of the table.

The Astartes seat, and the Human Federation seat.

Quite a few people were curious about the hulking men Sislane had brought with him. After learning of their valiant contributions in battle, they solemnly expressed their gratitude, while also taking the opportunity to learn much about the world beyond.

The more they learned about the outside world,

the more terrified they became.

Although the Governor had not yet arrived,

the scale of this meeting made it plain that this post-expedition review would likely be more important than any meeting before it.

The decisions made here would probably determine Gamma World's survival and everyone's future.

"Governor!"

"Governor!"

Outside, Sislane passed by.

The people along the way hurriedly stopped and lowered their heads in greeting.

Watching Sislane and those beside him hurry past without even the time to acknowledge them, the two Governor's Mansion administrators instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Governor looks to be in a real hurry. I heard a lot of ministers came today."

"Then something big must be happening."

"Something big? What could be bigger than us taking three colonies?"

The conference room doors were pushed open.

Hearing the movement, everyone inside turned to look. When they saw who had arrived, they all rose to their feet.

"Governor."

"Governor! Governor!"

"Governor."

Sislane swiftly passed by them.

He waved as he took his seat, signaling for them to sit.

Only then did they seem to find their backbone again. Their hearts settled somewhat as they took their seats.

After all, before speaking with the Salamanders, those attending this meeting knew little about Chaos, xenos, heretics, or the Imperium of Man.

Some had only just received the battle reports from Ozrax, Tangle Planet, and the Oceanic Planet. They had only just learned that beyond Gamma World lay so many terrifying powers. In particular, the reports concerning Chaos obtained from the Ozrax Research Station filled them with dread.

What they currently knew was that Chaos energy from the Warp could cause living beings, even steel, to undergo biological mutations. Under Chaos energy's influence, warships, firearms, and factories could grow mutated organs, mucous membranes, tendons, and bones. The ground beneath their feet and their homes could even sprout fangs that hungered for flesh.

Besides the hidden threat of Chaos, there was also the Tau Empire's open threat.

They had seized two fortress worlds the Tau Empire had intended to colonize, right on the Tau Empire's doorstep. A Tau Empire with hundreds of times their military strength would inevitably resort to force to conquer them.

Of course, those were merely the powers that had surfaced.

The Orks could expand at any time. The Tyranids could arrive without warning. The Imperium, pirates...

The forces in the shadows were tangled and complex, interwoven like a vast net.

They had to grow as fast as possible, until they were capable of contending with those powers.

And if they wanted to grow,

they needed a technological explosion within an extremely short time.

There was only one opportunity.

Listening to the discussion below, Sislane knew the STC Template was a massive trap. But he had no choice but to jump into it. If he did not, he would be waiting to die. If he did, there was still a sliver of hope.

Brown's holographic projection reported on their current technological breakthroughs.

"At present, through our technical analysis of the Warp Distortion Detector, we have barely achieved the ability to observe Warp energy. The image is still unclear, so please bear with it for now."

The star map abruptly enlarged, revealing an image of Ozrax. Regions ranging from red to blue covered the planet's surface. The factory district had turned orange, while one area had become dark red. "At present, our technology is still inadequate. We can only detect certain areas containing Warp energy, but cannot precisely identify what is emitting those Warp-energy fluctuations or where it is coming from."

"If we had sufficient energy to sustain a megastructure, we could expand the Warp Distortion Detector's range to cover the entire sector. We would then be able to detect Warp energy throughout Gamma World. However, this project requires the Finance Department's support."

Koro, Chief of the Military Affairs Department, promptly rejected Brown's construction proposal. "As I understand it, we are on the Far Eastern frontier, the place furthest from Chaos energy radiation and where Warp energy has the least influence. As long as that hole connecting to the material universe does not continue expanding, Chaos is not our greatest threat at present. More of our resources should be invested in building fleets and weapons. Do not forget that every day we delay at the Chaos Beacon allows more Chaos forces to pour in."

Mina, Chief of Finance, stood up. Only after glancing at the Governor did she continue, "With our current technology and methods, if we wanted to destroy a Chaos Beacon like the nearest one on Ozrax without using those so-called Warp routes, our research ship would need three months to get there. But if we build a Gravity Slingshot, we can arrive in less than half a day. As for the resources needed to construct a Gravity Slingshot, I can tell you that even with one homeworld and three governed worlds, we cannot afford it."

"So Miss Mina supports my proposal, then? Our Military Affairs Department needs at least—"

Before the Military Affairs Department could finish speaking, Mina continued, "We do indeed need to build weapons."

"However, not weapons and fleets aimed at Chaos, as Chief Koro suggested."

"?"

"Not against Chaos?"

"We just received some news." Mina zoomed out the star system map and moved it to Tangle Planet, then continued toward the black region along Tangle Planet's border. "From the minds of those Tau Empire commanders, we obtained a piece of information. In this region, we discovered an STC Template."

"An STC Template is a technology from the Golden Age. Our sociologists believe that without anyone operating or supervising it, this technology could produce a battleship over a thousand meters long in a week. It could also construct a Gravity Slingshot in a month. Even if it is not an STC Template specifically designed to manufacture warships, our scientists could modify it to produce anything we need."

"Hm?"

"A thousand-meter battleship in a week?"

"A Gravity Slingshot in a month?"

"It can manufacture any technology?"

Everyone in the conference room was shaken.

Their greatest problem right now was their lack of factories and manpower.

And now, there was something

that needed neither their factories nor their people, and required no effort from them.

They merely had to input what they needed, and it would continuously manufacture it for them.

Wasn't this thing made for them?

Everyone turned to look at Sislane in unison.

"Governor."

"Governor."

The commissar, accompanied by an Imperial Guard soldier, went to inspect supplies at the barracks. Near the fuel depot, they found a cigarette butt on the ground. The commissar said unhappily, "Whose cigarette butt is this?!"

The trooper looked around and said delightedly, "Looks like it belongs to no one, Comrade Commissar. Hurry up and pick it up!"