"."
"."
Everyone was waiting for Cisrain's answer.
Would they make a bold move?
Or cower at home and wait to die?
At least those who had been selected had already made their choice with their own eyes.
All that remained was to wait for Cisrain to make his decision.
"Then we'll act. The codename for this operation is Corolla. Mission objective: seize the STC Template world."
"Mina will calculate the financial costs and allocate the industry. Koro will prepare the First Fleet of the Expeditionary Force. Brown will send out research ships to scout the way. The other departments will cooperate. Have everything we need ready within three days. Does anyone have any other questions?" Cisrain stood and swept his gaze over the people below.
"No, Governor!"
"No, Governor!"
"No, Governor!"
There were more than a dozen seats in the conference room and representatives from dozens of departments, yet not a single vote was cast against the plan. They quickly united behind the expedition.
In Vulkan's eyes, this kind of administrative efficiency was already impressive.
In the Imperium, even a single operation could take months, or even years. Of course, that was because the Imperium was so vast, with countless factions and tangled interests involved. Gamma World was still a small government, easy to manage. He only hoped they could keep it that way.
Still.
An STC Template world.
If the Imperium found out about it, wouldn't they do whatever it took to seize it?
Unfortunately, the STC Template world was in the Far East Frontier, with Cadia and the Tau Empire lying between it and the Imperium's main territories.
Whatever the case.
It had originally belonged to humanity. How could they let the Xenos occupy it? And that was without even mentioning the Tau Empire, who were as irritating as Nurgle Flies. This time, Vulkan would make them pay.
The news that Gamma World was forming an Expeditionary Force spread through Utopia like a drop of water falling into the sea, sending ripples racing across the city.
"Have you heard? The Governor has announced the formation of an Expeditionary Force!"
"Really?"
"Of course it's true! My older brother's already been drafted. I'm getting ready to enlist, too."
"That's great! Looks like our first overseas expansion was a success. Gamma World is about to rise! I'm enlisting, too. I'll follow the Governor and help Gamma World expand its territory. I'll become a senior noncommissioned officer in the Expeditionary Force!"
"A senior noncommissioned officer? Then you'd better salute when you see your future commanding officer! Soldier, are you asking for a spanking?"
"I'll beat you to death first!"
Cyrus's squad walked down the street.
They listened to the people around them chatting and watched Salamanders letting little children ride on their shoulders. A whole crowd of kids ran after the Salamanders, begging for a turn.
Yalta looked disgusted.
"Only the Salamanders would be bored enough to let a bunch of mortal children ride on their shoulders. An Astartes's shoulders are meant to bear the honor of the Imperium."
"Uncle?"
A tiny, adorable child stopped Yalta in his tracks and stared up at him with wide, curious eyes. "Uncle, you're so tall! Are you as tall as they are, too?"
A little boy ran over and tugged at the girl. "He's definitely not as tall as that big, dark uncle!"
"..."
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"..."
"..."
"I told you kids are the worst!!" Yalta scowled, with a child perched on his shoulders.
A crowd of children came running over, as if they'd discovered a whole new world.
"That uncle is so tall! What did he eat to get that big?"
"Uncle, you're almost as tall as the Governor!"
"My turn! My turn!"
"Don't draw on me!!"
"I'm warning you, I'll get angry!!"
"The deputy squad leader seems to be having a great time with those kids."
"So the deputy squad leader really likes children."
"Who wasn't a child once?"
Cyrus's squad drove a factory transport truck, hauling something out of one of the factories.
By now, all of Utopia was like a set of interlocking gears, running at incredible efficiency as factories and supplies from all over were requisitioned and moved toward the transport center.
From the outside,
it looked like columns of army ants converging on a nest, steadily carrying their loads through the ground-level transportation port.
The enormous factories were being dismantled and packed into shipping containers, then loaded into the port's gravity lifts.
On the production lines, Gauss Rifles were being replicated one after another, then calibrated, coded, and bound to human genetic data.
Meanwhile, the Tau Empire's Drone unmanned aircraft and other types of battlesuits were being hastily repainted.
[Verification successful, bound] [Verification successful, bound]
The resources being diverted for this operation would consume nearly ten years' worth of Gamma World's accumulated wealth.
"Is this Utopia on Gamma World? It's so beautiful! Big Brother Sidros, look! The sky's like this, too. There doesn't seem to be anything above it. Did someone paint the ceiling? How many people would it take to paint the whole thing such a beautiful color?"
"It's green! There's green! I've seen it on the middle decks of the nobles' ships. I wonder what it tastes like. It doesn't look that bad."
"That's green grass, and the sky wasn't painted by anyone. It formed naturally. Never mind, your tour still has two hours left. Of course, this is only a visit for now. In the future, you'll have a chance to earn the right to live in Utopia permanently. Or you can build a Utopia of your own. As long as you work hard and create value, the Governor has always been open-minded."
Departments at every level and locations all over the city were making urgent preparations.
At the port, supplies from the ground world were being swallowed up without pause.
Hundreds of tons, thousands of tons, tens of thousands of tons.
They were taking nearly ten years' worth of resources from the planet.
The resulting financial deficit had punched a staggering hole in Gamma World's already weakest point.
"Miss Mina, our finances can't support this operation much longer. Is it really worth gambling Gamma World's future on this one mission?"
Mina gazed at everything outside as she sipped a mental stimulant known as green energy. "Does giving you the chance to live like a person count?"
Before you continue