As Cheng Mingrui began digging tunnels and farming, the first human Expeditionary Force of three hundred thousand finally finished its preparations on Euronia III.
Recruiting and training troops was quick. Manufacturing heavy equipment and converting merchant ships into transports took far longer. That was how newly colonized worlds were: their industrial foundations were extremely weak.
On the broad Landing Platform, the Garrison Force formed neat rectangular ranks and marched into brick-shaped transport ships.
From the lofty command tower, an army of three hundred thousand presented an imposing sight. The thought that this was his army filled Governor Cornwall with pride.
"Why are there only three hundred thousand? I clearly asked for a million! We have to strike the Orks swiftly, precisely, and ruthlessly, crushing them in a single blow before they can take root!" Pex berated the staff officer beside him.
"But... Commander Pex, your original request was for two hundred thousand. Then you changed it to five hundred thousand, and now you're asking for a million troops. With all due respect, although Euronia III has two billion people, most are first-, second-, or third-generation settlers, working as farmers, laborers, teachers, and so on.
"For a long time, the entire planet maintained a Garrison Force of fewer than a million, equipped mostly with light weapons. Mustering and equipping three hundred thousand troops for an interstellar expedition in such a short time is already the limit of what we can do."
"Your... your demands are simply too unrealistic. They're castles in the air, nothing but armchair strategy." At last, the adjutant gritted his teeth and voiced what he really thought.
"I am the supreme commander of this system, and my orders must be carried out. If you lack the ability to fulfill them, you have no place here. Get out. You're relieved of your post!" Pex showed the adjutant no consideration whatsoever and tore off his epaulets.
The adjutant's face turned dark red with fury. He had served the Defense Force and the Imperium diligently, yet this commander parachuted in from elsewhere dared to dismiss him on a whim!
He was a local noble with considerable influence. If not for his regard for the Departmento Munitorum and the Imperium... he would have already...!
"Oh dear, oh dear. Pex, why are you arguing with people again?" The quarrel interrupted Cornwall as he admired his army, though he did not particularly mind. The worse Pex's relations with everyone else became, the more secure his own authority would be.
"It's all right, it's all right. Our commander merely lost his temper for a moment. Leave us for now, and let me have a proper talk with him." Cornwall was highly skilled at this sort of bureaucratic exchange, smoothing things over and muddying the issue.
Only after everyone had left did Cornwall slowly approach Pex. "Don't get angry with them. They've done their best. If you offend everyone, how will you rely on them to get anything done? Will you handle everything yourself?"
"Euronia III alone has two billion people. In a hundred years, that may reach eight billion. Can you manage that many people?" Cornwall said earnestly.
"A hundred years?! Absolutely not! In a hundred years, it'll all be too late!" Pex exclaimed. "If the Expeditionary Force could have departed within three months, then three hundred thousand troops would have been enough.
"But more than five months have passed now. The greenskin monsters are entering a period of explosive growth. A million expeditionary troops is already a relatively conservative estimate."
Cornwall shook his head with a smile and said teasingly, "I hear Trivis is pregnant? Wonderful. As a man, are you willing to marry her and give her a happy family?"
"...That-that has nothing to do with what we're discussing. The Xenos threat is so severe right now." Cornwall's abrupt change of subject left Pex unable to follow, utterly baffled.
Cornwall turned his back on Pex and gazed out at two transport ships that had already taken off.
"The history of the Imperium of Man is measured in millennia. Over that time, how many crises have threatened to wipe out all of humanity? The Men of Iron Rebellion, the War of the Beast, the Tyranid invasions, and that rebellion that left the Emperor..." Cornwall did not want to mention the Horus Heresy, so he used a deliberately vague description.
"But even after all that, has the Imperium fallen? It still exists, and perhaps it will continue to exist just as it does now. We're different from the lower classes. We're nobles. We uphold the Imperium's order and preserve its existence."
"Wholehearted loyalty to the Imperium is a good thing, but moderation is best. Continuing the family line matters more. You may be too young and hotheaded to fully understand what I'm saying, but once your child is born, your views will change."
"Lampaster is a family name steeped in glory." Cornwall turned around, a sharp light flashing in his languid eyes. "But you are still only yourself, one member of that family. Someone else inherited its leadership. You need to consider your own future and establish a lineage of your own."
"The Imperium sent me a copy of the secret letter it sent you. To accelerate the Euronia System's development into a Forge World, a steady stream of resources will be sent here.
"If we make good use of them, we can build a kingdom of our own. Good days are coming. And what if we can't hold the Euronia System? As long as we've accumulated enough, there will be new worlds in the Galaxy waiting for us to settle."
Cornwall said a great deal, mostly about family and inheritance. As he said, the Imperium's survival certainly mattered, but the family's long-term continuity mattered more. What mattered most was ensuring that one's family endured for ten thousand years, just like the Imperium of Man.
Had Pex still been the original Pex, Cornwall's words would undoubtedly have moved him. The current Pex, however, did not care about any of this. Still, he feigned sudden understanding, bowed his head, and apologized to Cornwall, admitting that he had indeed been too impulsive.
"Young man, there's no hurry, no hurry. We still have time to gain experience and learn. Politics is dirty, but useful." Cornwall already regarded himself as Pex's elder and gave his shoulder an encouraging pat.
Thudding footsteps sounded on the tower stairs. Cornwall was displeased. He had sent everyone away precisely so he could speak privately with his future nephew-in-law. Why was someone still tactless enough to interrupt?
"Your Excellency, Governor! Cities in the Southern Hemisphere are under attack! It's Orks! Huge numbers of greenskin monsters have launched surprise attacks on the cities. No one knows how they appeared!"
The news brought by the staff adjutant stunned the two most powerful men in the system.
"Can you confirm that this intelligence is genuine? Aren't the Greenskins on Euronia IV? How could they be here?" Cornwall asked urgently.
The staff adjutant brought an audio recording and a video before Cornwall. The footage showed a vast horde of greenskin monsters wielding melee weapons, pouring endlessly out of the Rainforest and charging into a completely undefended city.
Cornwall was astonished, while murderous intent gathered in Pex's narrowed eyes.
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