The wider realm had plenty of problems, and the most pressing was its population.
Worlds occupied by Orks or ravaged by forces from rebel worlds were sparsely populated, if anyone lived on them at all.
When the allied forces of the Three Hundred Worlds reclaimed these worlds, some personnel stayed behind and put down roots, clearing the ruins and rebuilding human civilization. Together with the refugees and colonists who arrived afterward, they became the worlds' first administrators.
By the time Evan took full charge of these messes, the population was still at its lowest threshold.
His territory had tripled in size, yet its population had not grown at all.
The good news was that the Secret Cult Warship, now the Light of the People, could alter planetary environments.
The bad news was that it consumed so many resources that it hardly seemed worthwhile.
Evan wished he could become the Matchmaker Goddess and pair people up. Population determined humanity's overall fighting strength, and more importantly, whether humans could keep the T'au under control.
These xenos had an unusual disposition. Many genuinely believed in the "Greater Good" Evan had proclaimed when urging them to surrender, and worked hard for humanity, thinking the T'au still had a place in the "multiracial alliance."
Once ordinary T'au had a purpose in life, they became motivated. They had also done well for themselves, recently redeeming a colony world. Their desire to reproduce had now largely stabilized, and the Earth Caste scientists responsible for family planning-arranged marriages-could barely keep up.
Beyond these headaches, the situation on Lian Leilo's side was rather complicated too.
Since the region was an exclave of Segmentum Pacificus, its communications were completely disconnected from the rest of the segmentum. Segmentum Obscurus, however, had stable old routes leading there, so officials from that segmentum