"The Inertial Dampener has been activated, and the pulse engine is accelerating."
As the crew operated, the Ishimura once again began preparations for superluminal travel. However, unlike their previous arrival in the solar system, this time the ICA fleet was watching it all from nearby. This was a unique opportunity to observe superluminal travel up close, and no one, from ordinary ICA officers and soldiers to board members, wanted to miss it.
As the Shockpoint Engine whirred to life, the space around the Ishimura twisted once more, propelling the vessel into the distorted spacetime known as "Shockpoint Space." Watching the Ishimura vanish, everyone in the ICA gasped in disbelief. Their radar, capable of scanning half of the solar system, showed the Ishimura had disappeared almost instantly. This alone was proof of the Ishimura's terrifying speed.
Watching the cold expanse of space outside, Executive Chairman Barry muttered to himself, "The true perils of the universe… I wonder what they truly refer to." The ICA had found alien species on some planets, but most were merely primitive single-celled organisms. Only a small number of species had evolved complex forms, and the only intelligent one, truly considered a civilization, was the Na'vi on Pandora. The ICA hadn't even discovered any species or civilizations with a higher technological level than their own until now. The Ishimura and the "Universal Union" behind it were the first.
"Fortunately, the Alliance bears us no ill will," several ICA board members expressed, seeing the Ishimura's unparalleled superluminal travel speed.
"Regardless, be prepared," Barry said in a deep voice. The emergence of the Universal Union had proven that the universe was far more bustling than the ICA had originally guessed. Earth could no longer afford to fall into endless internal political struggles as it had before; a stronger, unified government must be established. Only then could human civilization on Earth continue to thrive. Barry subtly looked at the other twenty ICA board members in the conference room. Among them, some already shared his thoughts. Others, however, were still immersed in the joy of immortality granted by the Alliance, completely unconcerned about humanity's future. Figuring out who were like-minded collaborators and who were targets that must be eliminated would be Barry next objective.
Forty hours later, the Ishimura exited Shockpoint Space and returned to Pandora's orbit. Without Marcus's further command, all of the Ishimura's crew members had already sprung into action. An emergency mobilization message was issued. Nearly a hundred PDF Soldiers, originally stationed around Hell's Gate Base and constantly expanding outwards, were urgently assembled. Through rapid dissemination of information, all the soldiers learned that Avarax was about to be attacked by orks.
Ultimately, Marcus left two hundred thousand PDF Soldiers to continue garrisoning Pandora and temporarily halted further expansion. The remaining eight hundred thousand PDF Soldiers boarded the two armed merchant ships that had been suspended in Pandora's orbit in batches. Under Marcus's repeated shuttling, these eight hundred thousand PDF Soldiers returned to the Warhammer Universe.
"Immediately deploy all these soldiers to various Hive Cities," Marcus commanded upon returning to his office in the Hive City Spire and meeting Alexia. "What is our current number of PDF Soldiers? And the number of Tyrant Legions?" Because he hadn't returned to the Warhammer world much recently and Alexia had been conducting recruitment efforts, Marcus genuinely didn't know the exact military strength on Avarax at the moment.
"The number of PDF Soldiers is approximately five million, and as for the Tyrants, their number is around ten thousand," Alexia said concisely.
"That's acceptable," Marcus nodded. Five million might not sound like much, but these five million soldiers were fully professional, and most of them had undergone combat experience enhancement through the Academy of Immortality, reaching the level of veterans. Their combat power was definitely not weak, enough to withstand an ork tide that wasn't overly exaggerated in scale.
"Have the laboratory accelerate the production of Tyrants; relying solely on the PDF won't truly defeat the orks," Marcus said in a deep voice. Trying to match the greenskins in numbers was not a wise move. The best way to deal with orks was to focus on striking their leaders, or command units like Warbosses. And the Tyrants, with their incredibly strong individual power and ability to carry various heavy weapons, were an excellent choice.
"I will relay the message," Alexia nodded, but she still expressed her concern. "What if the orks really attack and we can't hold them off? Should we call for help from the Imperium of Man?"
"You're showing fear before the battle," Marcus stared into Alexia's eyes. "War is the most fertile ground. If the front lines collapse then, I will unleash the Blood Moon." Everything Marcus had done on Avarax over the past six months could be considered heresy.
Using Tyrant Xenomorphs to kill Ecclesiarchy priests loyal to the Emperor, openly manufacturing unauthorized biological weapons, and so on—any single one of these actions would be enough for the Inquisition to bombard Marcus with macro-cannons a dozen times over. Leaving aside whether Holy Terra would even respond to a distress call from a remote planet like Avarax, Marcus couldn't possibly send a request for help to the Imperium of Man; he could only defend against the orks alone.
"There's no need to worry too much," Marcus said. "The psykers and Astropaths on Avarax currently haven't sensed any strong Waaagh energy approaching, which indicates that the number of orks is still within a controllable range." Rising, he looked out the window at the sky and the Hive City undergoing emergency military mobilization. Marcus added, "Let's treat this opportunity as training. It's a good chance to test the effectiveness of the Academy of Immortality. Constantly bullying natives like the Na'vi won't show the PDF's true combat power."
Marcus was not overly concerned about the impending great battle; rather, he was somewhat looking forward to it. War is synonymous with danger and cruelty. At the same time, it also means opportunity. Through this war, the PDF Soldiers' combat experience would rapidly increase. The weak would be eliminated, and the strong would remain. Coupled with the effects of the Academy of Immortality, they would ultimately forge a force capable of rivaling exemplary Astra Militarum units like the Cadian Shock Troops.
Meanwhile, a large number of corpses also meant that the Blood Moon would usher in new opportunities for growth. In the past, Marcus had deliberately suppressed the Blood Moon, not allowing it to devour too many corpses. Now, however, was a suitable opportunity for the Blood Moon to grow again.