Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 475 Alliance System Construction
Although most chapters that follow the Astartes Codex do not directly rule resource worlds, the military force they wield is undoubtedly among the most powerful in the galaxy.

When a Space Marine Chapter launches a Holy Crusade in the name of the Emperor to aid a world on the brink of destruction and help it eliminate the threat of aliens, heretics, or space pirates, its Chapter Master or Emissary naturally has the right to make corresponding requests to the local planetary governor.

Rare strategic minerals, special energy crystals, refined promethium fuel, and even entire ships of slave labor could all be considered as legitimate rewards for this rescue operation.

Admittedly, not all warbands follow such a direct approach to resource acquisition.

However, for those ship-based battle groups that do not have a fixed homeworld and must drift in the vast sea of ​​stars year after year, the foundation for their survival depends more deeply on this pragmatic survival rule of "delivering supplies with force".

With his keen strategic vision, Hathor discerned the core need of these ship-based battle groups—to replenish their elite combat forces.

She carefully selected the Saturn Terminator power armor, unique to the Rostov sub-sector and imbued with ancient lost technology and destructive power, along with the meticulously crafted original Space Marine weapons, as the most attractive bargaining chips.

A complete set of Saturn Terminator armor is so valuable that it could potentially compensate for years of mining rights on a mineral-rich planet.

An order for just one batch of specially made explosive guns is enough to cover the enormous expenses required for the daily operation of a small escort fleet.

The reason these ostensibly arms trade transactions were accepted by the proud chapters was that they precisely targeted the Space Marines' almost instinctive pursuit of ultimate power.

More importantly, through this efficient and pragmatic resource exchange mechanism, the Rostov sub-sector was able to bind itself more closely to the same destiny with these powerful and loyal Imperial armed forces, driven by common interests.

The strategic alliance thus formed is of value far exceeding the traded goods themselves.

The channel established by Hathor, which exchanges advanced weapons for resources, is like a continuous flow of valuable fresh "blood" into the vast production system of the Rostov sub-sector.

This drives the industrial engines throughout the subsector to roar at full power.

It was precisely through its profound understanding of the inner rules of the Empire and its sophisticated, efficient operating mechanisms that the war machine of the Rostov Subsector, despite the lack of large-scale external resource injections, achieved growth against the trend—its overall size expanded by an astonishing 5% while operating under sustained high pressure.

Such remarkable achievements, against the backdrop of widespread despair and cruel stagnation permeating the empire's fortieth millennium, were like a blinding, tearing light in the deep, dark universe.

It demonstrates in the most intuitive way the extraordinary administrative efficiency of Hathor as the core of the Primitive hierarchy.

This also definitively confirms the decisive leverage that the production capacity of strategic-level cutting-edge products such as the Saturn Terminator armor can exert within the increasingly corrupt bureaucratic body of the Empire, enough to substantially reverse the fate of an individual sector. Admittedly, the situation in the Rostov sub-sector has improved compared to the past.

But in Hathor's eyes, this limited progress seemed so insignificant and powerless in the face of the cataclysmic disaster that was about to sweep across the galaxy like a raging flood, like trying to extinguish a wildfire with a cup of water.

She clearly foresaw that terrible future: the heart of the Empire—Holy Terra—would eventually be overwhelmed by the tide of demons; before Lion's Gate, the Royal Guard would shed their last drop of loyal blood; the world of Cardia Fortress, the pillar of the Empire, was destined to fall, and its destruction would tear a huge, unhealable rift in the galactic reality...

At this moment, the sky above Baal, the home of the Holy Blood Angels, is completely shrouded in the terrifying shadow of the Tyranid swarm, destined to be chewed up and devoured by their endless destructive teeth.

This breathtaking apocalyptic scene is by no means a vague prophecy.

Hathor was fully aware of this; it was relentlessly ticking away with the countdown, closing in on reality in the short span of less than twenty years, like a reaper draped in black robes, pressing down heavily on it.

“I understand your advocacy of ‘sustainable development’,” Hathor’s voice resonated in the silence like a heavy, clear alarm bell: “But the choice we face now is not about the rise and fall a hundred years from now, but about survival or destruction twenty years from now. The Empire… has long since lost the right to have a ‘future’.”

Her sharp, amber-gold eyes seemed to pierce through the solid walls of the governor's office, staring directly at the cruel fate that was irreversibly etched in blood and fire before her.

“If this were a time of peace, or a period of controlled expansion like the Great Expedition, your blueprint would be considered a visionary plan, and I would applaud you without reservation.” She abruptly changed the subject, her fingers striking the star chart on the table that depicted the predicted course of the Great Rift: “However, at this moment, losing this gamble means utter annihilation.”

At that time, the entire Rostov subsector, along with all the 'sustainable' concepts it pursues and that you have striven to uphold, will be reduced to the finest dust in the subspace storm.

Her words were imbued with an urgent and clear understanding, each word falling like a heavy hammer: "Do you really think that when the terrifying rift that tears the galaxy apart finally takes shape, when the order that the empire has maintained for thousands of years collapses in the ensuing chaotic frenzy, you can still bury your head in the sand like a self-deceiving ostrich, fantasizing that you can remain unscathed by relying solely on this corner of the world?"
You must fully understand a fundamental truth: when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact!

The more you shrink back and try to retreat into your own little world, the faster the destructive wave will surge towards you.

The only way to secure a moment of respite for what you cherish amidst such all-consuming catastrophe is to become the only pillar that can stand firm in the raging tide of chaos!

Only by embodying such beings can you truly possess the power to protect what you hold dear in your heart.

Let us recall the choice our father made at the end of the old night!
If he hadn't turned the tide back then, forcefully consolidating the remaining human strength with overwhelming force, you and I would probably be eternally enslaved by the minions of aliens and chaotic demons, still endlessly howling in despair in the boundless abyss of darkness!

(End of this chapter)