In the previous war, the Blood Knights, always embracing a martyr's mentality, suffered heavy casualties on Helson III, including their former Chapter Master.
Now, only one company remains.
"We only have three companies returning to defend Baal as well," Amit finally spoke. "Only one company is left, but every single one is a veteran tested by blood and fire."
In fact, while the Flesh Tearers' situation was slightly better, it wasn't by much.
After leaving three companies behind, they could only have four companies return to Baal, and two of the remaining three companies were mostly new recruits.
Alex silently watched the two scarred Chapter Masters before him.
In this expedition, which wasn't particularly long, both Chapters suffered heavy losses.
He knew better than anyone that it was impossible for him to prevent these Sons of Sanguinius from returning to their home world.
"Go," Alex finally decided. "Return to Baal with my blessings, and tell Chapter Master Dante that Rostov thanks the Sons of Sanguinius for their help; we will hold the line."
"Alex," Gutierrez said, his brows furrowed and his voice filled with obvious worry. "With the main forces of two Chapters transferred away like this, our available troops will be stretched thin."
He looked directly at Alex, analyzing the situation frankly: "I understand why you're letting the Blood Knights and Flesh Tearers return. If it were me, I might do the same.
But the reality is, without these two main forces, we might not be able to adequately guard many places that require heavy deployment, and it will be very difficult."
Alex's gaze remained focused on the floating star map projection, the territory formed by light points reflected in his eyes.
He calmly pointed his finger at several undeveloped star systems marked on the star map: "How about this: select two planets with sufficient resources and suitable conditions, and allocate them to the Blood Knights and Flesh Tearers as recruitment worlds for rebuilding their forces."
Seeing that Gutierrez still wanted to say something, he finally looked up at Gutierrez: "Have them start recruiting and expanding their forces as soon as possible. Before the Great Rift completely tears open, help them restore their organizational structure as much as possible.
This matter requires your careful coordination. Ask them what their specific requirements are; as long as they are reasonable and within our capabilities, try to meet them."
"As for the routine patrol and extermination missions in the Sub-Sector, I will have the Ash Knights take responsibility first," he said, looking at Gutierrez and emphasizing with a slightly heavier tone. "You and Deathwatch will also need to bear more of the burden to fill any potential gaps."
With that, Alex stood up straight and looked at his two good friends, sighing: "For the next twenty years, we must solidify the economic foundation of the Sub-Sector and transform it into a self-sufficient pocket empire, ensuring that we have the means to protect ourselves when the Great Rift opens!"
32's mechanical eye flickered red as she spoke hesitantly: "Twenty years... can we really complete these tasks?"
A complex set of calculation formulas unfolded before her as a holographic projection: "According to my precise calculations, even with the most optimistic estimation model, it will take at least fifty standard Terra years for the two Chapters to fully restore their organization and combat effectiveness."
"Whether there's enough time or not, we have to do our best!" Alex said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.
Gutierrez sighed heavily, pulling up a worrying data projection: "Currently, we only have one Titan Legion still under formation, a nominal establishment of three Chapters, and over thirty exploitable planets."
He paused, and the numbers on the projection all turned glaring red: "But the budget is already in the red. This expedition has been devastating to the economy.
Even if we can still get some material aid from the Imperium under the guise of the expedition, every single coin from now on must be carefully accounted for."
"Living on a tight budget is better than having no life to spend," Alex said with a bitter smile, spreading his hands. The holographic projection before him constantly flashed deficit warnings for various resource indicators in the Sub-Sector. He turned to 32: "What we lack most now are people and resources, and we'll have to work hard for those."
32's mechanical eye flickered with a dangerous red light. She quickly operated on a holographic keyboard with her mechanical finger, and data streamed rapidly before her eyes: "If you don't mind, I can mass-produce a batch of basic laborers using the Adeptus Mechanicus's life womb technology.
While I can't say it will meet all demands, it can at least fill thirty percent of the labor gap."
She paused, and the projection immediately switched to scan images of several mineral-rich planets, with various ore vein markers flashing in the 3D images: "As for resources... even if we use the most aggressive mining methods, blowing up entire planets for extraction, it will take at least five years from extraction to smelting to actual use before stable production can be achieved.
And this can only fill part of the gap; we will still need to import large quantities of mineral resources."
Alex stared at the flashing data, his brows furrowed.
It sounded somewhat acceptable, but five years to achieve stable mineral production was actually quite slow.
Gutierrez suddenly suggested: "Wait! Is it feasible to get a few STCs and trade them with the Adeptus Mechanicus for resources? Anyway, we earned a lot of exchange points from previous campaign missions. Getting a few cheap STCs to fool the Adeptus Mechanicus for some construction resources should be possible, right?"
32's mechanical eye flickered slightly. She nodded in agreement with Gutierrez's suggestion, but her tone was cautious: "It's possible... provided you're not afraid of those Tech-Priests getting carried away and asking you where you got so many STCs."
As a Mechanical Sage, she knew better than anyone the fanaticism of her colleagues for STCs.
Alex stroked his chin, deep in thought for a long time, the holographic projection casting shifting shadows on his face: "For now, let's focus on developing as many planets within the Sub-Sector as possible."
He looked up, his gaze falling on his two good friends, and after some consideration, he spoke seriously: "As for trading STCs for resources... it can be done, but don't be too ostentatious.
Trade one for a batch of resources, and for more... let's play it safe for now."
"As long as you have a plan, then let's proceed with that!" Gutierrez nodded.
Suddenly, 32's mechanical eye flickered violently, emitting a faint hum: "Speaking of which..."
Her voice carried a hint of hesitation, and a slight, unnatural fluctuation appeared in her mechanical tone: "Rostov still has a Grey Knight, doesn't it?"
This sudden question caused a brief interference in the holographic projection in the command room, and the atmosphere immediately shifted.
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