A few days later, within a sprawling hall nestled in the spires of the Hive World Avalax, Marcus stood before a large assembly of noble members, representing various powerful factions. Without exception, each of these individuals had been forcibly bound to him by a Psychic Contract.
During this period, Marcus had skillfully leveraged the authority and established channels of the Planetary Governor. This allowed him to compel the majority of the Hive City's nobles to sign the contract, effectively making them his subordinates. Through these decisive actions, Marcus successfully gained complete control over all the existing noble classes.
The nobles in the hall regarded Marcus with palpable fear in their eyes. Over the preceding days, Marcus had not hesitated to execute any noble who refused to sign the contract. With the complicity and cover-up provided by other nobles, the deaths of these individuals were easily disguised as accidents; after all, the demise of a few nobles was hardly something anyone in the broader Imperium would scrutinize. It was undeniable: Marcus had now become the de facto ruler of Avarax.
"So, the entire planet's defense force now numbers only one million?" Marcus inquired, reviewing the report in his hand.
"Yes, and as the Astra Militarum legions withdraw, that number will continue to decrease," a noble responded, his voice hushed.
Shaking his head, Marcus stated in a deep voice, "That number is far too small. If Xenos or Chaos invade, Avarax will have no ability to resist whatsoever." There were multiple reasons for Avarax's depleted military strength. Firstly, a recent major conflict with the Tyranids had nearly annihilated the planet's PDF. Secondly, the recent collection of Imperial Tithes had drastically reduced Avarax's able-bodied population. Marcus now considered Avarax, and indeed the entire Recidious Star System, as his own territory. Naturally, he would employ every means to bolster the number of troops under his command.
"We need to recruit suitable new soldiers from the Underhive and train them as quickly as possible," Marcus ordered. "Even if we have to piece them together, we need to gather a group of soldiers who can at least wield a gun."
A noble at his side cautiously whispered a reminder, "But if we do that, the factories in the Hive City will lack manpower, and the Tithes in a few decades—"
"That's a matter for a few decades from now, and I will naturally have a way to address it," Marcus interjected, shaking his head. He then dismissed all the nobles from the hall. He made no mention of where the funds for training these new recruits would come from, and the nobles understood perfectly well that Marcus's intention was simply to make them pay. The value of a single antique in a noble's private collection could be enough to support hundreds, even thousands, of soldiers. In the past, these nobles would never have parted with such wealth. But now, bound by the Psychic Contract, they had no choice.
"I need to talk to the Adeptus Mechanicus," Marcus murmured to himself. He knew that the Adeptus Mechanicus's cloning technology could rapidly mass-produce soldiers, offering the most efficient way to replenish Avarax's military personnel. "I just don't know what those 'oil-riggers' will demand in return."
A few hours later, after making brief preparations, Marcus successfully contacted the highest authority of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Avarax: a Biological Magos.
"Praise the Omnissiah, new ruler of Avarax, what can I do for you?" the Biological Magos on the other side of the screen greeted, already aware of Marcus and his newly acquired status as Avarax's de facto ruler. Marcus was not surprised; given the Adeptus Mechanicus's pervasive influence within the Hive City, such a large-scale upheaval among the nobility certainly wouldn't have escaped their notice. Crucially, the Biological Magos before him did not recognize Marcus's true identity, merely assuming he was someone who had shrewdly risen to power through various means. Changes in planetary rulers were a perfectly normal occurrence within the Imperium of Man; as long as the Tithes were paid on time, the Empire rarely concerned itself with such internal affairs. As an ally of the Imperium, the Adeptus Mechanicus cared even less.
"Praise the Omnissiah," Marcus replied directly. "I require your Adeptus Mechanicus's rapid cloning and cultivation technology to compensate for our current shortage of military forces."
"Oh? And what price are you willing to pay for this?" the techpriest inquired.
Marcus smiled, then displayed some redacted data concerning a mysterious Mycelium. "This is a special fungus I encountered on another planet. I believe, as a Biological Magos, you will undoubtedly find it interesting."
The Tech-Priest on the other side of the screen was instantly captivated by the Mycelium data. Seeing this, Marcus knew the deal was all but sealed.
"I will help you establish a biological cloning factory," the Biological Magos agreed without much hesitation, "but in return, you need to provide all the data on this Mycelium, as well as physical samples."
Marcus nodded, and the two verbally confirmed their agreement. This was a clear win-win situation: the Biological Magos gained a fascinating object for research, and Marcus acquired a factory capable of rapidly mass-producing soldiers. Neither side had reason to renege on their word.
Setting the transaction time for three days later, Marcus opened his system panel and returned to the Ishimura in the Resident Evil world. Getting up from his desk, he left the Captain's quarters and walked toward the cargo deck. The source of the Mycelium, the very specimen itself, was currently stored there.
"Has there been any special situation with the Mycelium recently?" Marcus asked Dr. Kane, who had been studying the Mycelium, upon arriving at the cargo deck area.
"None found so far," Kane shook his head, gazing at the Mycelium confined within its massive glass container. "This thing is truly amazing." After this period of intense research, Dr. Kane's fascination with the Mycelium had only grown.
"Open the container. I need to take some Mycelium samples," Marcus instructed. Several operators promptly opened the sealed glass container, and Marcus approached the Mycelium. Black, viscous Mycelium continuously seeped from the crimson mass. Marcus carefully collected a portion of the samples before stopping.
"I wonder what those Adeptus Mechanicus guys will research," Marcus mused to himself. He harbored his own curiosity about the Mycelium and its inherent consciousness network, eager to see how far those 'oil-riggers' could advance their research into it. After all, in certain respects, this phenomenon represented an alternative form of immortality. He believed that many old and ailing Planetary Governors, nobles, and similar figures would flock to acquire it.
After bidding farewell to Dr. Kane, Marcus returned to the Captain's quarters. He began to review the status of the United Government in the Resident Evil world and the details of recent transactions with the Ishimura during his absence over the past few days. At this time, the United Government had successfully navigated its initial turbulent period and had largely stabilized. Furthermore, the engineer suit technology that the Ishimura had shared with the United Government's engineers had proven incredibly beneficial. While it wasn't the longed-for longevity technology, the engineer suit, with its advanced technological content, was enough to give the United Government a significant taste of success. Overall, the cooperative relationship between the Ishimura and the United Government was steadily growing stronger.