996.M41. On Aiur, the military district on the Cinder Plains had expanded several times over. In the absence of external threats, the entire planet was flourishing.
On the training grounds, countless newly produced vehicles and mechs were active as fresh recruits practiced to adapt to the machinery.
Brand stood alone inside a Heavy Factory. He had come here to study the functions and specifications of the newly manufactured vehicles in detail, ensuring he could better utilize them in future battles.
"Is there anything else I need to be aware of regarding the Widow Mines, Adjutant?" Brand asked the AI Adjutant beside him, looking down at the automated intelligent mines displayed on his panel.
"Bear in mind that the Sentinel Missiles they fire are extremely powerful," a pleasant female voice explained. "Friendly units within the lock-on range must evacuate immediately. Furthermore, if an enemy gets too close, the Widow Mine will automatically overload and self-destruct. The internal small-scale fusion reactor will cause a violent explosion. It is recommended to deploy them far from military encampments."
Brand nodded, marveling silently at how useful the Adjutant was.
A few months ago, Lord Alexei had suddenly brought them to the base and mysteriously announced that a new member had joined Aiur. Immediately following that, this female voice had entered their ears.
Upon seeing the AI construct—which consisted of only a torso—Marshal Lusarka and Colton had cried out in shock. Inquisitor Diana had instinctively tensed, her hand flying to the pistol at her waist. Brand himself had been extremely nervous; after all, Artificial Intelligence was strictly forbidden by the Imperium.
Alexei had merely waved his hand to calm everyone down, offering excuses like, "It's no different from a wetware servitor," and "Don't worry, there won't be any scrapcode; C'tan power is trustworthy." It took a series of such reassurances to barely pacify them.
Once they understood the specific utility of the Terran Adjutant, the most excited ones were the folks in the Administrative Department. they shouted for joy, realizing they could finally rest, jumping around until Alexei literally kicked their backsides to make them be quiet.
Though Inquisitor Diana still expressed her distrust and reluctance to use the Adjutant, she grudgingly accepted it under Alexei's persuasion.
"Adjutant, transfer the relevant data to my personal terminal," Brand commanded the mechanical figure.
"Understood."
After receiving the files, Brand walked out of the Heavy Factory and looked up at the aircraft constantly crisscrossing the sky. Honestly, over the last three years, the Air Force was the branch that had changed the most.
Batch after batch of new vessels were being produced in the Starports: Valkyrie Frigates, Ravens, Liberators—a steady stream of aerial units.
Moreover, they no longer feared a shortage of pilots. Under Alexei's leadership, all Hive Cities had begun a "Talent Screening Program." With the Adjutant's help, positions were rapidly filled, especially in the talent-hungry Air Force.
Today, the strength of the Aiur Air Force had grown geometrically. They no longer worried about pilot numbers failing to match the production of Viking fighters. With hundreds of billions of civilians, even a one-in-a-million talent pool provided more than enough pilots.
Brand shaded his eyes with his hand, looking toward the distant Medical Research Institute. Lord Alexei had been holed up in there lately; word was that a crucial piece of research was nearing completion.
Suddenly, a voice called out to him. "Brand?"
He turned to see Kaider. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be guarding Lord Alexei?"
"Me, guard him? Honestly, I feel like he's the one guarding me..." Kaider shrugged helplessly. "I mostly just run errands for him, but he hasn't needed me lately, so I've just been wandering around the military district. Come on, let's take a walk."
Brand agreed, though neither of them knew that inside the medical lab behind them, Alexei was currently flying into a rage.
"Why is it still not working?!" Alexei slammed his fist on the desk. Countless simulations, countless failures—the modified Gene-seed simply could not be successfully implanted into a human body.
"Where exactly is the problem?" Alexei leaned back in his chair, his eyes glazed. He had tried every method he could think of over the past few days, yet each ended in failure.
In the silence, he suddenly remembered something. Perhaps because this was a Terran Medical Research Institute from the StarCraft universe, the human biological data in the database was based on Terran humans by default. Naturally, the Gene-seed modifications were calibrated to that.
But the humans of the current Imperium... well, it was hard to say how much the genetic similarity differed between these two branches of humanity.
"I see now." Alexei suddenly had an epiphany. He needed to recalibrate the Gene-seed modification specifically based on the genetic templates of Imperial humans. "This time, it has to work!"
Several days later: "I FINALLY DID IT!!!" Alexei roared with joy. The simulation was a success. Finally, he was about to possess a force of super-human warriors belonging only to him.
Furthermore, because he had absorbed the C'tan shards, the Terran technology now contained the power of the Star Gods. The corruption of the Warp would be significantly reduced. While not entirely impossible, Alexei believed that as he absorbed more shards, his warriors would one day become as immune to the Warp as the "Golden Bananas"—the Adeptus Custodes.
Alexei took a deep stretch and instructed the Adjutant to notify all administrative units to begin selecting suitable children. Augmentation had to start young. Though they probably wouldn't make it in time for Abaddon's Black Crusade, it didn't matter.
After all, his modification process didn't have those ridiculous screening rituals—like sleeping in blood coffins or completing solo trials in the wilderness. As long as the body and mind were compatible, they were in.
When the time came, hundreds of thousands of Astartes loyal only to him would launch a "Mini Great Crusade." "What a glorious future," Alexei marveled.
He slowly walked out of the Medical Research Institute and looked up at the sky. Today was the day the Swarm would colonize the final planet in the system.
"Zagara, status?" Alexei asked through the psionic network.
"No complications, Master," Zagara replied with her usual reverence.
"Good. Accelerate your development over the next three years. I will definitely need you then," Alexei said calmly.
"As you command."
As the communication ended, Alexei began walking away. He had noticed that as the psionic network expanded and the communication range lengthened, the transmissions between him and Zagara created a strange echo in the Warp.
These echoes created a "shadow" in the Immaterium, similar to the Shadow in the Warp cast by the Tyranid Great Devourer, though far less intense. This phenomenon had been discovered accidentally by the psykers of the Scholastia Psykana on Aiur.
"Hiss... am I becoming a Great Devourer too? No, maybe a 'Small Devourer'?" Alexei shook his head helplessly. Forget it, he'd deal with that when the time came.