---Three Days Later---
With help from Cleare, those in cryogenic sleep were resuscitated. As the twenty-three people roused from their long slumber, we learned from Cleare that they were scientists from the Great War. Unlike their peers, who left to travel the stars, they remained here in stasis, waiting for an era of peace to come. The scientists wanted to rebuild the world they had helped destroy; things did not play out that way, though.
Once fully conscious, I gave the scientists an overview of the current world. No longer hunted by New Humans, they could have integrated into modern society and carried on with their lives, but they chose not to. Instead, all twenty-three scientists pledged their expertise and support to my future endeavors. No longer forced to follow terrible leaders, they wanted to see for themselves if both magic and science could coexist. If they did, just how far could humanity go?
“Luxion, what is the current status of the cloning lab relocation?” I leaned back in my Command Chair, eyes fixed on the Holfort capital on the horizon.
<The facility has successfully docked with my island. Cleare and the scientists are performing a full system diagnostic to repair what the Elves did. We should be fully operational in three days. > (Luxion)
Luxion appeared on my left side.
<I assume you have some sort of plan for it; care to share? > (Luxion)
The frail form of Malcador appeared on my right. He tried to conceal his exhaustion, but his spectral body said it all. It was more transparent than it had been yesterday.
‘Dad…’
Tears welled up in my eyes. I knew my adoptive father was not long for this world. He would soon fade into the void, leaving my side for the last time. My heart ached, knowing I was powerless to save him again. All I could do was treasure what time I had left with him.
“I’m curious to hear how you intend to overcome the elephant in the room.” Malcador pretended not to notice the pained expression on Leon’s face. “If everything goes perfectly, you may only get one to two hundred marines from this world’s population. That is a far cry from the one hundred thousand marines you once led.”
I was well aware of this problem. Since learning of my past identity, I had been tossing around ideas to mass-produce Space Marines. At its peak, my legion numbered one hundred and fifty thousand marines. When I returned to the Imperium, I wanted no less than a million under my command. In addition, the schematics I had been steadily acquiring would arm my legion with technology far beyond anything seen in our galaxy before.
“As Malcador pointed out, the current process has an abysmal return rate for the astronomical investment required to make Space Marines. I told the Emperor as much after reviewing the raw data, as the population of the Imperium was in the quadrillions, it was inconsequential in his eyes.”
With a wave of my hand, a holodisplay appeared before us. On it, the details of my proposed plan to mass-produce Space Marines were shown.
“In the past, I recommended using modified cloned humans to build out the legions and create replacements. We could have saved countless lives by using individuals designed for the nineteen Space Marine implants, but my father rejected the plan.” I leaned back in my seat. “I’m no longer beholden to the Emperor’s foolishness, so this is how I will acquire my manpower.”
The two stared at the simulation data on the screen. The proposed plan would see the success rate jump from less than five percent to ninety-eight percent. Combat training, general education, and psychological conditioning would all be imprinted during the incubation period as well. This would reduce the four to eight-year process down to six to eight weeks.
Malcador gave me a soft smile. “The Emperor of Mankind understood your logic and agreed it was the better plan. We needed humanity to learn that hardships and sacrifices were required to forge a better future for everyone. That is why he rejected your plan. Given the current situation, this is the best plan for restoring the Second Legion back to full strength.”
<I agree. Cleare’s extensive genetic database, combined with my vastly improved implants, will make mass-production very easy. It pleases me to know those years of development will be put to good use. > (Luxion)
“There are a few other modifications we’ll utilize of my own designs as well…” I swiped to the next slide.
As a big Cyberpunk fan, I took inspiration from the futuristic cyberware commonplace in that world. With my engineering background and divine learning ability, things such as Gorilla Arms, Lynx Paws, Mantis Blades, and countless other upgrades were already at the fine-tuning stages. Some would be implanted during the incubation process, while others would only be used if the organic part was destroyed during combat. It would outright replace the need for Dreadnoughts in my legion, as lost flesh would be replaced with cybernetics.
“Your peerless skills have only grown more terrifying since you departed from the Imperium. You have far exceeded anything we could have imagined you capable of.” A proud smile crept onto Malcador’s face. “I am sorry for not saying this sooner, but… Well done, my son.”
“Than… Thank you, Dad.”
While he could not comprehend everything he was seeing, Malcador could see the dedication that had gone into making the schematics. As the closest confidant of the Emperor, he had stood by him countless times as the Master of Mankind and the Tech-Priests of Mars designed marvels of technology. The Sigillite had learned to see beyond what was written to see the skill and talent of the inventor who wrote it. With Aremus helping to guide humanity in the stead of his father, humanity would see a new Golden Age of Technology.
‘The Imperium of Man and our people will finally have the glorious future we sacrificed everything to achieve. If only I could be there to bear witness to it with my own eyes…’
Malcador suppressed his emotions again. There would be time in the near future to share everything he had long felt for Aremus. Right now, they needed to focus on the rebuilding of the Second Legion.
“We are getting off track. Please continue.” Malcador looked back at the holodisplay.
“Creating new Space Marines is only the first step in rebuilding my legion.” I swiped to the next section. “In addition, we must reconstruct the additional forces that accompanied me during the Great Crusade. Artificial Intelligence can replace organic people in some areas, but we still need several million trained personnel to operate at peak efficiency.”
When the Second Legion departed from the Imperium of Man, it was more than just my marines and naval fleet. Several Knight Houses and Titan Legions followed us into the unknown alongside millions of Divisio Aeronautica and Imperial Army soldiers. In addition, the legion had numerous logistics and maintenance personnel to keep operations running smoothly. All in, we needed at least ten million or more ordinary human personnel on top of the million Space Marines.
<You’ve put quite a lot of thought into this, Leon. While I agree you should diversify your military strength, the required number of personnel is not possible with our current facilities. We have only four thousand capsules available. A Space Marine takes six to eight weeks to create, and ordinary humans are two to four weeks. It will take over two hundred years to reach your goal. That doesn’t even take into consideration building armor, mechanized units, starships, and weapons. > (Luxion)
“That is why we will expand every facility to accommodate our needs. We will need two hundred thousand cloning tanks at least to achieve our goal in a timely fashion.” I closed the holodisplay with a thought. “The issue then becomes raw materials, and that is where I’ve hit a snag. Even if we were to strip this world bare, which I wouldn’t permit, we still fall short of our needs. We need a source of near-limitless resources to make this remotely possible.”
Truth be told, I already had a solution to our dilemma; the issue was it no longer existed in this era. During my exploration of the Republic Galaxy, the Second Legion stumbled upon the Star Forge in the Lehon System. We took temporary possession of it, analyzed the ancient machine, then left it alone as we could not operate it. My legion had not yet encountered the Jedi Order, so we were unaware of the existence of the Force.
My combined memories told me the Star Forge should have been destroyed by the ancient Jedi Order around four thousand years ago. Only a cloud of space junk remained; reverse-engineering a new Star Forge was out of the question. If I had a way to peer back into the past, it was possible that I could make it work, but I had no such method right now.
A sudden realization struck me.
‘Hold on! The blood of the Time Lords flows through my veins. If they settled here with my distant ancestors, their TARDIS may still be here somewhere. Get my hands on it, and I could bring the Star Forge here to construct everything we need in a matter of months.’
While it sounded easy, it would be anything but that. A TARDIS could alter its appearance at will to blend in with its surroundings. If one were on the planet, locating it would be difficult. The best places to start the search would be the private collections of eccentric nobles and dungeons, specifically Rank 1.
“I know that look. You’ve already come up with a plan to solve the issue, right?” Malcador gave a teasing grin. “Well, go on, speak!”
“Luxion, I seem to recall you mentioned something about meeting a man who claimed to be a time traveler. My suspicion is that he is the one from whom my Time Lord genetics come. If that is the case, he may have left behind a powerful device that can travel through time on the planet. Do you have any records of a compact device that can alter its appearance seemingly at will?”
Luxion scoured his database for anything that fit the description. After a few moments, he came back with an answer.
<I am sorry to report that I have no record of such a device. Your comment about the object altering its appearance gave me the idea to search for objects that don’t belong to this world. That search yielded a result; have a look. > (Luxion)
The spherical drone projected an image for us to see. Stowed within a massive aircraft hangar, a lone 1950s American phone booth stood amongst piles of wooden crates. Upon seeing it, I nearly leaped out of my seat with excitement.
“Yes! That has to be a TARDIS. The only other unit I have seen looked like a 1960s British phone box. Where is it being held right now?”
<The unit is currently aboard your flagship, the Spiritus Libertatis. It, along with the rest of what remains of your fleet, is stored in a spaceport beneath the Sacred Tree of the Alzer Republic. A myriad of other items I came across while searching the stars for Valeria and you are also there. > (Luxion)
Located to the west of the Holfort Kingdom, our relations with the country had been on the decline for years now. While it had the word republic in the name, the Alzer Republic was an aristocracy run by six Great Noble Houses, formerly seven, and several vassal houses beneath them. Twelve years ago, an internal power struggle resulted in one of the seven ruling houses being destroyed by the other six. Save for two children, twin sisters, the rest of the household was wiped out.
In its current form, the republic was ruled by Chairman Albergue Sara Rault. He claimed the title after leading the six great houses to eliminate the traitorous seventh house. Aside from that, I knew little else about the country.
“I already planned on visiting the Alzer Republic in the future. Looks like I now have a reason to expedite my trip there.” I pressed the intercom button on my chair. “We will arrive in port in about five minutes. Prepare to disembark and head for the royal palace.”
“Roger that!” the women said in unison.
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