C96 Strategic Imperatives

In the dimly lit Nova Romas underground command bunker, Wolf stood before the large holographic table which displayed a 3D model of Thrae, his eyes scanning the intricate web of blue and red icons representing orc and Terran forces scattered across the planet's surface.

With TIS Einherjar orbitIn the planet, its imposing presence was a constant reminder of the Imperium's might, and the heavily damaged starhold class space station wenting atmosphere as It drifted silently In space.

As Wolf listened to the reports from his officers, his face expressionless with each update, It was safe to say that the orcs were steadily being wiped out thanks to the Imperiums air superiority and their cosmic marine kill squads.

Who unlike the frenzied bloodthirsty orcs that charged In without thinking used their superior tactics, training, and cooperation to eliminate them one by one.

Though despite that the cosmic marines were still suffering light, medium, and serious Injuries but thanks to their augmentations, power armor, and paramedics none of them had been KIAed yet.

"Sir so far every third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate country, and even the Thraes superpowers have accepted our aid except for one which Is the Worker Union who Is using silent treatment on us"

The officer reported In one breath.

"And truth be told sir TAI0 has concluded that the worker union will eradicate the orcs In their territory by themselves, though not without paying a significant price"

The officer added as he studied Wolf's expression.

"Sir, may I speak frankly?"

The officer asked as he did he saw Wolf nod.

"Sir their government type and culture seem to resemble our own In some aspects their lack of long term vision Is rather disappointing not only they had practically signed a death warrant for themselves by rejecting our assistance but their blatant disregard for their soldiers lives Is simply disgusting"

The officer declared his face visibly contorting as if he had just eaten s*it as he thought about the worker union who after firing all they still had at the orcs lifepods, droppods, and dropships threw wawe after wawe of soldiers at the frenzied orcs who were out for blood.

Resulting In catastrophic casualties, the worst part Is that they executed their own fleeing soldiers on the spot who didn't stand a chance against the orcs only to send another human wave to their deaths.

Ofcourse they themselves weren't saints but they had a backup body for each and every of their battlebrothers so if the situation demanded they would fight to the last man and carry out suicide tactics.

But even then they rarely did that, because the Imperator was strongly against It, In his words every soldier's life is more precious than anything else and every terran officer and NCO firmly abided by this philosophy.

So one could understand the disgust the officer felt towards the worker unions modus operati.

"Noted"

Wolf said a single word as he shifted his focus to the Xeno space station.

"Tell me everything we know about the space station alpha bravo"

Wolf ordered as he did the officer swiped his hands In the air causing the space station's codenamed by TAI 0 3D projection to get enlarged.

"First of all Id like to point out sir that TAI 0 had determined that the space station can be towed Into Thraes low orbit and converted Into our own Olympus space station, If we do this we will save a ton of resources, manpower, and valuable time"

The officer advised as he did Wolf nodded approvingly.

"The station had suffered extensive damage both to Its outer hull and Interior though Its Integrity Is still at a passable level"

As the officer explained the space station's damaged parts were highlighted In various colors with space stations sections being cut out, taken out, and enlarged for closer Inspection.

"As for life signs onboard the Alpha Bravo, the number is rapidly dwindling, were not 100 percent certain but from what we can tell the space stations Inhabitants are being slaughtered by the orcs that boarded the space station as we speak"

The officer explained without any change In his tone as If the massive loss of life didn't concern him one bit while thousands of green dots representing Individual life forms that were disappearing one after another appeared Inside the space station's 3D holographic model.

"What forces do we have available?"

Wolf asked, turning his attention back to the officer.

The officer fell silent for a moment as he pulled out his holographic tablet and after checking responded.

"We have a few spare cosmic marine squads that we can mobilize, sir. However, TAI 0 has advised caution. It recommends waiting until Thrae is fully cleaned up before focusing our attention on the space station, and I agree, so far the orcs have shown that they are superior to us In terms of raw physical strength, we would be waisting our resources and manpower by sending only a few squads"

Wolf considered the officer's words carefully, weighing the risks and benefits of launching an immediate search and kill mission. TAI 0's analysis of the situation was thorough and reliable, and he knew that he had to trust its and his men's judgment.

"Agreed, a squad of fully geared up orcs caused our death marines to be put Into regen tanks, theres no telling how well equipped are the Xenos In the space station and how many are there"

Wolf said finally, his tone resolute.

"We will wait until Thrae is cleaned up before proceeding with the Alphas bravos capture mission. Our priority must be to secure the planet and eliminate the orc threat."

The officer nodded in agreement, relieved that Wolf had chosen to heed TAI 0's and his advice. The well being of their soldiers came first and they could not afford to waste their resources by diverting jumping Into the fray prematurely.

"And what about our Imperator what Is his condition?''

Wolf asked as he focused his eyes on the officer.

"According to Captain Jameson, our Imperator Is currently In an artificially Induced coma by the nanites, once they finish their augmentation of his body he should wake up"

The officer explained.

"Whats the timeframe?"

Wolf asked for clarification.

"About a month give or take"

The officer answered after taking a glance at his holographic tablet.

"A month huh..."

Wolf mused under his breath.

"...start planning an assistance package to the nations that accepted our help"

Wolf declared.

"To which degree sir?"

The officer asked while raising his gray eyebrow.

"'For now restoration and Improvement of their Infrastructure and civis grade low level technological assistance"

Wolf explained.

"And In return sir?"

The officer asked as he wrote a note on his tablet to himself.

"The usual resources and a little bit of Interest, make sure they get the message that they are In our debt, our Imperator will milk them dry later"

Wolf said while grinning evilly.

"Got It, sir"

The officer replied with a sly grin.

"Also prepare construction plans for a new Einherjar class battleship and recruit another batch of Thraens"

Wolf added since the galaxy had sent them a gift In the form of a free space station then he might as well allocate the planned resources to the construction of another Einherjar class battleship.

"Anything else sir?"

The officer asked after noting down Wolf's orders.

"Yeah remind those jarheads of ours to be on their best behavior we need the Thraens to see us In the best light possible"

Wolf added visibly distraught at the prospect of the cosmic marines that had muscles for brains and had a tendency to eat and sniff creaons doing something stupid like they always do.

"I will sir..."

The officer replied dejectedly, although all of them had the same DNR sequence, the cosmic marines had proved to be a special breed among them, In their eyes all of them were mental creaon sniffing and eating mental patients that had muscles for brains and apart from loyalty to the Imperator and Imperium had nothing but an urge to kill someone or something.