Chapter 43: Problem after Problem
The Imperium wouldn\'t have to deal with just the Mind Flayers and their advanced and esoteric technology but also with the sheer number of the Greenskins that would be coming at them in hooves.
If the Greenskins and Mind Flayers joined and coordinated their attacks together, it would spell a literal catastrophe for the entire Frontier Star Segment because both sides would perfectly complement each other.
Orks would provide the overwhelming numbers that the Mind Flayers severely lacked, while the Mind Flayers would provide some really nasty pieces of advanced technology that the Orks lacked, on the other hand.
Grandmaster Arsit predicted that this was either some kind of agreement between the Orks and Mind Flayers or another possibility, which was that the Greenskins noticed that the Mind Flayers would be attacking the Frontier Star Segment and decided to join on their own.
Either way, it was highly problematic because the Imperial Forces in the Frontier Star Segment were only prepared for the Mind Flayers, not for the Greenskins. Fortunately enough, they still had some time before the assumed enemies would arrive, and they could still call for reinforcements.
The Imperium was also eager to get their hands on the Mind Flayer technology because while the Mind Flayers were in no way unified even as a species, their technology was considered to be one of the most advanced in the Known Universe.
Some of their Mind Fleets had obscure and exotic technology that was already bordering the technology the limits of the Type 3 Civilizations and even the factions as strong as the Eternal Imperium of Asurya would pay anything to get their hands on such things.
***
Almost immediately after Grandmaster Arsit Byrmellir finished his discussion with his potential protegé, he called Bashar-General Varathar Medes for the meeting to tell him the information that Arcturus obtained.
The situation was serious enough even without the Greenskins in the equation, but with the green menace on the board, the situation became quite severe. Obviously, even Bashar-General Varathar Medes didn\'t dare to ignore the urgent call from Grandmaster Byrmellir and very soon arrived at his dojo.
"What is so urgent that you decided to call me this urgently for the meeting?"
As far as the Bashar-General Varathar Medes knew, the old grandmaster would never really bother himself with anything aside from his own martial training. Even though he established the dojo in the Starfort Lycurgos for several decades, he never really intervened in anything.
"I obtained information that there is a very high possibility of the Greenskin incursion into the Imperial Space.
My soon-to-be student encountered Orkish Space Hulk within the Imperial Space and managed to extract some interesting information from there; all of them indicated that the Greenskins were either going to cooperate with the Mind Flayers or they would be joining during the time when the Mind Flayers are invading our space."
As he explained that, he passed the information data bank to the Bashar-General Varathar Medes who quickly scanned the information through his nanomachines within his templates.
The more he scanned and saw, the grimmer his expression became because he understood the connotation and was able to read between the lines. Even before he saw this data bank, he already received reports about the weird movements of the Greenskins, who were circling around these regions of the Imperial Space.
"As I feared... a few days ago, I already received reports about Orkish pirates that were commencing incursions into the Frontier Star Segment, but they always disappeared faster than we could capture their ships or they destroyed everything so we couldn\'t get hands on this kind of information."
Bashar-General Varathar Medes knew that the Orks in this concrete group were led by a very smart and intelligent Ork Boss.
Orks with brains are typically very dangerous; the biggest reason why they never became true players on the universal scale was due to their lower intelligence and affinity for violence and destruction.
They didn\'t really know how to build things and create something; they rather tended to destroy everything in their path and just wage war. But, from time to time, Ork with actual brains and strategic vision appeared among their kin, and that was the time when everything normally went to shit.
Such Warbosse usually created the most powerful and even long-lasting Ork Empires that stretched through thousands upon thousands of Star Systems and sometimes brought to heel some of the most powerful factions in the Known Universe.
"So, is there a possibility of these two blights working together?"
Grandmaster Arsit Byrmellir asked curiously as he raised his brow, though he really doubted that the ever-arrogant Mind Flayers would work with the Greenskins. It was not like the Orks were any better, as they looked down on anyone who was using Psionics because, for them, it was against their concept of honor.
Sorcery or Witchcraft, they called it.
"Small... the most probable scenario is that both sides are just using each other and won\'t hesitate to stab the other one in the back the moment the situation degrades enough. Still, there is a small chance that they are genuinely working together, which would be the most problematic scenario, or the Orks are just going to wreak havoc during the Mind Flayer invasion...
either way, the situation is not looking good."
Either way, they would need to call for reinforcements.
That one was for sure.
"Either way this is, I will send a formal request for the reinforcements; the addition of the Orks into the equation is changing the odds. The overwhelming number of the greenskins is always a hassle to deal with."