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Gather up the men and supplies for a great crusade against the Tau. I doubt I could ever defeat or solve any of the Imperiums major problems, but at least I know I can defeat the Tau because they're significantly weaker than the Imperium.

Dump all of the Inquisition literally onto Tau terriroty, they don't need to be meddling with my armies, let them fight it out, bu Malleus stays back to commit forces to the Eye of Terror.

Recall all the Black Templars and tell them the Dark Eldar thinks old Empy looks fat on that throne, the sick xeno feths.

Get the Spess Wolves to look for Russ, lazy bastards.

Give every Lamenter a medal, poor sods.

Send a bunch of podded skitarii with grav guns and deepstriking land raiders onto each craftworld by way of teleporter.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
So much tau hate in this thread

Get the Orks to fight anyone else but the Imperium.
The orks just want a good fight.
Theoretically, it should be possible to convince them to Waagh into the warp, or assault a craftworld, both of which are much harder targets than anything the Imperium has.

 TheCrusadeSmurf wrote:
Dump all of the Inquisition literally onto Tau terriroty, they don't need to be meddling with my armies, let them fight it out, bu Malleus stays back to commit forces to the Eye of Terror.

Recall all the Black Templars and tell them the Dark Eldar thinks old Empy looks fat on that throne, the sick xeno feths.

Get the Spess Wolves to look for Russ, lazy bastards.

Give every Lamenter a medal, poor sods.

Send a bunch of podded skitarii with grav guns and deepstriking land raiders onto each craftworld by way of teleporter.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
So much tau hate in this thread

It isn't necessarily hate for the Tau, it's just recognition that they are the easiest target. Wiping them out would take significantly less resources than any of the other enemy factions, and then it frees up all those resources for bigger fish.

 dusara217 wrote:

 Orblivion wrote:
1. Slaughter the Tau, redirect those forces elsewhere afterwards.

2. Give the Necrons a wide berth. Szarekh is trying to gather all of the Necron forces specifically to fight the Tyranids. I say let him.

Wouldn't number 2 result in the Stormlord conquering half of the Ultima Segmentum, though?

Not only that, but number 1 would require the Imperium to turn their backs on closer, larger threats that would quickly descend on created gaps, resulting in a massive net loss for Imerium strength/territory vs. what they'd gain by sinking all those resources into their furthest frontier region. As for the Necrons, their scattered, piecemeal awakening is that only thing keeping them manageable. Allowing them to start uniting/pooling their forces is not something that will benefit the IoM in the long run.

 Traffic Conez wrote:
Gather up the men and supplies for a great crusade against the Tau. I doubt I could ever defeat or solve any of the Imperiums major problems, but at least I know I can defeat the Tau because they're significantly weaker than the Imperium.

 Orblivion wrote:
It isn't necessarily hate for the Tau, it's just recognition that they are the easiest target. Wiping them out would take significantly less resources than any of the other enemy factions, and then it frees up all those resources for bigger fish.

Except that this isn't a viable option for the IoM, as has been discussed and explained to death in the past. The Tau are simply too small, too far away from the IoM to be a cost-effective target for extermination. They tried a crusade once, when the Tau were smaller/weaker than they are now. The resources that were granted weren't enough, they barely touched to Tau Empire. That was before the Tyranids showed up, or the 13th Black Crusade, or a bunch of the Necron Dynasties, or the third sphere expansion. You walk into a room and there's two guys armed with shotguns ten paces away, with a third guy armed with a pistol twenty paces away... you don't turn your back on the first two in order to deal with the third because it's the smallest threat.

This is what I thought of when you asked the question

BrianDavion wrote:
This is what I thought of when you asked the question

Okay, that was brilliant. Absolutely loved it and have never seen it before.

Realize I have absolutely no agency to change anything about the Imperium's forces in my lifetime since it's an unmoving leviathan of an organization and I am simply one man.

It would take nearly a century of constant and aggressive policy before any noticeable changes were to take place.

The scale of the Imperium's bureaucracy is nearly incomprehensible.

Also, anyone who's trying to order around Space Marines: you can't. They aren't inside the Imperium's command structure in any way. They are independent contractors that merely operate in the Imperium's interest typically.

1 - Disband the High Lords of Terra and the Eclessiarcy
2 - Remove the stupid limitations placed on the Mechanicus to encourage experimentation and development of new tech without replying on STC's.
3 - Make a peace pact with the Eldar and Tau.
4 - Contain the Orks, can kill them all anyway. Focus on the Tyranid and CSM threat.
5 - Build and Maintain viable supply lines and stop the IoM from overextending as usual.
6 - Awaken the Void Dragon.
7 - Welcome our new Mechanical overlord.
8 - All praise the Void Dragon!
9 - 10001110101 10110010101!

 Otto Weston wrote:
The Imperium as it is, is doomed. Whilst it will probably take millenia to fall apart, the end is coming and there's nothing you can do to stop that without making enemies and being killed.
Therefore I would look to the future and to guaranteeing Humanity's survival.

I would order Mars to build the largest colony ships ever, we're talking larger than Battleships, capable of defending themselves and of extreme self-reliance/independence. (If the AdMech didn't want to do this, because you know Innovation is heresy, I would accept Battleships (outfitted for colonization) instead). Numbers wise, I would look at at least 10 and more if the AdMech was capable. I would then fill these Colony ships with two types of people; intelligent innovators and blanks (as many as I could get my hands on), hopefully breeding a better/safer human species in the future. I would also ensure that they take as much technological and scientific data I can give them, without pissing off the AdMech.

As soon as the colony ships were ready, I would call as many Rogue Traders as I could to discuss, 'Plans to benefit the Imperium', where in reality I would secretly converse with the more liberal/secessionist Rogue Traders and task them to join the Colony Ships to secure their own futures and the future of humanity. I would then send the Colony Ships, with any Rogue Traders who agreed to assist, out of the galaxy and heading towards the nearest neighbouring galaxies with orders/instructions to Colonize as many planets as possible.

Hopefully by the time the Imperium has fallen, these expeditions would have established a better humanity away from this doomed Galaxy.

It seems that you're basically taking the Eldar Craftworld idea there.

Focus on the Imeprium's primary enemies; Tyranids, Chaos, and Orks.

Make temporary alliances with Tau and Eldar. Then the big gambit, make temporary peace with the silent King.

The necrons are equal enemies of Tyranids and Chaos and though it may not bring every dynasty in line it a huge relief of pressure and allows enemies to fight each other.

Then, when the galaxy is saved, fight it out with the remaining baddies of necrons, dark eldar, and orks (there's always more orks).

Make as many non-aggression pacts as possible, whether it be with rebel Human empires, Necron Dynastys, Xenos Empires or Chaos War-bands. It seems when there's armies of war-loving fungal super-soldiers, sadistic, torture-loving raiders and worshipers of beings of pure hate, decay, excess and scheming, wasting resources on things like the Craftworld Eldar or Tau if inefficient. Attempt to pull back and fortify the outside worlds, and instead of devoting resources into crusades, work on improving the Imperium. There's an insane number of worlds that are feudal or pre-tech, and devoting resources to improving them to make them actually productive planets. Begin funneling resources into research into things like AI once more, except on a pre-sentient level. It helped conquer the galaxy before, with more restrictions it could help crush the enemy. Make a few more worlds like Krieg: Cloning massive, fanatically loyal armies. For people like the mutants, hive-gangers and others like this in the Imperium, conscript them and place them on the fortified worlds to face the impending assaults. Wait for the Tyranids to diverge on the galaxy, purging all your enemies. Ideally, the fortified ring should be able to fend off the Tyranids until they starve to death.

TL'DR: Rather than seek out enemies of man to waste resources fighting, secure and upgrade what you have and let them fight each other. It's easier to defend than attack.

EDIT: Just realized I badly necroed this. Sorry, thought I was on the front page.

Best way to help the Imperium is to prevent the fall of the Emperor.
I would find any and all information on the giant Time Travel machine stuck in the Rock, and travel back to the Heresy with as many fighting forces possible.

Gather up all the Imperium's forces and invade the Eye of Terror. Mission goal: Take out the Chaos Gods. With Lasguns.

I make sure the Emperor does not die. I call back all expansive operations, and call at least fifty Chapters of Marines to protect Terra. Wulfen are accepted as not xenos.

Hire the Tau as mercenaries, strengthen borders and do scorched earth on any and all tyranid fleets.

Ideally while wearing my power-mad selfish ruler hat: Put extreme priority on capturing the Celestial Orrery from the Necrons. I'm sure it would somehow result in the end of the galaxy or perhaps only the Imperium but that thing is too powerful to not own. Plus I'm only human and my time is limited anyway, don't care what happens after I die.

Realistically within my lifetime: Try to cut a deal with the Eldar, possibly the Tau to try and address the issues of Chaos and the Tyranids - probably the only two groups that can't be bartered or reasoned with in some capacity. Even Necrons engage in discourse from time to time.

The Eldar can help the Imperium out with the ethereal aspect of the Chaos issue, and the Tau could really assist with addressing of Tyranid-specific weaponry/bio-solutions/etc.

By that point I'd be dead but still have helped out quite a bit. Leave it to the future generations to try and tackle the other races.

Increase dramatically the Adeptus Mechanicus funding: These guys know hot to use funds, they're not likely to get corrupted by something like more ressources at their disposal. The ad mech will discover new ways to improve technology and mass produce others.

Open negociations with the Tau empire: recognise it's power and current territory. Offer assistance in combat vs tyranids, chaos and necrons (the main threats), offer technological exchange.

Create more new SM chapters: More astartes is better.

Outlaw all religion.
Move seat of power far away from Terra.
Kill the Emporer to find out if he resurrects.
????
Profit

Gotta get Matt Ward to change the fluff unrealistically towards your favor.

I'd do what the current does; end up getting into petty squabbles going nowhere with the rest of the high lords.

Blow up terra

I'd set out a very coherant plan for systematically annihilating the worst foes of the Imperium with overwhelming force, while giving ground on fronts to less thretening species (Tau, Eldar etc.).

I'd write this plan down very clearly and in an indiot-proof manner and hand it to the High Lords of Terra. The High Lords would look over it, politic a bit and attempt to change the plan to benefit their particular faction. After a couple of years of political infighting the slightly altered plan would be sent to the administratum.

The Administratum would file it away ready for processing in a couple of years' time. By the time it gets through, the administratum clerk simply scans the document for key orders through the thick fug of incence. He picks out key phrases such as 'invade planet x' and 're-take area y'. Taking out his ink-stamp, he requisitions a new crusade involving millions of guardsmen and a dozen chapters of marine to enact this plan from on high.

After a couple of years of recruiting and training new Guard regiments, the forces of the Emperor pour out of their ships onto the surfaces of the planets in question. Unfortunately, it later appears that the Dark Angels have already re-taken this area of space in the name of the Emperor a couple of years ago, so the 'invasion' is little more than making planet-fall, being slightly puzzled by the welcoming party and then declaring the crusade a success when you've worked out what's happened.

So, after a decade of submitting this plan, all that I've achieved is expending a fantastic amount of resources retaking a dozen planets that are already loyal to the Emperor.

Cue facepalm.

INTERNALLY:

As my decree comes from the God-Emperor himself, I'd immediately take away the Text-to-Speech device (so he couldn't rescind it), because that's how they're getting such a decree in the first place, right?

After that, I'd consolidate my influence with the Ecclesiarchy through that divine decree, and if possible, slowly shift their doctrine to allow Mankind's divine mandate of supremacy of the galaxy to include mankind's right to enslave and benefit from the filthy mutants and imperfect xenos, letting them shoulder the worst of the burdens so that Mankind is free to do what it is destined to do: Rule the universe.

If possible, I would also try to increase the intercommunication and cooperation within the Admech, though I imagine that would be beyond my ability to influence (If possible, I'll fake another God-Emperor decree). If all the forgeworlds shared all of their preserved technology, the loss of one forgeworld wouldn't be as devastating. A far lesser possibility would be influencing Admech doctrine of "all knowledge already exists, so anything new is heresy" into something that is more inviting to research and development - something more like "all knowledge already exists, so anything we think we found that is new was actually there the whole time and thus blessed by the Omnissiah - even Xenos technology, for the truth of the Omnissiah is merely misunderstood by those Xenos." This is a long shot, since the Admech wouldn't be as easily influenced by a God-Emperor mandated warlord/diplomacy master.

To a great extent, I would leave the Inquisition alone, though I would provide favors, preferences, and the like to inquisitors with more open-minded approaches to the exploitation of mutants, psykers, and xenos (though I would not be so with those open-minded about the use of chaos - in fact, I would probably favor those with more strict views on the use of chaos and its artifacts). In that way, I would hopefully end up with a greater general ability to exploit the sizable mutant populations to keep the Imperium going, and so my intended use of Xenos like mercenary forces (Kroot, Tarellians, Demiurg) and minor Empires (Tau) would be more palatable and less likely to see me end up "disappeared".

The Astra Militarum would be left largely alone and used as they always have - don't fix what is largely not broken.

The Imperial Navy would also be left largely alone.

If possible, I would "empty the quiver" of assassins on the biggest threats to the Imperium - Abaddon, Huron, Ghazgull, and the most aggressive of the Necron lords. If we end up a bit low, such is life - it would be worth the disruption to Chaos unity and Ork momentum.

At some point, I'd gather the finest medicae and biomancers on Ultramar and force Rowboat Girlyman's stasis field to drop. Either he survives and takes over the actual military strategizing from me (I'd suck at it compared to him), or he dies (as he would regardless). gak or get off the pot, in other words.

Fairly quickly into things, I'd reveal the truth about the Dark Angels and their Fallen to the Imperium at large (quickly and in such a widespread way that the Dark Angels, even with all of their might, couldn't keep it a secret through force), absolve them of any past "friendly-fire" related crimes, and give them a zero-tolerance policy from then on: Kill only the enemy, or be treated as the enemy.

Finally, I would increase the tithes of the outward-most regions of Imperial territory (where the Astronomicon is the most dim, and where dispatching and directing forces is the most difficult/time-consuming) to the point where the worlds themselves would inevitably be stripped of all possible wealth and biomass within a relatively short time-frame. If possible, the vast majority of that wealth would be funneled into the Imperial Navy, with the resources used for making as many fleets as possible with the healthiest of the populations used (forcefully, if need be) to crew them. As soon as those planets are stripped completely or as much as is economically feasible, the Imperium would abandon those planets and perform exterminatus to the point that they completely deny any further biomass for tyranids and remain inhospitable for Orks for as long as possible.

EXTERNALLY

Eldar Craftworlds/Maiden Worlds: Diplomacy the hell out of 'em, with a preferred end-goal of a non-aggression pact. If at all possible, get them to reveal the largest webway access points in undeniably Imperial space to help mitigate Dark Eldar incursions.

Making an alliance with them would be damned difficult in the face of the Xenos-purging preferences of, well, almost every other major player in the Imperium... and those tricksy Eldar would just end up backstabbing the Imperium to save some damnable eldar child's life anyway. Non-aggression and help against their Dark Eldar kin would be enough, and wouldn't be so blatantly problematic to the rest of the Imperium.

Tau Empire/Kroot Mercenaries: Through diplomacy, give them roughly the same ultimatum they give all the Xenos they encounter: Join us, give us a tithe, and benefit from inclusion in our Empire... or be annihilated. If they refuse, don't bother with land wars or the like - just gather a fleet big enough (probably needing the influx from the abandoned outer reaches of the Imperium - see above) that any given planet's defense fleet is utterly overwhelmed, Exterminatus the planet from orbit (It's the only way to be sure), and keep doing so from planet to planet until the Tau are no more but for only a single planet (preferrably with poor resources). Re-open negotiations, and if possible, gain the use of the Earth Caste and Tau technologies.

MOST of Tau technologies wouldn't be terribly useful (With a few exceptions, they're generally at best on-par with Imperium tech and/or are infeasible logistically for the Imperium's armies to use), but the Tau FTL technologies may well be worthwhile - combining the Imperium's comparatively greater base technology (including power sources) with an exceptionally safer (though slower) warp travel method, especially if the Earth Caste were forced to work solely on "discovering the knowledge that already existed within the imperium and was merely forgotten" to make improvements in that tech... well, that'd benefit the Imperium significantly.

Well... maybe half the Earth Caste would be directed towards that goal. As secretly as possible (to avoid the Admech going berserk), I'd have a significant portion of the remaining Earth Caste work towards reverse-engineering as much DAoT artifacts as possible, and placed into an STC format (so I can claim to the Admech I've merely made discoveries of old knowledge pilfered from humanity by the conquered Tau rather than needing them to accept technology improvements from such heretical Xenos directly). If we can get DAoT-levels of tech back into Imperium production, it would be immensely useful.

Orks: Start an Imperium-wide policy of collecting Ork tusks and teeth from every slain Ork. Use that currency to encourage Ork mercenaries towards more useful targets, preferrably Necrons ("not only will I pay you, but you'll find a fight that is incomparably more difficult than fighting against mere humans") and if necessary for delay tactics, Tyranids (whoever wins ends up more powerful, but they'd be fairly useful as a delay tactic... and the winner could always recieve an Exterminatus as reward).

Necrons: Ugh. If at all possible, get the Eldar to redirect Orks into conflict with the Necrons, on top of redirecting as many Ork mercs at them as well. In specific instances where the Necrons actively oppose the Tyranids, temporarily ceding/retreating to let them absorb the losses might be worthwhile.



ALTERNATIVE PLANS

If things get out of hand, and the Imperium's momentum towards ultimate destruction can't be stopped (and frankly, that's the most likely scenario), a Humanity Survival Plan needs to be put into place.

Abandoning a significant portion of territory, while relocating as much resources as possible to within that newer and smaller territory (like the Internal plan, but at a much larger scale) could allow the Imperium to survive longer, letting other factions battle it out for the remaining territory. Yes, some Space Marines would lose their recruiting worlds, but with all of them relocating to a much smaller space, there would be a lot more of them able to defend any given territory at a time.

If the Tau Empire hasn't already been annihilated, I'd rather see humanity as a slave race than a non-existent one.

Necrons also are rumored to take on races as slaves. Again, better a yoke (which we might eventually throw off) than a coffin.

Even Orks take humie slaves. See above.

If all else fails, gather every single psyker of immense potential potency, brainwash them and train them exclusively to survive as long as possible to sit on the Golden Throne, then kill the Emperor and start a chain of sacrificial seat-warmers in the hope that the Emperor returns through his Perpetual nature before we run out of Psykers to keep the Terra webway closed. Before doing this, a majority of the Imperium's forces/materials would be relocated to avoid getting swallowed up in a new Eye of Terror if the plan fails - see above on consolidation. If we can get a reborn Emperor to lead Humanity, the Imperium has a much better chance of actually existing more than a few more millenia.

Become diplomatic with Eldar and Tau, use them to help us fight crons and Chaos. Use rest of energy to bribe orks to fight nids. Taking Unusual Suspects idea of teef and start mass producing fake teef to bribe orks

Personally, I think direct diplomacy with the Craftworld Eldar might be a bit of a dead-end. At the end of the day, they're fantastically racist. Helping them against their Dark Kin wouldn't really be a strong selling point. They're less two cultures at war, but two parts of the same culture surviving in different ways. If the Imperium kills Dark Eldar, as far as their Craftworld cousins are concerned you're still killing Eldar.

Plus, they're concerned solely with the survival of their race. If you can make sure that that's the potential future that seems most likely they might buy it, but if it leads to a future where the IoM is in a strong enough position to annihilate the Eldar themselves then they'll probably just murder your emissaries. It's in their interest to keep the IoM (and its enemies) weak enough that they can't launch a co-ordinated attack against them. They likely wouldn't be interested in helping the Imperium gain strength, unless it was to weaken another faction that would instead gain power.

I think your best bet for diplomacy is with the Harlequins. They've got political power with both the Eldar and the Dark Eldar, and could steer them away from the IoM to mutual enemies. Their main goal is the annihilation of Slaanesh, which is something that you could definitely help with. Plus, they seem like Eldar Reasonable Marines so they'd be the least likely to murder you for no reason you can think of.

1. Authorize the realms of Ultramar to exterminate the Tau by any means needed. Once this is completed, those forces can then be pointed in another more pressing locations. The Tau empire cannot be allowed to become a Vietnam kind of situation, so if I must, I'll drown them in blood. If Ultramar wishes to create another Founding, this works all the better with step 4. All Tau technology is to be turned over to the Ordo Xeno's and Mechanicus forces for study. Special priority is to be placed on the Ethereals, so they too can be........studied.

2. Evacuate a ring of planets around The Eye and depending on proximity to the eye either press gang them into a military force of meatshields, or move them generally unprotected towards a straight line towards both the nearest Hive Fleet and also the Eye itself, the idea being to leave a trail of food for the 'Nids to follow leading into the Eye, keeping as much distance between populated worlds that were being kept as I could. The closer to the Eye, the more biomass. Ships and moons loaded down with humans, grox, whatever. Capture as many Lictors as the Ordo Xenos could and deposit them on an artificially populated world nearest to the eye and let them ferment the spores for summoning. Destroy the evacuated worlds to prevent Eldar, Ork, or other kinds of incursion and possession.

3. Work with the Mechanicum to create automated defense lines capable of fighting tyranids on all fronts, ground, space, and water. Amass these defenses on Agriworlds that are distanced from other locations, and prep planetary destroying atomics on these worlds in an attempt to draw in increasing numbers of tyranids, and causing them to expend a lot of biomass with zero return.

4. Offer an increased amount of "benefits" to those who wish to join the Imperial Guard. Family Pay (that will for the most part get lost in red tape), preferential treatment in medical centers for those whose families are serving in the guard (because if everyone is serving, everyone is waiting like everyone else) and a great "untimely death" payout insurance that never pays. Children that show particularly excellent talents in physicality, piousness, and intelligence will be "recruited" into "Project Hero," a specialty program that recruits "For The Emperor" but really recruits into into the Inquisition, the Sisters of Battle, or the Astartes.

5. The Orks are obnoxious, and unavoidable, however they are also everywhere. Try throwing more tyranids at them I guess, or just deal with them as they crop up. Same with Necrons for the moment. Wait until there is a perceivable threat and then respond with maximum force.

6. Combine all penal planets with the Mechanicus. Capital Crimes are immediately met with the offender being turned into a servitor or other Mechanicus tool. Literally line up the prisoners and march them into "Waiting rooms."

7. Create several craftworld esque ships capable of carrying, feeding, and nurturing hundreds of thousands of humans and keep these single ships moving throughout the imperium avoiding areas of conflict. They are to use warp drives sparingly, and only for escaping threats. These are the "Last hope" ships, and will keep the ember of humanity alive as long as possible.

8. Triple the forces around the Maelstrom. Maximum priority is to be placed on Red Corsair ships.

9. The Eldar. At any point that a location of a craftworld is learned, or an entrance to the webway, beam those coordinates directly into the nearest Warp rift, or to the Eye itself. She who thirsts would just LOVE to know of those spots I'm sure.

10. Achieve all of these things, so that when the Inquisition comes for me, the next guy can come along and say "We'll undo all this stuff that crazy s*** the last guy did, we promise. It might take some time." The first 9 items will take a long LONG time to come into play, and even longer to undo them once they've been started. So assume 2 decades of pure war footing, and reap whatever comes next.

For the Imperium.

Reawaken the Primarchs to lead the newly formed Imperial Legions, one legion per main enemy (Ultramarines for Tyranids, Imperial Fists {and Crimson Fists} for Orks), and form alliances with Eldar and Tau, take down Tyranids and Dark Eldar, maybe work on a webway, separate from the Warp, recover the missing primarchs, aim for daemon Primarchs. No alliances with Necrons, they're backstabbers and have always been, little xenos .