Okay, I'm back with another chapter of the Swarm of War.

I know I promised to write more of the Galactic Imperium and the Path to Godhood, but I kinda got stuck. I hate writing small talks between characters that contributes too little to character development or plot development. I hate those placeholders, but sometimes they are necessary.

Also, the Blood Master is again pushed to a later chapter, and was replaced by the Overmind's preparation against the Tyranids.

I hope you enjoy this 10k+ worded chapter, and any comments are welcomed with both arms.


Chapter 55 – Intermission Episodes 3

I am the Overmind.

I gaze into the stars and I see my destiny. I see the Swarm's destiny.

No longer is the goal of old ours, but a new purpose makes us thrive.

To be in this hostile and dangerous galaxy, there can be only one goal.

Survival.

That must always be our goal.

Adaptation, mutation and assimilation are all good, but they mean nothing if we are but dust and ashes.

For that reason, and that that reason only, I am picking a fight with the Imperium and all the others in this galaxy. It has always been the way of the Zerg to place themselves in situations that are less than ideal, and adapt to survive. We could always cozy up in our small corner of the galaxy, but eventually, someone will come knocking. If it came to that, I should be the one knocking.

Then there was the matter of Tyranids.

They were so much like us yet so different. Once we encounter them, it would be a true fight to the death. I see now that either I absorb their Hivemind and consume the vastness of the Tyranids, or they would devour my Swarm. I do not fancy the latter.

I must grow stronger. We must grow stronger.

Yet, I am not a fool.

I do not pick fights that I cannot win. I do not pick fights that would result in worse situation. Every attack I order in this phase of our expansion is a conclusion to that ideology. Each strike was carefully planned and considered. Every sector, subsector, solar system and planet that my Swarm assails would accumulate into a bigger picture.

Riax was one such attempt, though as in all things, something went wrong. I did not expect the Inquisition. Then again, nobody expects the Inquisition. Still, the Inquisitorial fleet under Hadrian of Ordo Xenos is fleeing this way and that as the disturbances in the Warp grows stronger as my grasp of that sector reaches deeper. Even before the discovery of Argol II and its Virus Bombs, Riax had existed on my radar quite early.

Thanks to the Maw of Kali, the Warp Storm that spreads over vast areas despite the relative weakness of its turmoils, I have found a perfect location to stymie any Imperial incursions into that region of the galaxy. While none of my enemies knew of my plans, my control of Riax sector would cut off seven more sectors from the rest of the Imperium. This valuable Warp-space corridor between the Warp Storm and the Ork infested regions, Riax stands as the only safe haven for passing ships. When I finish turning the sector into a galactic version of the Bermuda Triangle, the Imperium would lose seven whole sectors to me while unable to fashion any response for quite a long time.

Similarly, there were several other invasions that were meant to create same effect across the outer edges of the Imperium. There are regions where the Astronomicon, that blinding golden light that sears into my thoughts each time I send probes of my mind closer to Earth, is weaker than in others. It is those areas that I sought out in particular. I have sent my Swarms to several strategically critical locations such as 'Tysia Nebula' that protected the 'Azure Star Cluster' from the roaming Dark Eldar raiders, 'Furnace of Souls' which was a massive neutron star whose gravity held together fourteen surrounding solar systems from being devoured by the Warp Storm 'Adenovilia' summoned by a Greater Daemon of Nurgle, and the 'Cerberus Gates' which happened to be a Warp-stable corridor near the southern edge of the Halo Stars that allowed the Imperium access to twelve sectors beyond.

These critical locations would force the Imperium to intervene were it not for more visible strikes of targets that the Imperium may consider with greater sentimental value. One such target would be the 'Hail of Sanguina', an ion storm that has raged throughout history dividing the four Imperial sectors from the Daemon World Helspania, where some Khornate Daemon Prince of ancient origins seeks to conquer Baal, the homeworld of the Blood Angels. From what my Spylings could gather, the ancient texts studied by the scholars of Shrine World Vistona just beyond the ion storm indicate that the Daemon Prince has made a pact with a great daemon, and knowing my Warhammer 40k lore I guessed it may be the Greater Daemon Ka'Bandha. Given the vast and deep knowledge of the Protoss and the Xel'naga had about the universe, it wasn't very hard to poke a hole in that ion storm. If I could unleash the daemons through that hole toward the general direction Blood Angels, it would distract the Imperium greatly.

Yet, such were of lesser import than the real targets of the first phase.

What I really needed were staging grounds safe from the gazes of my enemies. I was building a league of a hundred worlds each full of billions upon billions of Zerg ready to pounce upon the galaxy. I know it would not be enough to overrun the galaxy, but it would be advantageous. Particularly, the worlds in the path of what I could recollect about the Tyranid invasion were of critical importance. Given the time frame, each of such worlds I would set up against the Tyranids would be filled with hundreds of billions of Zerg and using the superior technology of the Protoss and the Xel'naga, I was hoping to triumph against the Tyranids.

Had we been like the original Zerg, we would easily be crushed under the vastness of the Tyranid swarm, but my Swarm was different. Though mainly Zerg, I still had all the legacy of the Protoss and the Xel'naga. The potency of their ancient knowledge did not diminish within my hands one iota, and the meta-reality understanding of this universe that came from James Malcolm Raynor was a boon greater in value than what I had initially surmised.

I turned one of the many tentacles of my peripheral consciousness toward one such planet that I planned to use against the very first wave of Tyranids, knowing that the Ultramarines would defeat the main fleet elements of the Hivefleet Behemoth. In preparation, I have sent a special seed to this world. Led by the Hierarch Lucifer, the Satan Brood was vested with significant powers and a direct line to me. Perhaps it was a whim, but I had named several of the Brood's commanding creatures with Christian demon names. I thought it fitting.


Ultima Segmentum

Imperial Designation – Planet 3U43-T183

Zerg Designation – The Crucible

Situated somewhere between the realm of Ultramar and the mysterious Hadex Anomaly, the minor random solar system was remarked upon by the Imperium many thousands of years ago. No settlers had ever reached this system, and despite the Imperial scouts long have had this system on their most detailed maps, it was a very unremarkable. Five planets that orbited a harsh blue sun that bombarded intense level of deadly radiation over the closest three worlds were of no value to the Imperium. Not only were the first three rocky barren worlds so saturated by the radiation, it would easily melt down a tank if it could ever land.

The two outer worlds were little better in condition, but that was not much. The fifth planet was a gas giant of helium and its six moons were mostly ice. It was the fourth planet that my Satan Brood settled. The highly active volcanic planet was very much like Char back in the Starcraft Universe, though there were much coarser terrain across the seas and rivers and lakes of lava. Opening a wormhole near the edge of the solar system, the massive Satan Brood that drew a rather significant number of my creatures from the twelve home worlds of the Swarm's home region. I needed to give Satan Brood as much head start as I could, given the magnitude of tasks set before it.

As my mind washed over its creatures busy setting up their new home, the commanders of the Satan Brood felt my presence and gathered at the first Hive that had morphed. Led by the Hierarch Lucifer, there were other commanding creatures, each of them being horrific monstrosities though I had given them humanoid bodies to use if such needs arose. At that moment, however, they all received me in their natural forms of claws, fangs, chitin and carapace.

"Overmind... Welcome to your newest colony," growled Lucifer as he lowered his vaguely human-like head in reverence.

Lucifer was a massive creature, and indeed he was a powerful being among my servants. Apart from the original four human commanders such as Alena, and the Blood Master the Lord of Spylings, Lucifer ranked just below them in power. As for size, he was nearly eight meters in height and as wide and elongated as a Baneblade. He walked on his six massive legs where the two hind legs ended in thick wide hoofs, the four front legs ending like giant versions of Queen's legs. This allowed Lucifer to turn around or strafe easily without losing moving speed.

Two pairs of boney wings that ended in shorter versions of Kaiser Blades were but his basic melee weapons, and he was armed with a pair of humanoid arms of thick muscles that glowing claws as long as a length of a human forearm. The six sentient tentacle symbiotes with Psi Blade teeths and acid spits added to the danger paused by this monster that was compounded by the 'Crown of Horns', a network of twelve crystalline horns that channels Lucifer's massive psionic might.

He was truly an imposing creature who could take down whole armies by himself. Yet, he was not alone. Behind him stood four Patriarchs and two Matriarchs, all horrid in form.

-Lucifer... your realm remains small. A single world may not prove strong enough.-

"We shall rectify that matter shortly, Overmind."

-I assume that you would send them across this empty region of space?-

My psionic avatar gestured at the lesser commanders.

"Yes, Overmind. They shall be my walls and towers against the Great Devourer," answered the Hierarch.

-Hmmm... Then who among them shall be the first to encounter our greatest threat as their endless number move toward Ultramar?-

One of the Patriarchs came forward.

"I will," answered the Patriarch.

-Patriarch Ba'al... Baal-zebub, the Lord of Flies. Indeed, your Brood Lords shall play well against the numberless tides of the other swarm.-

My gaze scanned the Patriarch. He was big, as big as a fully grown Ultralisk, and he was cast in that form. In fact, he looked like an Ultralisk whose top half was replaced by three Swarm Hosts, each with a face of the Hydralisk. His four arms, two clad in Kaiser Blades and the other two ending in whip-like Thorn-Tentacles sizzling in psionic energy, were as dangerous as the scores of creatures he could spawn.

-What of the Ultramarines, and do not forget other Space Marine Chapters nearby. I shall not brook their interference. The Great Devourer must cripple Ultramar before we can strike.-

"I shall fortify our position against the Omega Marines whose home lies just beyond these stars," replied a Matriarch.

Asmodeus, the Matriarch specializing in toxic warfare and a mothering creature to hordes of Infesters and Defilers, and she bowed her worm-like body before my avatar. She was a worm, but tough and large. She looked like a millipede of steely carapace whose softer inner lining seemed to be made up of dozens of Infesters, each with their eye-less heads poking to the sides while her head that of a massive Corruptor with five massive eyes and scores of long quivering tentacles flowing down her mouth. Though she looked weak and soft, she was neither. Her regenerative powers were significant, and she could surround herself with intense poisonous gas that would heal her while breaking down her enemies. Besides, her real body that lay below the ground was capable of shooting Lurker's Subterrainean Spines amplified in size and multiplied by a factor of six.

-Do you really think you could take on a whole Space Marine Chapter?-

"They will all die and be dissolved within our bellies."

I mused. There were many tasks, and time was always a factor.

-How about the Occulus station? I want that ancient creature. Who will claim it for me?-

Lucifer turned to a creature covered in glittering pieces of metallic carapace.

-Ah... Mammon.-

"Hsss... It shall be yours... Overmind."

Patriarch Mammon was a creature of intense martial discipline but not lacking in psionic abilities either. It was a simple creature to design. I simply clad a Brutalisk in thick muscles and covered it all over with psionically-reactive carapace in scale armor. These highly metallic carapace pieces covering the creature as if it was a fish or a reptile were powerful weapons also. Using his strong psionic powers, he could fling these pieces at the enemy while charging the pieces with deadly Warp Blade of the Dark Templars, giving them strong anti-armor capacity. Replacing Brutalisk claws with Kaiser Blade and adding six Thorn-Whip Tentacles on his back was also a boost in his offensive capacity.

I resumed my gaze back upon Lucifer. These 'special' commanding creatures were far beyond the average Hierarchs, Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Others such as Zasz or Lamias looked almost same with very minor changes depending on which human commander had influenced them in their formative periods. Zasz looked like any other Hierarch based on Starcraft 2 Queen evolution but with the primary claws using Kaiser Blades and having thicker carapace while sacrificing speed. Lamias looked almost same except for the atrophied clawed legs replaced by Hydralisk-like lower body, while having stronger psionic powers in return.

-Do your missions well, and you shall see stars beyond this forsaken region of the galaxy.-

Even as my avatar slowly dissipated, Lucifer bowed again.

"We shall, Overmind. We shall never fail you."

Leaving them to their devices, my gaze roamed across the galaxy once more.


Ultima Segmentum

Civilized World - Valors End

Planet Valors End was remarkably similar to the Holy Terra in several ways. Firstly, it was the third planet orbiting a yellow sun that emitted just enough sunlight to be safe for humans, and had almost same orbital time frames as Terra. Secondly, it was only little bigger than Terra and its gravity was almost same as Terra. Thirdly, it had a single moon, though not as barren and rocky as Luna, it served as a fortress and naval base for its small defensive navy. Finally, it had very similar ratio of land to sea compared to Holy Terra's ancient times.

Oxygen rich air and fertile land made the planet an excellent choice for humans to colonize the planet, and they would certainly have done so during the early days of human expansion into the stars, but it was not to be. The only reason that this world had been colonized by mankind mere ten thousand years ago was because nobody had ventured that far out. Discovered during the later stages of the Great Crusade, the planet was one of those found, conquered and colonized by the Ultramarine Legion under the command of their Primarch Roboute Guilliman.

Perhaps it was an oversight, or perhaps it was because of the terrible Horus Heresy that began near the time of its colonization, but Valors End would not see the legendary Guilliman in his empire-building effort. The Ultramarines had set up a palpable defense system and laid down a groundwork for a long-lasting government that ran like well-oiled machine. The technology of the time allowed the Legion and the Mechanicus to establish the fifteen laser cannons on the surface of its moon around the already fortified naval fortress covered in many long-range weapons and missile launchers. Each of the original cities also maintained powerful walls reaching into the sky and dotted with numerous weapons and ramparts. The handful Manufactorums established during that ancient times allowed the united planetary government to create and maintain relatively well-armed military. However, what it lacked was a trade network to the rest of the Imperium.

Of course, amid the chaos of the Horus Heresy and other terrible events that followed since, the rest of the Imperium promptly forgot the planet, and only paid it most glancing attention during the times when they took the tithes. It's recent rediscovery and mediocre recognition happened a few thousand years ago when the Adeptus Mechanicus built the research station on planet Tyran, it proved much of a boon to the economy and moral of Valors End as manpower and resources were needed to build the mighty research station on Tyran were purchased from nearby worlds, including this sad little planet. The payment of twelve Defense Monitors was welcomed by the planet's people as a sign that the Imperium still cared for them.

Little did they know, that when the Tyranids consumed Tyran in the original Warhammer 40K history, this unremarkable world would be consumed by a small splinter fleet of the Behemoth. A smaller Hive Ship and its several hundred million passengers would quickly overcome the planet's lackluster defenses and devour the planet, only to rejoin the rest of the swarm in attacking Thandros System, to which Valors End was a neighbor.

Things had changed, however, when the Zerg came into existence in this universe. Now, the planet and its inhabitants would face a different Swarm coming to devour them.

Patriarch Ba'al descended upon the little planet.


The ancient defensive network ran by the equally ancient Cogitators sang their wrathful chorus against the invaders. The powerful laser cannons that looked into the darkened sky shot forth their bright red beams, but there were simply too many things between the planet and the moon. Though much smaller than those terrifyingly massive laser cannons built on Tyran, these laser cannons were no less dangerous to invading ships. Concentrated, these laser cannons could take out a Defense Monitor with a single coordinated shot. Yet, they were no match for the strength and the numbers of their latest invaders. Scores of Leviathans moved down toward the planet while a dozen Leviathans made for the moon and its Naval Fortress.

The handful of Techpriests commanded by Magos Fabrahim who had long resided within the darkened halls of this decrepit fortress whipped their thousand-strong Servitor army to man various turrets and weapon systems, while the members of the Skitarii guard prepared for battle. The three full companies of the planet's most elite PDF soldiers joined the Adeptus Mechanicus in their defenses. Though well-armed compared to the rest of the PDF forces, these elites were still only armed with a single lasgun with two spare batteries, a single stub gun and two magazines, and protected by a very thin version of Imperial Guard Flak Armor. The sergeants would be armed with shotguns or a chainsword, while some members carried heavy stubber as the standard heavy weapon.

The initial and critical defense of the fortress began at the long-abandoned township at the entrance of the fortress. The town's population had long been gone, and only desiccated and broken structures remained in their place like a giant haunt. Still, it proved to be a boon to the defenders. They decided to block the main road and use the two larger buildings at the bottom of the ramp reaching up to the fortress itself. The town was a neatly designed place, but it was a failed city design to have such straightforward roads and access, as evidenced by the Cadians' history. Though cracked in places and potholes were frequent, the road remained visible and reached straight out, allowing the defender's single Gryphonne IV pattern Chimera mounted with an autocannon to fire right into the oncoming enemies.

Barbed wires, tank traps, sandbags and occasional landmines were placed to block the side streets, and the defenders made ready. The desperate and screaming vox communications from the few walled towns around the populated part of the moon were quickly silenced as the Zerg forces landed. Evading the laser cannons' reach and arc, the Leviathans landed the troops just beyond the range of the cannons, giving a little time for the defenders to prepare. What was unfortunate for the defenders was that they were no match for the Zerg in any case. Not even a fully armed and prepared Imperial Guard regiment could have stopped the thousands of Zerg rushing at them, much less the Satan Brood and its highly evolved creatures.

The first to appear on the outskirt of the abandoned town was a scout force of Zerg. Led by an Overseer on low-altitude, direct-command mode, the modest Zerg forces gathered around the other end of the town. Apart from the low-flying Overseer and the lone Infester, a hundred Zerglings divided into five groups supported by two squads of ten Roaches and a single squad of ten Hydralisks made up the initial Zerg force as they detected the defenders on the other side of the town.

On the other hand, the defenders were quite numerous in number. One full company of the PDF force had set up shop while supported by the various Servitors and led by an Enginseer. Of the three hundred PDF elites divided into fifteen-men squads, five squads fielded themselves on the roofs of the buildings surrounding the main road seeking only to deal attrition damage before the Zerg could reach the main defenses. Five squads of PDF forces armed with the las-carbines placed themselves in the ruins to the north of the town as a flanking maneuver, while the remaining ten squads of PDF forces awaited their enemies.

The Overseer sensed the enemy, and while the thoughts and attention of the Patriarch and almost all of the Hiveseers was upon the planet itself, the Overseer was forced to command this scout force all alone. It's thought-process was simple. It needed to kill as many as it could before the main Zerg forces arrived. The defenders, however, needed to hold on as long as they could so that the Techpriests could conjure up some more support and heavier firepower. Another problem that both side had was the powerful area-wide refractor field that activated as soon as the Zerg scout force entered its parameters. Activated through four emitters, the shield surrounding the town was impregnable from the outside, as the emitters were connected to the primary power generator of the Naval Fortress.

While the Zerg could not destroy the emitters themselves, as these relics of the Mechanicus were made of advanced alloys covered and protected by adamantium armor plating formed with sophisticated carbon nano-weave layered between adamantium alloy and carbon-gold alloy. Wired to several capacitors, these armor plating could absorb all manner of energy, be they kinetic energy of something hitting them or thermal energy in forms of flamer and melta weapons. Not even the vaunted Power Weapons could cut through these very expensive and rare plating without considerable drain in their energy. However, guarding these emitters was a priority for the defenders and they had placed themselves in the defense of these towers, trapping the Zerg scout force with them inside.

The initiative was taken by the defenders who had seen the enemy coming and activated the prepared traps. A squad of Zerglings exploded as they trampled through a small minefield only to find a squad of PDF soldiers with lascarbines firing at the survivors from the abandoned two-story building through open windows and balconies. As they were moving through the narrower street to flank the defenders, the Zergling squad was unable to react fast enough. Unfortunately, the defenders were not fighting Zerglings from some little lost colony. These were Zerglings of the Satan Brood, and they had been modified and bred for one purpose: to win against the Tyranids.

Around this period, the main Zerg Swarm utilized a new base strain of Zerglings. Although the strains for the very original version and the previous version were kept safe on New Char, the Swarm now bred Zerglings using the Monozygot Strain. The Monozygot Strain allows for the embryo to divide early within the egg, leaving four Zerglings fully formed. The disadvantage of this strain as that the gestation period was little longer than the previous strain, and had to be adjusted without a Queen's Somatroponic Mucus that would allow the egg to develop roughly at the same pace as the previous strain of Zerglings. The previous stain, the Simplistic Mitosis Strain, which could birth between four to eight Zerglings but with some minor percentage in failure to produce a proper Zergling.

The Zerglings of Satan Brood was fed through a new strain developed just for the Brood. The Dizygotic Mitosis Strain was a little more costly to morph, but it would produce eight perfectly formed Zerglings. While this would be an overkill for other Broods who could ill-afford the immense amount of control and resources needed to gestate all Zerglings this way, it was the only choice for a Brood designed to combat the Tyranids. Using the massive crowd of Queens available within the Brood, the Satan Brood could breed billions upon billions of Zerglings within a surprisingly short amount of time. Indeed, even as the planet was bombarded below, new Hive Clusters were already being set up to produce more Zerg, including these Zerglings.

In conclusion, the devastating minefield and a hailstorm of lascarbine-fire did not wipe out these Zerglings. They all had Metabolic Boost and Hoofed Hindleg mutations, allowing the Zerglings to use both the front legs and upper claws in combat while keeping decent speed. With these mutations, Zerglings had their center of gravity moved rearward, making it more difficult to make sharp turns, but having four front claws also allowed them to scale walls that they could sink their claws in. Of the twenty Zerglings in that group, seven died from the mines, their lower halves lost in explosions while four were killed by the defenders' lascarbines. That still left nine very dangerous creatures climbing the soft brick-and-mortar walls of the abandoned residential house.

Lascarbines fired again and again, but the defenders could only manage to fell another two, allowing the remaining seven Zerglings to hack into their ranks with the two pairs of nasty claws. Their crude Flak Armor could not stand against the razor-sharp edge of the powerful bone claws of the Zerglings even without the Psi Claw mutation. Limbs and heads fell to grounds as the seven Zerglings hacked apart a full squad of fifteen PDF soldiers within few minutes, emerging from the building covered in human blood.

At the same time, another group of humans found themselves faced against the Zerg. A squad of Zerglings and one of the ten-Roach squads charged right into the defenders when they came out of a narrow street only to find themselves in another large dirt-road street and getting fired at. The lone Multi-laser Turret turned its two weapons and fired upon the Zerglings that came out first. The defenders fired their own weapons too. A squad of soldiers fired their lasguns while the two Heavy Stubbers gunners and their supporting soldiers fired their own weapons. Tungsten-coated steel bullets fired at the Roaches but they did only minor damage as the thick metallic carapace that covered the Zerg creature had been too tough for the bullets to penetrate.

The Adaptive Carapace mutation had allowed Roaches of this squad to withstand the attacks to a degree. The Multi-laser took quite a heavy toll while the Heavy Stubber made very little dent. Ignoring the relatively ineffectual attacks of the defenders, the Roach squad moved in. Acid exploded from the sacs within their spitting mechanism and six soldiers were instantly covered in acid and dissolved down into a puddle. One by one, Roaches died under the heavy fire, but the defending soldiers were died in their twos and threes. The lasgun-armed squad quickly fell to the acids, and the remaining ten men attached to the Heavy Stubber gunners were cut down by the Roaches who came close enough to melee range. Despite the Multi-laser taking out two Roaches, it was crunched up by the six remaining Roaches.

The remaining squad of Roaches and the squad of Hydralisks had located one of the four energy field emitters, and this discovery made the Overseer to drive the squads to take the emitter so that the Swarm could study such device and manipulate it. Defenders were well entrenched, however, and a lone Autocannon and a Heavy Bolter rained down heavy fire as the Roaches charged forward, blocking the attacks. Hydralisks quickly followed, firing their spines at the soldiers who hid behind the low concrete walls about a meter high. Powerful driven spines pierced the outer layer of the concrete, but they soon lost their kinetic energy and were stuck in them about half way through the thickness of the walls, and the soldiers returned fire with their lasguns and lascarbines. Hydralisks were tough though not as to the extent of the armored Roaches, and the beams of laser that struck their carapace would leave nothing but sizzling burn marks. Still, there were weaknesses such as the soft inner linings below their jaw to the base of their neck. A hunched form of a Hyralisk would protect such location, but when they reared up to fire their spines, such places were exposed and were vulnerable.

One by one, Hydralisks fell from the terrible fires of the Autocannon and the Heavy Bolter, but the Roaches finally reached the soldiers hiding behind their concrete fence. Acid streams were poured over the barricade, and dozens of soldiers fell despite their bravery. A sergeant and a half-dozen men armed with lascarbines leaped out from behind the barricade near the place that the barricade had met the wall of a ruin, and charged at the Roaches from the flank. The revving sound of the Chainword screeched through the air and struck a Roach in the face, grinding the Zerg creature's face to death. Another Roach turned and swung its axe-like scythe only to be blocked by a soldier who was struck in the chest but survived with a minor cut. Still bleeding, that brave soldier fired his lascarbine into the Roach's face on full, emptying his magazine. It managed to kill the Roach. Yet, his fellow squadmates did not fare so well. They managed to kill another Roach, but they were soon taken out by the surviving Hydralisks and other Roaches.

Still, it gave the defenders time to reload their heavy weapons. A Roach was flipped over and shattered by the point-blank shot of the Autocannon that blasted the Zerg creature into a bloody pulp. The Heavy Bolter also made a dent as their powerful explosive rounds raked across the Roaches and Hydralisks and tore them asunder. Even with their numbers depleting fast, Zerg creatures did not hesitate for a moment. With their instincts suppressed by the presence of the Overseer, the Zerg did not even flinch as their fellow creatures were torn through by explosives. Spines continued to wreak havoc upon the defenders and when the two soldiers manning the Heavy Bolter fell, soldiers began to lose hope. The lone sergeant fell next as he braved through another slaying of a Roach, only to find himself bathed in the acid of the Roach he had just driven his Chainsword through.

The gurgling screams of the melting sergeant finally broke the will of the soldiers. The Autocannon gunners were first to run, and the cannon was silenced when they stood up and turned their backs. Then other defending soldiers began to abandon the defense. They did not get very far though. Even as they ran, they were faced with a squad of Zerglings. Twenty Zerglings with Hoofed Hindleg mutation had meant four attack claws on each of the twenty Zerglings that formed this squad, and that was a hell for the thirty or so soldiers that finally abandoned the field emitter. Their screams were mixed with the sounds of slashing and spilling of blood, and soon were silenced. The remaining three Hydralisks stood guard while the two Roaches joined the Zergling squad and moved on to another target, and the Hydralisks at the emitter was soon joined by the Infester. Having greater intelligence than a Hydralisk and capable of manipulating non-Zerg technology through their mouth-tentacles, the Infester carefully touched and wrapped its tentacles around the control box of the field emitter.

The defenders were getting desperate, and they quickly withdrew to the remaining three emitters and the main defense that guarded the entrance to the fortified staircase that led to the Naval Fortress, whose mighty guns and laser cannons still filled the skies with Mutalisks corpses. Another emitter was quickly overwhelmed by two full squads of Zerglings who shredded the defenders and their Lascannon team. Yet, with the Infester dealing with the first emitter, the Overseer was forced to come to the ground to deal with the second emitter. Perhaps it should not have done so. As they were retreating, one of the defending squads saw the bulbous flying creature slowly descending. Led by one of their rare sergeants, and having formed of elite units amongst their pitiful kind, this squad was armed with two heavy weapons. A Plasma Gun and a shoulder-mounted missile launcher were their weapon to be used against light vehicles and heavy infantry, though they were faced with alien creatures that refused such classification. Still, at the command of their veteran sergeant, the two-men team loaded up their only Krak Missile while the Plasma Gun charged up its deadly firing cycle.

Even as the Overseer came closer, the Plasma Gun fired first. It was a direct hit, and it blew off left half of the Overseer's face. Its slug-like face exploded then cauterized the instant that the plasma hit it. It stumbled in the air and all of its eyes upon the fleshy round body trained upon the attacker, only to be struck by the Krak Missile that also hit the mark. As soon as the front part of the missile penetrated a little layer of the Overseer's skin, it exploded, sending a large number of smoldering metal shrapnel right into the belly of the beast. A large hole appeared on the other side, making the Overseer hollow. The creature seemed to be surprised for a moment at the attack before exploding in a shower of self-destructive implosion, as hardwired into its genetic structure. Its flesh instantly dissolved into basic amino acid and all of is DNA was lost and only thing that remained was the seething pool of blood that began to change color and the tiny shards of Khaydarin Crystal that failed to dissolve when they were ejected from the body.

In the moment that the Zerg had captured two field emitters, they were dealt a critical blow. Without the Overseer suppressing their basic instinct, the Zerg within the energy field went berserk. Zerglings in full squads fared quite well as they had a little of Ork DNA which had allowed a communal intelligence to form in large enough numbers. Called the 'Horde Instinct', a large group of Zerglings would be far more intelligent than individual Zergling even without a leader creature to relay control over them. The three Hydralisks around the Infester also survive the backlash of the Overseer's demise as the Infester, while technically not a leader creature, still managed to exert some control over such small number of creatures.


The death of an Overseer was felt by the lone Hiveseer that oversaw the conquest and the settlement of the moon. The creature who commanded only a little military force in favor of an entire swarm of Drones quickly diverted two remaining Overseers under its control toward the entrance of the Naval Fortress, accompanying them with most of its military prowess. Three hundred Zerglings, fifty Roaches, thirty Hydralisks and five Infesters were dispatched along with twenty Raptors led by Raptor Alphas, and an Ultralisk.

The Hiveseer also commandeered two Krakenlings and placed them over the dome of refractor field. Using thousands of Mutalisks and Corruptors, the Hiveseer distracted the Naval Fortress that brooked no breaching of its Void Shield. Then powerful bombardment of Crystalline Disruptor that shattered against the field of unbreakable energy shield, but the result was not the direct destruction of the emitters or the abandoned town. What it did was to weaken the surrounding soil and the thick concrete groundwork that held up the abandoned town. After a while, the soil loosened and cracks appeared within the meter-thick concrete bedrock that had prevented the Zerg from breaching the dome from beneath. Then from the edge of the town appeared a Nydus Worm that began to spew out the Zerg army inside the dome.

The dome and its defenders fell within half hour, and the Zerg Swarm began to amass near the fortified staircase blocked by the massive plasteel gates coated in adamantium and locked by enormous current of electricity that would fry anything that touched it. The defenders of that gate had fought to their bitter end, killing scores of Zerg creatures before being overwhelmed. A full squad of hardened PDF veterans charged through ranks of Zerglings with their Chainswords, while two Priests of the Ecclesiarchy tore apart several Hydralisks with their massive Eviscerators grinding their ways through the carapace and flesh. Flamers were brought to bear, including a large twin-linked Heavy Flamer set atop a low concrete mound surrounded by the elite units of the PDF armed with human-size bolters and Heavy Stubber defended the gate to the last. The twin-linked Heavy Flamer turned almost three squads of Zerglings into ashes but the Infester used their Neural Parasite, taking control of the gunner of the weapon, who then proceeded to rain down the intense flame upon his fellows, ending the siege in a heartbeat. Of course, the poor man was devoured by the Infester after that.

Even as the Patriarch Ba'al turned the planet below into a new Zerg world in a surprisingly quick pace, the forces of his Hiveseers began to swarm the moon above, also seeking to convert the mineral-rich crust of the moon into their new breeding ground. There they found a resistance still holding strong. The Naval Fortress still held its ground, relying on its Void Shield and its massive weapons. It could hold on because the Zerg paid it little heed compared to a stronger enemies on the planet below. Hundreds of thousands of PDF soldiers had fought the Zerg in a bitter but quick war that saw the actions of ancient defense network of mighty cannons, laser turrets and bastions of intricate targeting sensor systems. None could stand against the Swarm in any measurable sense, but this fortress held, for the moment. As several Hiveseers gathered together in a council of war, their combined intelligence and control began to embolden and strengthen the element of Zerg on the moon. Hive Clusters propped up upon the surface of the planet, and as the siege reached into its second week, one third of the planet and half of the moon were covered in thick layers of Creep dotted with Zerg Hive Clusters everywhere.

Only the fortress held, but the Zerg found it amusing to see the humans desperately holding on. Despair so thick within that the Hiveseers could be taste the fear of the humans. Still, they began to bombard the Void Shield with the newly arrived Banelords landing each minute through the transport Overlords then ferried through the Nydus Network. Hundreds of Banelings impacted against the shield each second, and though the power generator feeding the shield was strong, the impact feedback caused by the psionic casing surrounding the Baneling munitions of the Zerg artillery took their toll. The presence of powerful Zerg fleet element did not improve the humans' chances. A Zerg Hive Ship had been tasked for the siege, and it it fired its Baneling Cannons, and the Ultralisk-sized Banelings filled with immense psionic energy crashed into the shield, and the shield began to buckle. The laser cannons and flak turrets were glowing hot as thousands of Mutalisks, Gattlisks, Corruptors, Guardians and Devourers swarmed over the fortress. They distracted the humans from the four slowly descending Raidens who soon spread their wings and extended their enormous electromagnetic field, crackling through the Void Shield that began to flicker more frequent.

The Zerg was almost done toying with the Imperials, and they went for the jugular. The electromagnetic field of Raidens finally crippled the quadruply redundant Void Shield generator and the well-protected power generator. Without the unlimited amount of power, the gates were no longer protected by electric currents. Without that frying power of electricity, the gate buckled easily. Thousands of Zerg creatures, mostly Banelings and Zerglings sped up the staircase, followed by Hydralisks and Roaches. The defenders mounted desperate last stand, only to be overwhelmed within minutes. The last few who stood against the Zerg were the members of the Mechanicus. The Magos Technicus Fabrahim and his band of a dozen Enginseers mustered several dozen Gun Servitors, a handful of Praetorians and several squads of PDFs granted access to the holy armory of the Mechanicus.

Actually, they did quite a damage. When every member of their last PDF soldiers were armed with bolters and Plasma Guns, flamers and Meltaguns, it was not that easy for the Zerglings to rush them. The power of the Gun Servitors, each armed with a Heavy Bolter or a Plasma Cannon also did not help the Zerg. Still, the last of the defenders were shredded and sundered by the Zerg within a matter of minutes as they were literally overrun by the sheer number of Zergs. The Magos put up a good fight, killing a dozen Hydralisks with his four long and advanced Mechadendrites that were fitted with Power Swords and his own hands worked the Power Axe well. Still, he was caught in the path of an Ultralisk which crushed through the last three Gun Servitors and stomped the Magos to his death.


Ultima Segmentum

Imperial World – Veridian III

This feral world should have suffered the fate of all those swallowed up by the Tyranid Swarm, particularly when it got in the way of the Hive Fleet Kraken few hundred years from this moment. The history had turned and twisted and vomited out a new foe for this world. The Zerg had come.

The task given to the Matriarch Asmodeus was a difficult one. She had to hold back at least two Space Marine Chapters, and that did not even including the famous Ultramarines. In this region she was tasked to strike beheld two nearby Chapters: the Omega Marines and the Iron Lords. These two Chapters were strong in history and in force. She could not simply destroy them, because they had their own values in the coming wars against the Tyranids Swarm. Still, she was given leave to obliterate the two Chapters if the situation required her to do so.

In thinking to achieve her goal perfectly, she sought a way to distract the attention of these Chapters in a way that did not force a direct confrontation with them. Perhaps she should have been more thoughtful and more careful. Ignoring the fact that they did not come in aid of the Ultramarines during the first Tyrannic War was lost on her. She would regret her decision to invade Veridian so early, though her secondary task was indeed to set up a staging ground against the Hive Fleet Kraken. She was foolish indeed, despite her power.

When her Brood Fleet descended upon the feral world of Veridian, she did not expect much resistance. She was wrong. As feral as the inhabitants were, they were living on a lush world of jungle, forests and rich plains. There were almost a billion humans living across the large planet. They fought daily with the horrid insectoid predators that ruled the planet's oxygen-rich surface. Humans lived in the stone-fortress cities carved deep into the massive rock formations scattered across the planet, and they thrived. Humans fared quite well in oxygen-rich environment, though not as well as the insects. When their ancestors had first colonized the planet so many millennia ago, they had accidentally brought several insects from their cargo of Earth-bio matters such as seeds and animals. The result had been the roaming herds of wild cattle that had evolved into dangerous wild beasts and many giant insects that now reached the top of the food chain. Humans on this world were stronger too, thanks to the oxygen-rich atmosphere, but they had lost much of their technology, and now they lived in such fortress cities built into rocks.

Their conquest by the Ultramarine Legion had left a legacy and an influx of new colonists, who adapted well. Now, the humans could contend with the wild and dangerous beasts of this world using their lasguns and diamantine-coated blades. Diamantine, though rare, was found in the deep mines of this world, and thus required some supervision as to the mining and delivery of such precious mineral. A massive floating fortress-city built during the early days of the Imperium by the Mechanicus with the technology now long forgotten continued to orbit the planet. The Planetary Governor ruled from there, with his retinue of advisers and a full regiment of Imperial Guard. Traditionally, the Governor and his retinue Imperial Guard Regiment were on a rotation, every five centuries, lest the Regiment gets too lazy and the Governor too comfortable.

The stern demeanor of the Iron Lords Chapter in the vicinity had assured the compliance of the Governor, and despite being feral, the planet was quite well-managed. Asmodeus was not aware of this when she invaded. She had bad relationship with the intelligence services of Blood Master and his network of Spylings. This had led to her shunning the use of Spylings, and perhaps it was a flaw from the humans brains that fused with her Zerg brain to complete her morph, but it proved critical in her decision.

The moment that Drop Sacs rained down, the Governor immediately dispatched his Primaris Psyker and his cadre to send a distress call to the nearby Imperial forces. Governor Duane Cartwright was relatively young man in his forties, and he maintained the planet well. The message got through before the Silence could fall upon the system, and as he reached out for help, he prepared defenses. Hoping that the horrid insects and stampeding wild cattle would delay his new xeno foes, he rallied each fortress-city and prepared his Regiment of Imperial Guard for war.

The primary target of Asmodeus was a good landing spot for her new Hive Cluster, and she was too arrogant. She had heard of how quickly Ba'al had conquered his given planet, and she sought to achieve the same result without the same level of understanding of her target. Little did she know at the start that the planet was dotted with heavily automated sensor system networked around the planet to give an instantaneous information of the dangerous wildlife that infested the planet. Each sensor array was guarded by a small group of automated defenses and protected by a small Void Shield generator to defend the area. Built atop a thick ferrocrete mount that overlooked the surroundings, each sensor array could pour significant firepower to an enemy. Indeed, twelve Multi-laser Sentry Guns, six Tarantula Sentry Guns with Heavy Bolters, four Tarantula with Lascannons and a Heavy Turret mounted with a Battle Cannon could obliterate a small army, particularly if protected by the powerful Void Shield.

From the scores of sensor arrays confirming the location of his enemy's main staging ground, the Goveror Cartwright sent the armored Second Company of his Huterian 122nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment. The Huterian 122nd came from a Hive World called Huteria whose moon was a Forge World that produced a large variety of Imperial Guard vehicles including Leman Russ Conquerors and Macharius Super Heavy Tank. Being from a rich world whose culture had become an oppressively-regimented militaristic society that valued lives of its people as nothing more than a crop to be harvested and refined into perfect soldiers, these warriors were battle-hardened, stone-faced killers. The Huterians knew no music but the sounds of their marching bands, they knew no art but those glorified the war and bloody battles, and they knew no understanding of joy but to obey and to kill the enemies of mankind. They were well-armed and fed and trained. Each standard squad were given at least four support weapons as well as chainswords and bolt pistol for their sergeant and corporal.

The Huterian 122nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment had recently returned from a war against the Orks and the interfering Alpha Legion Chaos Marines, and they were given a reprieve from war for a little, given their excellent victory over the two hated enemies of mankind. Since the Huterians brooked no outsider reinforcements into any Huterian Regiment no matter how depleted their manpower maybe, the Huterian 122nd was given an influx of new recruits from their homeworld and a little time to train them. Veridian was one of their better training worlds. In fact, the planetary government of Huteria has sign a contract with Veridian governance to supply the soldiers of the defending regiment rotation so that their armored or mechanized infantry regiments could be trained on the wide fields of Veridian against the dangerous insect creatures, some of which spit acid or fire and withstand cannon shells.

The Second Company, led by Major Nikoli Sokol and his Company Commissar Anton Utkin, drove his tank columns toward the landing spot of Asmodeus' Zerg forces. Six Hatcheries were still in the early stages of morphing when the fifteen Leman Russ Conquerors appeared followed by the Macharius Tank 'Howling Horror' and twenty Chimeras full of Guardsmen. Supported by a dozen Hydra Flak Tanks and six Hellhounds, and protected by the cover fire of six Basilisks and three Manticores, the Second Company made short work of Asmodeus' forces, even killing the three Hiveseers nearby with the help of their six Vulture Gunships and a squad of Lightning fighter crafts.

Humiliated, Asmodeus sought to rectify this defeat by bringing down a Leviathan into the atmosphere, though most of her fleet still resided around a sandy desert world of Veridian system's second planet, attempting to colonize the desert world with frustrating setbacks as the thin atmosphere of the second planet was unable to withstand the sun's radiation and powerful radiation sandstorms obliterated any attempt at colonizing the planet. What she found about the defense of this feral world's orbital defense was that it was protected by a polar orbital fortress station, mostly automated but manned by a small Mechanicus team and Imperial Navy personnel. As soon as the lone Leviathan approached the planet, the orbital station unleashed its deadly cargo. While having no Defense Monitors, they had fighter squadrons instead. A dozen Starhawks and four squadrons of three Fury Interceptors attacked the Leviathan, whose bodyguard of several hundred Mutalisks, Gattlisks, Scourges, Corruptors and Devourers greeted them.

The battle above was furious. Yet, the Imperials somehow got through the blockade of lesser Zerg fliers after a wing of Faustus Interceptors blasted Corruptors and Devourers with their deadly plasma weapons. Powerful Plasma Bombs loaded on to the Starhawks rocked the face of the Leviathan, blasting apart chunks of its facial protection. Carapaces as thick as houses were torn and burned out from their places and left raw flesh that made the giant creature thrash with pain. Then having lost more than half of their number, the Imperial fighters retreated. Even as the Mutalisks and other lesser creatures chased the Imperial fighters, the orbital station unleashed its salvo of missiles and torpedoes. Scores of torpedoes exploded superheated plasma across the Leviathan's flesh, often burning through the carapace and other open wounds. Too wounded, the creature fell into the atmosphere, dropping as many Drop Sacs as it could in its death tantrum.


Thousands of Zerg landed all across the planet's surface, scattered in their drops. The Governor was quick to intercept them. He divided the First Company in three, placing one Macharius Tank in each of the three groups and sending them into combat to deal with five Zerg landings in close to each other, allowing the First Company to regroup after clearing out the landings. The Second Company was also divided into three and had them commit to a three-pronged attack against a larger targets, leaving the clean up to the Fifth Company and its Chimera-riding infantry. The Fourth Company and its Hellhound squadrons were dispatched through the jungles and the massive cedar forest to clear out the Zerg that landed in them, while the Third Company committed its Hydra Flak Tanks and Basilisks to support other companies. The Sixth and Seventh Companies were dispatched to fortress cities with nearby Zerg landings, fending off the frenzied attacks by the aliens.

Asmodeus fumed. She dispatched five remaining Leviathans and several attack vessels toward the planet while the rest of her real Brood Fleet to transit to the solar system. As the frequent solar flares continued to disrupt her command of the vanguard fleet through the distance of the vast space, she decided to commit her full force. From the Crucible, her Brood Fleet departed as the Hierarch Lucifer gazed disapprovingly at her hasty departure. She had stuck around at the Crucible unlike her brothers and sisters. Patriarchs Ba'al and Mammon, Belphegor and the Matriarch Moloch, and the Lucifer's second-in-command Patriarch Belial had all left for their assigned planets and solar systems. Asmodeus was arrogant to the extreme, and Lucifer could already feel the meaningless deaths at her failures.

As the Silence cast by the commanders of the Zerg Swarm grew stronger, the impact of that oppression could be felt in the Warp. This caused Asmodeus a problem that she did not expect. Unlike her brothers and sisters who had already arrived at their destination and cast their own fields of massive suppression among the currents of the Warp, she was now interrupted with grave turbulence so rough that her own field of Silence was interrupted too often. Yet, without her oppressive shadow, her main Brood Fleet could not move toward Veridian, as the unreality knocked at the thin veil of reality and threatened to disrupt Zerg's way of FTL. Only the powerful and ancient technological advances of the Protoss could cross such turbulence in the Immaterium, and even they would be forced to rely on a powerful beacon of Khala. Without such beacon, there was no way that Asmodeus could cross that space with the normal FTL method, the same method shared with the Terrans or the Protoss fleet on their 'short jumps'. Wormholes, the primary Zerg FTL method, was beyond her skills and knowledge, and she was forced to resort to slower travels.

Days passed as the advanced vanguard of Asmodeus' section of the Satan Brood continued to fight against the Huterian 122nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment and the aggressive PDF armies of steel-armored riflemen. Each day, thousands of Drop Sacs landed only to be destroyed by the defenders. With the Governor's floating fortress taking more aggressive approach by using its laser cannons and the separately-powered turret of twin-linked Turbo-laser Destructor on its underbelly, the Zerg landing parties saw not much victory. Although some Zergs managed to hide in the deepest jungles and roughest mountains, they amounted to very little threat. Still, each day was a challenge for the defenders. Casualty began to mount slowly, and the orbital fortress station on its northern pole had soon spent all of its fighter compliments, and was resorted to occasional torpedoes and missiles. Still, the defenders exacted grave toll upon their attacks.

Asmodeus was right in some ways that her Zerg would overwhelm the defenders no matter what. The five Leviathans remaining from the vanguard fleet were careful enough not to get shot down by remaining in the southern hemisphere, though the rough seas and lack of any sizable landmass was a headache for the Hiveseers in command. Still, they began to land all over the planet, including the southern islands. Intercontinental missiles would sometimes rain down from the Governor's floating fortress, but there were islands enough to build several Hive Clusters. From there, the Hiveseers began to morph the normally dormant strains of Zerg creatures. They spawned Hydrolisks, aquatic Krakenlisks and modified Zerglings whose hind legs were redesigned with long toes and membrane between the toes to work as flappers. Hundreds of these creatures began to crawl in the violent seas of Veridian, fighting and killing so many of the planet's dangerous aquatic lifeforms.

As the days passed into weeks, the defenders began to show signs of exhaustion. Their munitions began to run low as the planet did not have the means to replace them except for the crude rifle rounds for the locally produced long bolt-action rifles. Since the Zerg Drop Sacs never stopped raining down, the defenders had no option but to blast them. More and more, the defenders began to favor laser-based weapons as they did not require munitions, and recharge for the energy could be fulfilled from the power generators of the floating fortress. Then as the second week faded into another tiresome whack-a-mole, the Imperial reinforcement had arrived.


The Iron Lords Battlebarge 'Steel and Blade', the Lunar-class Cruiser 'Invictus Solaris', the Dictator-class Cruiser 'Impudis Gladiis' and their small number of escorts had arrive. The Iron Lords Chapter had committed two full companies to this action against an unknown xeno attackers, while the sector command reinforced Veridian with Huterian 53rd Heavy Infantry Regiment and Haxli 31st Buccaneers Regiment. Drop Pods rained down on the handful of Hive Clusters that managed to survive the landfall on the mainland while Thunderhawks delivered their payloads of bombs upon the Zerg groups as well as their Space Marines. The Haxli 31st Buccaneers landed across the coastal regions of the main continent and set up defenses, for such pitched battle was their specialty, given the six thousand years of being under siege from Orks on their home, the Death World of Haxli. While the Huterian 53rd Heavy Infantry relieved their beleaguered comrades, the Space Marines drove back the Zerg on the mainland.

When the Chapter's Librarians had warned of an oppressing silence in the Warp that neared them with each passing moment, the defenders readied themselves. Each fortress city carved into the bedrocks of the mountains were fortified with the numerous guns and munitions ferried from the ships, while the floating fortress was repaired to its top shape, and several types of weapons long-thought dormant were brought back online with additional power generators. The Imperial fleet had chased the fleeing Zerg fleet and obliterated them, despite losing two escorts to the Raidens and Krakenlisks.

Asmodeus seethed with frustration as she felt her vanguard die. She exited to the real-space full two planetary days later, and she was confronted with a well-armed and defended planet. She vented her rage at the planet. Even her small slice of the Satan Brood was massive. Three Hive Ships, thirty Leviathans, a hundred Mots, thirty Raidens, fifty Krakenlings and ten Krakenlisks approached Veridian clad in a massive cloud of lesser Zerg fliers in their hundreds of thousands. The Imperial fleet collided with the oncoming Zerg fleet, and they fired everything they had. Torpedoes were fired by their hundreds while missiles were fired in their thousands. Scores of fighter squadrons zoomed around the Imperial fleet, fighting off waves of Zerg fliers. Corruptors and Devourers vomited out their deadly and disruptive mucus at the larger ships while the Scourges and Mutalisk strains smashed into the fighters and bombers. Guardians and Brood Lords fought against the escorts and defending weapon turrets of the larger ships, sending waves of acid spores and Broodlings. Servitors armed with guns and weapons poured out from every open hatches and drove off the rain of Broodlings bent on crippling the defensive turrets.

Krakenlisks grabbed on to the escorts and shredded them while blowing them up from inside using their powerful Prismatic Beams, while the escorts fired their cannons, missiles and Lances. Krakenlisks and Krakenlings blew up while the Imperial ships were torn apart piece by piece. Dozens of Mots were turned to cindered as they charged at the large ships. The surviving Mots attached themselves on the ships, and pierced through the thick armored hull and spewed out their deadly cargo. The outer sections of 'Invictus Solaris' were soon flooded with toxic miasma and every all and floor were covered in Creep, and bands of Infesteds roamed its hallways. The naval Armsmen and few of the Haxli Buccaneers took to their stations and fought back the Zerg that began to infest the ship. Lasguns, shotguns, bolt pistols, flamers and plasma guns were brought to bear while the Heavy Bolter teams were dispatched to each section of the breached area to cordon off the attackers. Hundreds of Zerglings, Banelings and thousands of Infesteds flooded the corridors and they were met in kind by the thousands of defenders, including the hundreds of thousands of slave, serfs and indentured servants who were given the most basic arms to defend the ship.

Bio-rifles of the Infesteds spewed out finger-sized spines at incredible velocity and tore apart the weak slaves clad in nothing but the most generic cloth around their private parts while the Guardsmen and Armsmen used the cannon-fodders to buy time and advantageous positions. Lasguns were fired into the faces of Infesteds vague shapes while Zerglings with four attack claws clashed against the Chainsword-wielding Haxli Buccaneers, both in dire struggle for blood. Banelings exploded here and there, and covered men with flesh-eating acid, while the flamers sheathed entire corridors with searing fire. Bones were broken and heads were rollings, while carapace buckled and ichor-like blood were spilled.

Raidens too did their work, sending forth waves of lightning storms or sending forth Warp-rifts. The defenders and attackers alike were suddenly faced with scores of Warp rifts tearing through the reality and spewing out Daemons of Chaos. Nurglings crawled out from the walls, turning the Guardsmen into balls of pus and Zerglings writhing in agony as their blood turned into flesh-eating necrotic liquid. Daemonettes jumped out from middle of a skirmish and sang their beautifully haunting song that dissolved the brains of their listeners before the clawed hands of the Slaanesh's handmaidens shredded them apart. Horrors of Tzeentch came out every place, both within and without the ships, and they threw their malicious fireballs at everyone. Bloodletters poured out in droves, skewering everything in their path with their Hellblades and severing heads.

Imperials fought back too. Dictator-class Cruiser 'Impudis Gladiis' sent forth so many fighters and bombers that a path was cleared toward a group of four Leviathans, and nuclear missiles slammed into the giant bio-ships. The Leviathans screamed as they exploded, killing the hundreds of millions of Zerg packed into their bellies. The Battlebarge of the Iron Lords had her escort clear a path toward a Hive Ship, and fired its deadly broadside cannons, blowing off chunks of carapace and armor off the massive ships, despite the huge Baneling Cannons slamming their insane living munitions against the Void Shield. Even as the nuclear missiles of the Impudis Gladiis shattered four Leviathans, the Battlebarge launched three Caestus Assault Rams and ten Boarding Torpedoes right into the gaping wound of the Hive Ship following a barrage of missiles and torpedoes. Even as the torpedoes and missiles shattered across the surface of the Hive Ship, the insertion teams made it through. The Boarding Torpedoes slammed right through the wound and introduced the fear of Melta Bombs to the Zerg. Entire sections of the Hive Ship melted away in the explosion, leaving open even larger and cauterized wound for the Caestus Assault Rams to slam into.

The three squads of Iron Lord Space Marines disembarked. Six Terminators, a Librarian, two combat-squads of Vanguard and Sternguard Veterans, and a squad of Tactical marines came out from the ram ships. They had brought the Librarian as they did not know of the Hive Ship's interior, as their sensors could only pierce the most exterior of the bio ship. Since they were fighting a living ship, they could not properly locate the power source or other main systems using the traditional auspex scanners. The Librarian quickly found that the interior of the Zerg ship was utterly free of any daemonic whispers. In fact, it was pure calm Warp like he had never experience. He could delve deep into his mind and dredge up most fearsome of powers without too much strain. He did not need to devote significant focus and mental powers to block out the daemons. He could do as he will, and he did by shredding and searing a new corridor directly through to the heart of the vessel. Thousands of Broodlings came from every wounded vein and tubes, but the Space Marines were determined.

They caused grave damage to the Hive Ship was they made their way through the depth of the ship. They found one of the Hatchery Chambers, tended to by dozens of Queens looking after fifty Hatcheries growing withing the ship. Hundreds of eggs were full of growing creatures, but they were no match against a Space Marine Librarian unleashed. Originating from the Iron Hands, the Iron Lords could perform similar psychic powers as their progenitors. The Librarian shot forth the psychic ability to 'Punish the Weak' again and again. Giant ball of pure force caused a tornado of destruction through the walls within the Hive Ship. Scores of Hydralisks and Roaches woke from their chambers and rushed at the Space Marines, only to be pummeled by the supporting Space Marines, task made easier after the Librarian cast the 'Deus Ex Ferrum', and fortified their constitution against attacks. Soon, the Space Marines encountered Ultralisks and waves of Zerglings as well as more advanced Zerg creatures, but so many were turned to dust by the Librarian's powers.

Unfortunately, the Space Marine Librarian could not keep it up. Eventually, he tired. Even without the usual perils that he guarded against, he was taxing himself too much. One by one, the Iron Lords were overwhelmed. A Terminator was torn to pieces by a dozen Raptors whose Psi Claws made short work of the massive armor. The Tactical Marine with flamer was caught by the explosion of his own fuel tank when a shot of spine tore apart the Prometheum tank of his weapon. A Vanguard Veteran was skewered by a Spine Crawler after being pinned down by scores of Zerglings. He had caused the deaths of almost a hundred Zerglings by himself, but he was overwhelmed. A Sternguard Veteran was lost when his Combi-Plasma Gun exploded in his hand, crippling him. His armor saved his life, but his left hand was blown to his bones, and Zerglings rushed him. Like a true veteran, the Sternguard defended himself with his combat knife, killing a dozen Zerglings before losing his head to a Hydralisk's claws.

Dragging the exhausted Librarian, the Space Marines decided to retreat, since they had already placed several powerful Teleport Homers, hidden over by a flap of loose skin or a dead Zerg creature. The sergeant of the Tactical Squad soon fell as he hacked and slashed dozens of Roachs and Hydralisks with his Power Sword. A Tactical Marine blocked the bone-framed doorway for his team to retreat, holding back a torrent of Zerg creatures. He fell with dozens of spines stuck to his body and his armor slowly melting from the acid. The Assault Terminator and the Terminator with a Chainfist and an Assault Cannon defiantly stood against their enemies in a final stage of their retreat. The Assault Terminator batted asides hundreds of Zerglings with his Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield, while the other Terminator spent his bullets upon the face of an Ultralisk that had chased them, and killed the creature with a final swipe of his Chainfist. When they finally signaled for extraction, the teleportation device within the Battlebarge strained to cope with everything at once.

Of the six Terminators sent, three had fallen and though they attempted their best, only two of the fallen could be recovered, while the Tactical Marine with the flamer, the Tactical Marine who blocked the door and the Vanguard Veteran could not be retrieved with the teleporter. However, in return for such insult, they had teleported many Melta Bombs to the location of the Teleport Homers. The explosion buckled the Hive Ship was the damage sustained from within was too much. Though it did not die, it was so wounded that it entered a hibernation and most of its systems went into a deep slumber while the Queens inside attempted to revive the ship using their rejuvenating mucus.

Yet, the Imperial fleet had to retreat, their enemy too strong and too numerous to overcome. They retreated back around the orbital station, whose weapons augmented their firepower enough to force the Zerg fleet to stay away. Now locked into a war that she did not expect, Asmodeus was nearly driven insane with rage before Lucifer intervened. He severed her connection to the Overmind, her body falling into a deep sleep as she was thrust back into the real brains back on New Char, to be dealt with by the Overmind. Instead, Lucifer requested and was granted a new mind to take the name Asmodeus.

The new Asmodeus had much work to do, fighting against the Iron Lords and the Imperial reinforcements slowly coming toward this feral world. She had to win, and she had to defeat the Imperials.


END OF CHAPTER 55