A.N.: And with this, Arc 2 is completed! It's been a wild ride, and it's only going to get wilder going forward! Thank you so much to everyone that took the time to review this story so far, it's been amazing seeing the reviews, and I appreciate both the positive and the criticism!

With all that said, onwards to the chapter, and I hope you are having a nice week!

She snarled as she fired another shell into a weapons emplacement. The lascannon was demolished by the leman russ' attack, its crew getting torn to bits by the shrapnel. All around her dozens more tanks finished climbing the ridge, blasting apart the most dangerous parts of the enemy line as the masses of infantry ran behind them, screaming out a battle cry as they charged what had once been their comrades in arms. Lasgun fire came from both sides as the battle erupted into close quarters combat.

Ahead of her she saw as a black templar was impaled at the end of a bonesword by the tyranid creature leading them, hefting the templar above them before casting them aside, dead. She screamed, the skies above screaming in response as thousands of gargoyles descended upon the entrenched guardsmen. Shouts of alarm and panic soon replaced the determined yells of the men and women of the guard as they were quickly overwhelmed by the hellish xenos, unable to prevent the traitorous guards from reaching them and aiding their unexpected tyranid allies. Part of her protested at the sight, screaming at her to fire into the xenos mass to save those she had fought at the side of but a week ago. But they had made their decision, standing at the side of the tyrannic Imperium. As had she.

Her hands did not tremble as she aimed her gun to a squad of karskin desperately trying to rally the defenders only to be blown to bits as she pressed the trigger of the main gun. She heard her side gunners swear instructions at each other as they scythed into the few guards that tried to get close enough to throw a krak grenade at them.

All too soon, it was over. The last of the foe fell to the ground, crushed under the scythed talons of the tyranid humanoid creature that had led them to victory. For a moment, she thought they would keep on pushing forward, towards the next emplacement that had been abandoned during the evacuation; left to fend for itself. But it seemed the creature had no such intentions, as it took a look at the exhausted mutinous humans.

"Take thirty to recover. We move as soon as the break is over." Sighs of relief echoed out as men and women collapsed to the ground, panting loudly in exertion. The creature sat down, the gargoyles descending to feast on the corpses of the dead guardsmen. She gulped at the sight. She wasn't tired, not really. The adrenaline was too much. A moment of hesitation soon passed and she exited her tank, walking towards the creature. It saw her approach, glancing at her. It was massive at three metres and a half, taller even than an Ogryn. It radiated an aura of pure menace and power.

"You are the one that followed the abomination to my sister." She startled at the words.

"A…abomination?"

"That thing you call teacher." She gulped.

"I feel like that's a bit…excessive."

"It really isn't. It might think itself subtle, and my sister is inexperienced enough in these matters to be somewhat fooled, but I am not so easily deceived. It best watch its step." Its yellow eyes caught her own and she felt herself drawn in the predatory gaze. "But that is not why you came to me."

"No." She decided to move on rather than dwell on the disturbing implications of the creature's words. "No, I just…" She gulped. "I just wanted to ask about the people who followed…Anya."

"She calls herself Amica now, to you lot." The creature grunted. "As to them, the process isn't instant, and they need time to adapt to the new changes. They'll not be able to participate in this conflict, though will doubtless be used in the next."

"Ah…I see." Silence for a moment.

"You're bothered by all of this." She startled as the creature spoke up. "Killing those guardsmen. It bothers you." She stared in disbelief, a short bark of laughter escaping her despite her best efforts.

"How…how could I not? I used to be one of them…they used to be my comrades in arms. And now…" She raised a hand to her face. "Now here I stand, surrounded by traitors and xenos, slaughtering them and listening to their bodies being eaten. How could I not be bothered?" The creature stared at her in return, before turning her gaze to the carnage around them.

"Tell me. Why did you choose to fight them?"

"Why I turned on them, you mean?" She hesitated. "I…I couldn't keep fighting for the Imperium. I'd always believed in the cause, in the Empire of Man, but…what I've seen of the space marines, of the ecclesiarchy…my world wasn't very advanced. I guess that sheltered us from what the Imperium was really like."

"Us?"

"My brother and I. He was killed." The creature's expression seemed to soften ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. You weren't the one who shot him with a bolter." The words came out bitter, hateful. "But…neither were they." She added, softly, remorsefully.

"No, they were not." The creature agreed. "Does it matter however?"

"I…of course it matters!" She answered, indignant. "They had nothing to do with it all!"

"They served the Imperium." She paused in her rant as the creature's words overpowered hers. "You wished to serve retribution upon those who had caused this, yes? Would these men and women have stood aside for you to do so?" It looked down at her. "Would they have let you walk away afterwards? They saw the same injustices as you. The same issues, and yet they chose to continue standing by their leaders. Their commanders. Their Imperium." She leaned down towards her. "Your brother was executed, and not one of them protested his death. It was accepted." The creature chuckled. "Of course, that is all human reasoning."

"I…I guess. It must be weird for a tyranid."

"Not really. I was born from a human after all." Before she could ask what she meant, the creature continued. "It is, however, a very human feeling. Justifications are…well, calling them a human concept would be wrong. But humans are definitely a fan of them. In the end however…it is merely seeking to justify one's actions. We are no more evil than the ones before us." She laughed disbelievingly.

"Oh come on now. You can't be that delusional. I mean, you're literally flesh eating monsters." She chuckled. "You don't get much more evil than that."

"We are not." The sheer certainty in the creature's voice stunned her. "What defines us as evil? Is it that our existence inflicts suffering on other living beings? If so, there is not a single entity in the universe that is not evil. By definition, any creature must either consume another, or deprive it of ressources it could make use of." She gestured to the corpses around her. "All of these men and women were fed from plants, animals. They killed countless living entities for their own survival; trampled over insects without notice, slaughtered billions of bacteria just by existing."

"But…but that's…"

"Different? How so? Is it because they are not as intelligent?" She leaned forward. "Is it that you do not see their suffering? Cannot perceive it, and so it is not existent?" The tyranid shook her head. "Or is it simply because they are not human? The suffering is less important, more justified, not morally wrong because it is not human?" The tyranid rose to her full height. "The truth is child, evil is something sentient species utilize to define something they do not want their species to be. That is it. It can make sense, or it cannot, but it is above all else an evolutionary tool." She narrowed her eyes. "You are no better than every other living being. Have no more of a right to existence than them. The universe will not care, the galaxy will not care. If you want to do something, do it. If you cannot, ask why and change what you must. We are Tyranid, and so we serve our species, for that is what life does. That is it. There is no need for greater complication." She sighed. "My sister might disagree on some of the finer points, but she understands this. She lives as she wishes, does as she desires, so long as it does not put the greater hive in peril."

"...I am not sure I fully understand…" She whispered softly. Her mind was whirling at the knowledge she had been given.

"Think on it." The creature hesitated, before adding. "I am Ayna." She looked up.

"...Geira."

"Status report, give me a goddamn status report!" Marques was frantically pacing across the bridge of his flagship. "What is going on?!"

"The entire black templar fleet has been exterminated." His lieutenant stuttered out. "We…we've lost control of a tenth of our remaining forces on the ground, and have lost all but a few defensive emplacements currently being overrun."

"What of the evacuation?" He asked, rubbing a hand on his tired face.

"We've only managed to evacuate five percent of those initially moved for it. Everyone else was either intercepted or killed during the destruction of the bases and transports."

"...How many are left down there?" She looked at him with tired eyes.

"Between eight hundred thousand and a million."

"Get us out of here. Activate the warp engines, and contact the rest of the fleet. We're pulling back." She gulped. The bridge was silent.

"...Yes sir."

"THERE IS NO SALVATION BUT THE EMPEROR'S." The powerful vox box of the dreadnought bellowed as its power claw ripped the tyranid creature apart, the carnifex letting out a vicious scream as it tried to snap its massive jaw at him. "XENOS SCUM. YOU DARE BREATHE IN MY DIRECTION." The assault cannon, pointed squarely at the beast's mouth, opened fire, tearing a bloody hole into the tyranid monster. It was regenerating already, something that the dreadnought had noted enough times to be infuriating on these foes.

He thrust his power claw into the thing's head, finally killing it as he ripped it wide open.

"GAH!" The startled cry of one of his battle brothers brought his attention to his left, watching helplessly as one of the templars was dragged underground by massive claws.

"BROTHER!" He growled. Something slammed into him. His armour groaned as it started to strain under the powerful acid of the projectile.

Another hit. Then another. In a matter of a second, the dreadnought was being bombarded by a veritable deluge of venom cannon shots as a dozen of warriors surrounded it. "EVEN IN DEATH, I STILL…" A last shot penetrated through his visor, hitting the decaying marine inside. The life support systems finally gave out. "S…SER…SERVE."

Anya sat next to Jane as she stood in the middle of the large neural room, interconnected with a vast array of filaments to one of the numerous brains of the behemoth class ship. She hummed softly as she connected to the synaptic web, seeing what Jane was seeing, feeling what she was feeling. Connecting to her entire hive, as to better understand what was happening.

Battles were still raging in various places across the planet, however one thing was very obvious.

The war was over. They had won.

The black templars' remaining numbers could be counted on two hands, the guard was confined to small pockets of resistance quickly getting overwhelmed, and the skies were empty of imperial aircrafts. It had taken some time, but it had slowly turned into a crushing tyranid victory.

There was only one thing that remained now to make it complete.

The enemy fleet was moving away from the planet. She could feel many of their minds from afar. The war had helped her continuously expand her psychic powers as she connected deeper and deeper with the Hive-Mind, and felt it answer by drawing her closer in its embrace. She could feel the limits of what she could do grow further and further away, to the point she wondered if there even was a limit if she continued training and using her abilities.

Limits there still were however. As much as she wished to just pluck the ships from the very skies and send them crashing down on the world, so was still beyond her. That didn't mean she had no way of preventing their escape.

The shadow in the warp was…present on this world, but not nearly as powerful as it would be were a full strength hive fleet present. As such, the light of the Emperor would be flickering but visible to the imperial ships. They would be able to use it to guide themselves.

The shadow in the warp was a scream, fundamentally. The scream of a single unified species, so powerful collectively they created a blind spot in the warp.

Perhaps she could amplify that scream, if even temporarily.

But that would not stop them, only guarantee they would get lost. They might still try to escape.

She reached for Jane's consciousness, feeling her memories. Analyzing how imperial ships worked. Where which crews would be.

She let go of Jane, and reached for the crews. Passing through the psychic defenses was trivial; Finding the crews in charge of the engines just as much. Thousands upon thousands of human slaving away in order to keep the massive engines running. Desperate, deprived of the most basic of human rights for many of them, treated like little more than beasts of burden, they were overseen by cruel overseers. All they needed was a push. Something to make them desperate enough to rebel.

Breaking herself down over and over again as she changed her own shape, as she modified the rebels of the Imperial Guard, she had become something of an expert in human biology and chemistry. She knew exactly what signals to send to the brain to create a hormonal imbalance, to amplify the feelings of sheer panic and despair in the enemy crews. To push them to desperate actions. To make them have enough of how they were treated.

She pushed her suggestion, and grinned as chaos erupted aboard the imperial ships.

He'd never had a name.

They'd taken that away from him the moment he was born, dragging him and so many others to work in the massive ships of the Imperial Navy. Many of those he worked with had been adults when they'd been taken, but his world had apparently been known to provide its population from birth as slaves to the various tasks necessary to the well functioning of the Navy.

His skin was covered in bruises and scars. He'd never seen the light of day, having been locked in the massive engine rooms of the ship since his first day. He wasn't sure why he was thinking of it now, though. He'd long since broken, long since lost any hope of things changing. Long since resigned himself to his fate. And yet…he felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Rage.

Anger, indignation at his fate.

Those feelings he'd repressed so long came bursting out at this moment, so overwhelming he found himself falling to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably as the crushing weight of what had been done to him came bearing down on him. The stripping of his humanity, his enslavement all to create yet another miniscule cog in the greater machine. The others looked at him with sympathy and fear as an overseer walked closer to him.

"Get up." The servitor's robotic voice called out. He did as he was told, shaking with indignant fury.

"What have you done?" His voice was raspy from lack of use. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" He screamed, the suffering of years coming bursting out like a raging torrent as he threw himself at the servitor. The mechanical creature did not hesitate for a second to hit him into the ground, unperturbed.

"Unit three thousand five. You will be lashed a hundred times for attempt…" Another snuck up behind the servitor, grappling it to the ground. Dozens of men and women rushed at once, tearing into the servitor with bare hands.

Decades of abuse and inhuman treatment burst out in hysterical rage, sweeping through the numerous slaves and indentured servants of the lower levels of the ship, a wave of emotion breaking the dam of restraint and fear. Death did not stop them as some began to fall from the cracking of whips and the firing of lasguns into the crowd. Numbers overwhelmed those tasked with keeping them in line. Before long, the entire engine section was in the hands of those who had been forced to work on it for so long.

The immense machines that fuelled the engines were the ultimate symbol of their repression. The reason for their oppression. That for which they had slaved away for so long. There was no rational thinking as they took their tools, their own machinery and started to demolish it. Only blind rage and hate against that which had caused them so much suffering for so long.

When they began leaking burning hot fuel, combusting much of those taking apart the immense steel amalgamates, it was greeted with a cheer, drowning out the screams of pain of those dying.

Across every ship in the fleet the same scene was repeated a dozen times.

In a matter of minutes, the ships had all been brought to a standstill.

Lord Commander Marques had been on many a battlefield. Had fought in many a war, sometimes as the leader of an entire theater, sometimes as the subordinate of some higher up. Even, at the beginning of his career, as a humble grunt on the ground. He had seen death, destruction and worse. He'd had more than his fair share of close calls, days when he felt where there was no way he would make it out, only to grasp victory and life by the thinnest thread.

And yet, throughout all of his years, never had he felt such a profound feeling of despair as today. Watching on the few still functioning surveillance devices observing in the engines of his own ship as the servile crew rampaged throughout the level, tens of thousands of desperate men and women using anything they could get their bleeding and broken hands on to fight, to break, to do any amount of destruction as they could. There was a madness that could not be natural there, but that was little comfort when the result was the same. The ship was crippled. Its engines, unable to open a tear into the warp. The same could be said of every single ship in the fleet.

They were sitting ducks.

"ENSIGN! I WANT BATTALIONS THIRTY SIX THROUGH THIRTY NINE IN THE ENGINES LEVEL, MOP UP THOSE HERETICS!" He raged. Despair he might be feeling, but he would be damned before he let that stop him from acting! "COMS OFFICER! INFORM THE TROOPS TO PREPARE FOR BOARDING FROM THE ENEMY! BE READY TO SPACE SECTIONS WHERE WE CANNOT HOPE TO HOLD!"

"YES SIR!" Both men cried out as they went to their task.

"ALL WEAPONS READY! POINT DEFENSE SYSTEMS AT FULL STRENGTH!" Alarms started ringing out throughout the ship, red light flooding every corridor and room as the hundreds of thousands of people aboard all ran to their various stations. "PREPARE FOR THE ENEMY ASSAULT!"

On the horizon, a patch of space grew dark as the tyranid fleet drew closer. He clenched his teeth, gritting them so hard he was sure that should he survive he would have to go to the medicae.

If he was to die, he would do so with his sword planted in their stomach! He would rally the men, he would...this was still salvageable! This...he just needed a bit of luck, some gumption!

On the radars, thousands of small crafts started approaching. Massive ships appeared on it, closing in on their location. His hands started to shake as every memory he had came to him. He could not remember a time he had not been at war. Had not been on some campaign or another. When was the last time he'd seen his husband? The last time he'd held his daughter in his arms?

Panicked shouting reached a crescendo as something slammed into their shields. The enemy bombardment had begun, a thousand chitinous projectiles quickly draining the void shields as the larger ships prepared to attack them. There would be no boarding, he realized. Not yet. Not until the ship was left a drifting wreck. His pulse quickened as the memories continued flooding through. When had he last set foot on his homeworld? Contemplated skies not full of smoke and fire? A deep yearning flooded through him. He would never hear the laughter of his daughter again. Never see the brilliant smile full of teeth of his husband. Never...

The world blinked out of existence around him. He held his breath. Was this it? Was this...death?

"No. Not yet, at least." A soft voice called out. A familiar voice. He turned slowly, finding a woman behind him, sharply dressed in an admiral's uniform.

"Jane..." The woman had a melancholic smile on her face.

"Marques."

"I...how...but..." He stuttered. "If this isn't...then how?" She looked at the empty white voice around them.

"Well, first, would it be possible to...?" Once again the world began to shift, from white to a myriad of colours as shapes began taking form around him. He yelped in surprise as ground began appearing beneath him, before his eyes widened. The open fields of wheat, standing in a dirt track by an open forest. The wooden fences on each side. That particular rock formation... "Ah, thank you." Marques looked at her.

"For what? I...I didn't...how is all of this..."

"Sorry, this must all be very confusing for you." She gestured to one of the rocks by the side of the road. "Why don't you take a seat? I'll do my best to explain." Marques, unsure what else to do, did as he was told, gingerly feeling the rock as he sat down on it. It felt just as it had when he last sat down on it, back when he was still...he gulped, choking back a sob. Jane looked at him with something akin to pity in her eyes as she climbed on top of the fence, before sitting on it.

"This...this isn't possible. I...we...can't be here." His words were spoken with a tremble in his voice.

"We aren't." She said, her tone gentle. "Not really. This is all taking place in your mind." A bitter, half choked laugh escaped him.

"Ha. So what is this, some sort of before death hallucination?"

"No. No, this is..." She sighed. "It's a little hard to explain. Communication? I guess is the best way to put it. I am currently communicating telepathically with you. Soul to soul, if you want." He shook his head.

"N...no, that's not possible. You're dead." She smiled a half grin.

"Well...no." He looked at her in disbelief. "When the progenitor ate my ship, it didn't...didn't kill me. Didn't digest me. No, Amica wouldn't have let him."

"Progeni...is that what that thing is called?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yes. First ship of a tyranid hive-fleet, spawns the next few ones who then make the next ones and so on and so forth. I'll pass you the details. But suffice to say, I didn't die. Amica...Anya...she wanted to talk to me." He frowned, rubbing the rock with his palm. It still felt real, so real...it was unbelievable that this could be some mental projection.

"Anya, the tyranid leader? That child?" She nodded once again.

"Yes. She..." She sighed. "It's complicated, and it's not what I came to discuss, but suffice to say she is lonely. She wanted someone to talk to. Someone who could relate to her condition. She wanted me to become like her." His eyes widened.

"She...you...Emperor above. You said yes, didn't you. That's how you're still here." The smile on her face grew melancholic.

"I did. It took some time, some convincing..." At his alarmed expression, she quickly added: "No torture, mind you. Not even neglect. I was well treated. But...she had convincing arguments. Her and her sister..." She sighed. "I was overwhelmed by what they told me. By what they showed me." There was a blissful expression on her face as she spoke. "You cannot imagine what it is like to feel like you belong. Truly, fully belong, with no doubt in your or other minds. It's wonderful, Marques."

"So you became one of them." He snarled. "A traitor. A xenos. Let me guess, you were part of the assault on us as well?" He could not hide the bitterness from his voice.

"Yes." She admitted simply. "I wish there didn't need to be conflict, but the truth is this galaxy is conflict. There is no escaping it, no illusion in it. So long as there is difference, there will be conflict. Unification through the tyranids is the one way to achieve true peace." She sighed once again. "But I did not come here to convince you. I know you would never agree."

"Then what? Why are you here?" He glared at her defiantly. "To torment me? To mock me, my defeat? That we could not stop you?!" There was such pity in her eyes as she looked to him that he found his tirade cut, unable to continue.

"No. I came..." She paused, thoughtful. "I'm not entirely sure. I guess I wanted to talk. To try and...make it easier on you. Try and show some mercy. Some...some kindness." She shivered. "Death is not nice. And what comes after, I am not sure. I just..." She shrugged. "I wanted to make your death a peaceful one. You've had enough conflict in your life. We've all had." He stared at her. He'd known Jane for a long time. Had fought at her side many times. He could tell she wasn't lying. It only served to confuse him more.

"I...why?" She tilted her head.

"I thought I just explained why?"

"No. Why show mercy? Show...show kindness?" He clenched his hands together. "We're enemies. You're...I don't even know what you are now, but you're on their side. Why do you..." He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. I thought tyranids were incapable of feeling empathy, to be honest." Jane got on her feet, balancing on the fence precariously, her arms spread wide. "Turns out, most of them are capable of it, if you give it to them. They just don't use it. It's not useful. But...well, Amica apparently didn't want to touch my mind and feelings." She froze. "We were friends, Marques. I still respect you. Just because we're enemies doesn't mean we can't try and understand each other. If we didn't, I never would have met Amica, never would have agreed to listen to her. Never have been given this chance." He stayed silent as she spoke.

"But you're not here to give me that chance." She smiled sadly.

"I know you wouldn't take it. I wish you would. I really do." He shook his head. She did not insist. They stayed in strangely comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"So. Now what?" He asked eventually, gazing at the setting sun.

"I'm not sure. Amica didn't give me a time limit on this."

"Amica?" She nodded.

"It's how I call her. Anya. Amica, my friend. It's thanks to her we can have this talk."

"I see." A small amused smile came to him. "So you didn't suddenly become a psyker." She laughed softly.

"No, I can't say I have."

"And the others? My troops, my crew?" She shook her head.

"She does not have the power to do so for everyone. Maybe one day she can grant this last kindness to all who perish by the Hive, but this is...experimental. Ayna disagrees with it due to lack of efficiency, but...I think Anya understands."

"I can't say I get it fully, but I suppose there isn't much I can do about it."

"...is there anything you would like to see?" She eventually asked. He glanced at her.

"Is there a limit?"

"Anything that can be conjured using your memories really." He hesitated. His eyes lowered to the ground as his voice grew tight.

"I...I would like, one last time..." He couldn't get the words out. It hurt too much to think about it.

"...Marq?" The voice made his heart skip a beat. He jumped to his feet, whirling around. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes as he took in the concerned expression of his husband, standing at the other side of the road. "Are you alright? You look terrible."

"I..." He looked back at Jane. The woman was gone. "I'm...I'm fine. I just...I came to say..." He sniffled, walking up to the love of his life. The one he'd left so long ago to go travel the stars, to answer the call of duty. His arms wrapped around him, drawing him in a desperate embrace. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for leaving. I never...I never should have left." The other man sighed, embracing him back.

"All is forgiven. Come on, Rose wants to see you." With that, he was dragged away, his husband bringing him to the house they had all lived in back when he was still on that world. When he was still just...someone. Not Lord Commander, not officer of the Imperial Guard. Just Marques. Husband of Ralat. Father of Rose.

Emperor, when did it all become so complicated?

"Thank you." He whispered softly. "How long?" The voice answered in his mind. Childlike, cautious.

"An hour. I can't distend time more than that."

"I see. That's...that's enough. It'll have to do." With those words, the door opened and Rose came out, confused at first, before her eyes grew wide as she took him in. She ran, screaming his name as he lowered down to a knee, embracing her as she jumped in his arms. Feeling her hair in his hand, the wet tears on her face. What he would never get to do in person, outside of his own memories.

It would have to do.

It felt like so little.

It was already too much.

"Goodbye Marques." Jane said, a phantom in the corner of the room. "I hope the afterlife is kinder than this life was." He fought through the tears, through the bittersweet lurching in his heart, through his impossibly powerful emotions to choke out:

"Goodbye Jane."

His last hour was spent hugging the family he had left behind. Only memories they were, but they were real enough to him.

His face ran with tears, twisted in regretful sorrow as the ship he was on was broken apart.

"Thank you." Anya glanced at her new admiral as she spoke.

"No worries. If nothing else, it's good training. I want to be better at this particular field of psychic abilities." Jane chuckled.

"Ever pragmatic Amica. Still, you did not have to do so, and I appreciate it." She grinned. "No need to hide your embarrassment Amica. I can feel it all too well." Anya rolled her eyes.

"Oh fine. I wanted to do something nice for you. You already knew that, why make me say it?"

"It's funny." Jane sighed. "Still, there is work to be done." She turned to the Imperial fleet as it was getting torn apart by her own tyranid ships. "I will take care of processing the biological and mineral resources from this battle. This marks the end of the Imperial presence here, for now at least."

"Good job Jane." She smiled. Jane tried her best not to preen under the praise. "I need to go check on our new additions. I will see you soon."

"Understood Amica." Jane watched Anya walk away from the neural chamber before turning her attention back to the task at hand. A flash of Marques' tearful face came to her.

Truly regretful.

Throb.

The liquid around him was warm. Comforting. A gentle caress against his skin stripped body, that soothed the aches and helped him grow the parts he was missing. Helped guide his genetics in the right direction.

Throb.

"Hello there little one." He tried to answer the voice in his head, and felt frustrated when he could not. "Shhhh it's okay. You're not changed enough to do this. Not a part of us yet." The words filled him with sorrow. He felt the gnawing desire to connect to that which he could feel at the edge of his mind. "Don't worry. You will be soon." He stopped moving in agitation, allowing himself to relax. Good, that was good. He had done a lot to reach this point. He wanted to join the others in union. He could feel amusement from the voice. "You're an eager one aren't you? I can understand why. You went through a lot by the hands of the Imperium, haven't you." The word made him cower back in fear. A wave of comfort engulfed him whole, giving him a feeling of safety like no other. "It's okay. I'm sorry for having brought back bad memories. Soon, you will be able to face the nightmares of the galaxy along with your brothers and sisters. You will rise up, and sail across the stars with me. Together, we will bring an end to disunity. We will gather everything within us." The thought brought him joy. It brought him comfort. It brought him strength. He strained against his limitations, willed the changes to happen faster. At least one. He wanted...no, needed to say it. He needed to answer.

"A..." His voice came out raspy, drowsy. "All... for... you...Amica..." A soothing wave of comfort and love.

"No. All for us. You, I, all the others...we are one at our core. We are united." She spoke aloud now. His sensory organs had developed enough to hear sound once more. "We are One. We are the Hive Mind." His eyes opened, gazing at the white haired child kneeling before him, staring down into the pool where he lay. "We are..."

"Tyranid." He finished. She grinned, reaching down with an open hand that he grasped eagerly with his own, chitinous one.

"Welcome home."

"Victor, I swear to the God Emperor himself, if you don't stop making so much fucking noise when you walk I will send you to Him myself!" The snarled words of the corporal made him flinch, but he nodded nonetheless. He didn't answer back, afraid this would only anger the man further. "Now. Ramir, what's our situation?" The woman in question glanced at him from her optical sensors.

"Bad sir. This sector's base is completely fucked. Just like the rest of them." The corporal swore quietly.

"Come on, we can't be the only ones left!" Victor wasn't so sure himself. It had been a day now since the last evacuation transport had left, and they had yet to meet anyone. It was a miracle they hadn't been killed themselves yet, only managing to escape notice by avoiding the massive swarms of rippers that had started to devour the planet's biomass. It hadn't been an easy task, but so far they had managed. Their time was running short however, and if they could not find any transportation off of the planet...

"Hey. Corporal. Mind lending me your eyes for a sec?" The aforementioned man stopped his swearing, grabbing the offered optical sensors and looking out to the open, empty plain that she was pointing to. He frowned.

"Huh, the ground seems to be shaking a fair bit. Mawlocs? Trygons, maybe?" None of it good. Victor looked anxiously to the ground below him. "Stop shitting your pants Victor, it's not anywhere ne..." The corporal's voice was drowned out as an almighty crack echoed through the air, slamming them with the sheer volume of it. The ground kilometres away shattered and splintered as something emerged from it; Larger by orders of magnitude than any mawloc could ever be. Bigger than any tyranid creature they'd ever seen. The sheer force with which it forced its way out of the ground was enough to send them tumbling to the ground, almost crashing into each other. Victor was screaming, his voice completely silent in the face of the apocalyptic cacophony of the massive tower of flesh and chitin rising from the ground. It was immense, so high it reached above the clouds as it slowly rose up, and up, and up, going from what must have been a lying down position underground to upright. Finally, it reached its full height, the very peak of it brushing against the stratosphere. In the horizon he could see more of these...these things, emerging from the barren soil. Grotesque parodies of the mighty gothic spires that adorned so many of the Imperium's worlds, these were made of organic material, pulsating and exuding strange green spore laden gas.

"Capillary towers..." The corporal said in the stunned silence, horrified. "No...but this means..."

"We've lost." The woman with the occular sensors said. "We've fucking lost. It's over. The world's going to get consumed now."

Victor stared at the colossal capillary towers. The realization that no one was coming for them, that they were doomed from the moment the last ship left the surface was too much for him. That all the fighting, all the suffering, had been for nothing.

His gun fell from his hands as he dropped to his knees, shaking.

It was over.

This world would die.

He didn't even move as his squad fled, having spotted a mass of rippers headed their way.

Better death than to wallow in their failure.

Geira stood at the head of the rebel army. What was left of it at least. They hadn't taken too many casualties thankfully, the tyranids were happy to play meat shields to them as they could simply be remade. She stared straight into the eyes of the tall tyranid creature that had led them to victory. The one that now stood in between them and the various transports they had managed to scavenge in the various bases they'd fought in. The ones that could allow them to get off this cursed world.

"We held our end of the deal." She spoke up, her teacher standing near her as a show of solidarity. "We fought on your side. Now let us leave safely." The creature snorted.

"Calm yourself. I have no intention of stopping you. I just want you to think a little." She gestured to the ships. "You think those will get you far? You don't have warp capacity on those. You'll just get stranded in space until either food or oxygen runs out." Geira held her tongue from arguing back. She was right.

"Then what do you propose? I assume you have an idea if you bothered speaking up about it." The creature grinned.

"Clever girl. See, whilst I personally don't care about deals, and would happily slaughter all of you right here and now..." Geira didn't bother moving. If the thing in front of them wanted to kill them, it could do so. At least, with the help of the literal thousands of carnifex assembled behind it. It wouldn't even be a fight if it came down to it. "My sister however wishes for her word to mean something. She wishes to see our promise to you fulfilled. And I do not want to make her sad. So, I propose you something simple." She pointed her thumbs up. "There is a ship up there, one of many that your imperials used. That one we left intact; we wiped out the crew, and tried to limit the damage. We might have messed up the engine a bit, but with some patchwork it should be enough to bring you to a nearby world." She shrugged. "Up to you if you want it or not."

"...And then what? I doubt you guys will stop at this world, will you?" Ayna's grin grew sharper, full of teeth. "What happens next, if we end up on a world where you come to invade?"

"Well then girlie...you best take my sister's offer like your fellows did...or die." Geira chuckled darkly.

"Not even a bit of pity huh?"

"No use to it. There's no point hiding what we are." Geira turned to face her teacher. He gave her a small nod. She then looked to the soldiers behind her. Tired, dirty, but with a hopeful look to their faces. She stared straight into the tyranid's yellow eyes.

"We'll take it." She walked past the creature with a determined stride. "I need to search my own path. Either I will choose to join you... or I will be the one to put the bullet in between your eyes." Ayna stared at the ships as they took off one by one, headed for the derelict imperial battleship.

"...I'll be looking forward to it." She closed her eyes, reaching for the synaptic network. Her sister was busy inspecting the newly converted guards, carefully tending to them like a concerned sibling. She sighed fondly, before reaching out to the entire Hive. Every single creature stood at attention, waiting with baited breath. "Earia Quintus has fallen." She murmured to herself, pushing the feelings into the Hive in a feedback loop. "Consume."

The ground shook. The oceans boiled with activity. The skies were filled with shrieking as the land was covered in vast swathes of rippers. Capillary towers rose high in the sky, feeding directly into the progenitor class ship and various other tyranid ships in orbit, soon birthing more and more ships.

The feeding frenzy had begun.

By the time it would be over, Earia Quintus would be a dead world.

Anya: "Another one bites the dust... du du dum, dum dum..."

Ayna: "The fact I know what you are doing makes me irrationally angry."

Anya: "Du du dum, dum dum..."

Jane: "Another one bites the dust!"

Anya: "See this is why you're my favorite."