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I don't know if the destruction of the Ork camp was what had brought me a period of peace but a few weeks went by without incident. I had expanded the bunker lines distances from the center and the feeding tendril of the Biocruiser had arrived in that time. It started out no thicker than the surrounding trees yet rapidly grew over a week to become as wide as a tank and forming reclamation pools. I threw any excess foliage into it and felt confident enough to call my Tyranid omnivores as the sheer lack of meat didn't seem to cause any malnutrition, yet they are all steadily gaining mass so I'd have to find a good balance for eating here. I also had them and my reinforcements working almost day and night to clear out as much foliage and trees as they could to remove as much cover an attacking force could us. The Cruiser had begun leeching minerals from the soil, I noted as my patch of tree gradually looked more sickly and the grass around it died. More bunkers with wider viewports and hidden trenches Between all three layers of my defenses. Spore mines were better packed into the soil and spread out to better maximize their use.
I now planned to have them detonated in stages. So that even if a large group was blasted like last time the next wave wouldn't be in the clear. Spawning pools were underway and more Gaunts of all three variants as well as half a dozen packs of Renveners were down here. Dugouts for my Centaurs existed to better hide themselves behind any of the bunkers. Even another melee focus Tyranid Warrior to keep my eyes and ears at the front in case an attack would come from different sides. The size this place had become would make me trying to command on my own impractical.
When I wasn't doing that I was getting Absalom and my new home ready. Which was a dugout bunker with a double-layer log roof and large piles of dirt in a circle around it. I realized that if any Orks decided to shell us just standing out in the open would be an issue. Absalom had collected rocks and sap from around and made an impromptu chess- or regicide board for us to play on. We both sucked at it, and I know for a fact that the man didn't even know all the rules of the game as I did. Still, it helped break up the monotony of the past months. Food had steadily changed to include whatever edible fruits I could test and determine were safe, yeah I tested everything before letting Absalom touch it. We couldn't make a fire to roast any animal's meat though, although it likely would've been quite plain without spices. I'd need to find a way to get these grown without the Biocruiser leeching all the minerals from the soil, otherwise farming would be impossible.
My Greenskins weren't growing too good here either. Likely because the feeding tendril was soaking up minerals from the soil and that ended up including them apparently, they were fungus clinging to the soil. I had one dug up and while I wasn't an expert on this sort of thing but they too looked sickly. The ones at the fallen Ork camp were far better, of course, and I expected more boys and Gretchen before the week was out. The past week saw mostly packs of Gretchen with many limbs and bulging heads. They waddled around collecting whatever they could find to make... Whatever it was they were trying to make I didn't look into that at the time. It was only when the first boys emerged from the ground did I come over with an entourage of bodyguards.
I said hi, they called me boss and my telepathic connection included them as well. They acted as of a thin armed slightly round-bellied twenty-year-old man was their Warboss and didn't ever try challenging that fact. So with plesenties taken care of and confirmation they were under my command I let them be with the scrap and to cobble together what they could. It was clear to me that I wasn't going to be taking bodies back to grow at the landing zone. So leaving bodies after battles to just grow where they were was how this was gonna go. Feeding them would be a challenge unless some Genestealer eating Squig is made.
Which I was just going to assume it wasn't, with my track record with luck.
My Genestealers were doing a fine job cultivating them. Which just means watching over them to report when one emerged from the ground and how well they were using the scrap to make weapons. I was basically just going to see what they did and interacted with one another for now.
Speaking of Orks, although I had reinforced my bunkers and expanded my defenses in preparation for any Ork band to come, none did.
No horde or even pack of Greenskins ever came to wipe me off the map or even near this location. In fact, my Lictors only ever reported back piles of dead Orks, sometimes small groups a few large piles. Although I've long since forgone trusting their ability to scale things correctly. I dont even think this is a Death World, after all, there were dangerous predators out here sure. Large reptilian creatures about the height of my Lictors but thinner roamed in small packs here and there. They looked like Velociraptors but that was it for dangerous creatures, any other wildlife wasn't too bad to encounter. This was a jungle world certainly but lacked any of the dangers to constitute it as a Death World. I'd more call it a paradise world, although I don't know much lore about them so it could just be a really nice planet.
"Then what happened to the colonists that came here...?"
At first, I had assumed the Orks had killed them but the colony mission had occurred some time ago and I had a hard time believing the Orks on this world wouldn't have torn apart large sections of the wilderness to be noticed from space. Yet the Cruiser and my FTL ships all noted nothing but lush green jungles and blue oceans. Also, where are the other camps? Or is are pretty much in a constant state of fighting and the ballistics and explosives these guys had spoken of them having serious technology. But where was their warship? Or their vehicles?
"Were the Orks here for a long time? If so then where is their industrial center or main encampment?" I was so concerned by the prospect that there could be something else that killed the colonist and at first I just presumed such a thing was gone. Then my Lictor scouts to the east were getting killed, suddenly and without warning.
"I'm pretty sure if Orks found them they would have gotten some sort of message back. Would Orks even be able to spot a creature with chameleon camouflage and built for stealth?" There had to be something out there and possibly stationed to the north and I did not like how I didn't know what it was. Ork Kommandos crossed my mind but it was just one flimsy theory.
Instead of sending more scouts to figure this out, I was going personally with a vanguard of Horma and Termagaunts, Renveners, plus one of my Tyranid Warriors. I was going personally because I wanted to see what this threat could be and knew I couldn't rely on Lictors alone to give me accurate information. Nor did I trust the range of my telepathy with the synapse creature to hold. Psychic abilities like that do lose their effectiveness with extended range, or at least that's the impression I would get from the lore.
"How many shall you take on this expedition?" Absalom inquired the moment I mentioned it. I moved my pawn, or the closest equivalent to one we made, to his end of the board and got my queen back.
"At least a third of the Gaunts and half the Renveners."
"Will that be enough to devour whatever lies to the north?" He moved a Bishop next to the king I had checked. If I took it then his king could kill my queen next move to I had to pull back or risk losing her again. I focused more on the game and tried to ignore the 'devour' part of what he said.
These past few weeks I started noticing a slight change in his behavior. Absalom started taking orders more easily like the other Hybrids did and began looking at me with more and more reverence like Norma did. The Genestealer infection seemed to either alter his mind or Absalom was just slowly learning to defer to my orders more. I hoped for the ladder.
"It's mainly just to find out what's able to kill all my scouts then I'll gather a real army to deal with it." I lost my queen to a castle I didn't realize had lined up in that direction. Despite playing this game constantly rounds always started out fast with both of us losing units rapidly and then slowly teetering out in long slugfests like this. "It's going to be dangerous but I've got to deal with this."
And I ignored that little thing in the back of Absalom's head telling him to be more subtle in giving me a chance. I wasn't about to believe that even with him trying to hand be a victory I was still botching it up.
"Is that all you will bring Michael? Surely more guards would be needed?"
"I'll be fine, just drop it Absalom." His concerns were nice but as always unneeded.
"Might as well finish this game, I'll be walking for a day or so out there into hostile territory."
Rising early became easier and easier as time went on here. In spite of the constantly moving Centaurs and Gaunts moving materials around and the drop zone marked by the much there occasionally have a pod hit. I didn't have to do much throughout the day other than determining if a fruit was editable or handed out and adjusting orders accordingly for my brood. So going to bed early became the norm for me.
A strong sense of familiarity crossed over me as we moved through the thick foliage. A circle of Gaunts and Renveners maintained the most even formation around me. Except unlike Typhon I had body armor in addition to the lasguns crossed on my back. Not that I had the remotest intention of using it but Absalom was quite insistent I take it even if I wasn't going to keep the helmet. That thing was so heavy for some reason.
"The heat is already a bit much with the armor on, I don't need more with my head." Besides I had eighteen Renveners and four of their alphas towering around. If anybody was going to notice and shoot at us it would be at them, or the towering Tyranid Warrior, and not the guy riding the Hormagaunt. The trek through the jungle was fairly quick until we got a certain distance I knew little about. A dozen or so miles away and while not as close as the Ork camp was, the danger could creep in when never it liked.
Once this new danger and positively identified and dealt with I could start scouting around for a proper place to live. The landing zone was being leeched of any minerals for the fruit-bearing trees and bushes I knew would be cultivated to grow properly. Yet
It was then I began to get cold feet about this, cause my plan was kind of hinging on the idea that whatever was out here would fine me. Then I'd see what it was and deal with it accordingly. It was a very reactionary aspect to a seemingly proactive plan. There were too many unknowns that I didn't like, what was up with this decent planet and what happened to the colonists? I was certain the Orks had to have landed here not too long ago but what's been keeping them in check?
The early midday sunrays were passing through the canopy of leaves when my Gaunts began to smell spilled ichor. At least that's the report I was getting from them and I had a few bolt towards the location. Sure enough, I found the body of one of my Lictors. It was still there even though it was clearly dead for a week. However, as my bodyguards surrounded me and I had a better chance to check out the body I noted something weird. This thing was in my direct path, perfectly east of my landing zone, and was just sitting in the middle of the foliage for some reason. In fact, it really shouldn't be here, I was pretty sure the losses happen at least a day's march from my edge of the landing zone yet this was fairly close.
At first I thought some animals had tried eating the body. Yet as I looked at it more and more, it seems like it was dragged here deliberately but not by something looking to eat it. Like the Lictor's corpse had been dragged over here a few being killed and laid on its back then smoothed out the ground. The why part still alluded to me.
"It couldn't be Orks they'd rip this thing a part with blades or guns. Actually are there any bullet holes?" I checked the large form of the Lictor and didn't find anything until the head. Dead center on the forehead was a hole, with the diameter of my thumb. I wanted to see if it extended to the backside to see if there was a bullet lodged there or if this was caused by a weapon.
I tried pulling it over but I lacked the strength and had my synapse creature do it. Instead of checking the back of its head I instead focused on a white object that looked to be attached to its back. It was a circular disk of some kind about the size of a frisbee but bulged slightly at its center and a blue blinking light...
"Huh, this kind of looking like a bomb in a way..." I stared dumbly at it for a few more seconds before common sense walked up and smacked me across the face like Will Smith.
"Oh God! That is a bomb!" The Warrior dropped the body and I pretty much leaped into its arms. As it carried me away from the device Gaunts of both variants and a Renvener or two all leaped onto the Lictor's form as I hastily instructed them to do so. More would have done so had the explosive not gone off and sent everyone tossing away. The Tyranid Warrior only really got a yard away before the blast and used its other, blade-holding hands to awkwardly halt its body from crushing me.
Purple ichor, bits of carapace, arms, legs, blades, and organic rifles sprinkled around us for a few seconds before it was clear. I still waited underneath my impromptu shield, letting the beating of my heart calm. The Synapse creature could sense I was in distress and stilled itself, holding me tight in an almost human gesture of comfort. But it was likely doing it because it could sense how much I wanted something along these lines. Soon enough the adrenaline pumped into my veins dissipated and I relaxed out of the 'hug'.
Two Renveners were lost, seven Termagants, and three Hormagaunts. The ones unable to leap onto the pile but were close got caught in the hail of body parts. I could sense a few blinded from their proximity, the reclamation pool would be all that awaited them. Order reasserted itself fast here as many crowded around whichever sergeant was closet and formed packs to Guard the area. I sighed and knew full well we weren't dealing with Orks, this was too clever for that.
Someone knew Lictors leave a scent for others to follow and likely assumed some would come over to blow up. Or take the body to the reclamation pool then have it explode then...
"Actually why did it just blow up, if it was proximity or motion-sensitive then how come it-" I wanted to groan out loud as I sensed a figure rushing over.
"Michael!" Absalom hardly needed to speak for his presence to be known to me. I thought he would follow my orders better but clearly there was still a part of him following that 'we are a family thing'. Perhaps there was a hint I missed yesterday, something kept allowing him to justify my orders, I guess I'm not as mind controlling as the Brood mind usually is. A slightly comforting thought really
I turned to face the quickly approaching figure and that inadvertently saved my life.
A think blue beam of sheering light flew past my head, taking most of my left ear off and singing my cheek. Immediately I cried out in pain and dropped to the floor, clutching the injury. I barely registered how the Tyranid Warrior roared and every Termagant that still could, turned almost as one to open fire. Soon enough I looked back to see them unloading spikes into the branches to the east. They didn't have a clear target but with the sheer volume of fire they were sending out meant whoever shot at me was going to be hit. Sure enough, before my synapse creature and several Renveners cluster around me, I saw a body fall from the branches to the jungle floor.
"Michael!" Absalom was somehow able to slip between the Renveners and couched down beside me. "Are you alright? How is-" He tried to pull the hand away to check but I swatted him away. Telepathically telling him to sit his ass down and be quiet. I moved carefully with my three hundred and sixty-degree shields covering me as we approached the corpse. Leaving the group and stepping in front of the Tyranid Warrior tried to rationalize it in any way that would make my situation untrue.
But the lush jungle free of dangers, a colony that seemed to just vanish, the sheer lack of any mass cities, and the elder body at my feet all points to one thing.
"I am on a Maiden World." I said aloud, finally acknowledging it. One that was likely under attack by Orks. Which partially explains why I never notice them or they didn't attack me as they were all probably hiding from the Orks in Guerilla warfare.
The delay of the bomb and this sniper waiting to shoot me instead of the synaptic creature was probably this guy confused then susing out me as the figurehead or as someone important-
There was no time to think about this further as the Tyranid Warrior snatched me back and I was alerted through our connection of an attack party. More Eldar Exodites fired from behind trees a serious distance east, dozens upon dozens of discs from their rifles pecked at the back of my field commander. They weren't pressing into us but falling back as they fired, which was fine as I didn't want them chasing me into a confrontation.
This was a fight I didn't need right now nor wanted to win. So a general retreat order was given to most of my brood. I ordered twenty of my Hormagaunts surge forwards to cover our retreat. My Termagants sending a few volleys of spikes down range to convince the exodites warriors to keep their heads down and deal with the melee warriors. Absalom was also snatched up by a Renveners, that held him like a mother to their baby if the mother was ten feet tall and had six scythe-bladed arms that is. No one stopped and I held tight as we surged back toward the landing zone.
That entire experience made me want to cry. I thought this would be our home, that I could live with a semblance of peace. But it seemed like lady luck just enjoyed letting me get comfortable before crapping in my breakfast. A quick getaway wasn't possible. I had no method of returning to the Biocruiser yet and still had few ideas as to how to fix that. Those guys knew we were here and possibly have an incline as to my importance. Lictors would need to be recalled and more sentries placed around the Ork camp.
Then my mind wandered to the Greenskins and their ability to make tech but just believing it would work. If I could get the scrap necessary then perhaps they could build me a craft to just take Absalom and I out of here. Orks were on the world and likely had to have come here in an invasion force or something. One that likely had the materials I needed, in some camps or battlefield that was likely to be around here.
"But where exactly could I go to look for them...?"
I thought back to the Eldar, they had killed all my scouts to the east. While the Ork camp was to the west. Orks don't stray far from a battle line, could it be that the Eldar were trying to lure me away from a populated area? They'd have enough with the Orks to deal with, and they mostly fell back when attacking us. If west was where the fighting took place then there is where I'll find the scrap I need for my Orks.
There will also be a lot of Eldar trying to kill anything that leaves my defensive lines. In addition to any Ork bands out there looking for a direct fight said Eldar have likely been denying them cause they are not idiots.
I groaned. "That logic wasn't that flimsy and I hate that fact."
I knew what I had to do now... unfortuantely.
