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The spawning pool raised and ripples of the greenish water flew in every direction, at the epicenter was my newest addition to the brood. The Longgaunt's new arms did as I hoped, granting the creature an easier time stabilizing the weapon to decrease the setup time by a few seconds. This might not seem like much but in a hectic battle, those seconds could mean the difference between taking a clear shot at an officer. Or missing the opportunity altogether, gave me further confidence in my plan to kill that Farseer.
I could never have too many tricks up my sleeves or carapace. The Ork genetic material would create a massive creature, slightly larger than a Lemon Russ tank, and a massive cannon protruding from its back. It would be the largest cannon I've seen fielded by the Tyranids if the imagery I was getting was correct. Certainly thicker and wider than a Centaur's cannon that's for sure. But what surprised me the most was that this thing apparently fired large Spore mines or sacks filled with a cluster of them.
"It appears the Hivemind understands the value of long-range artillery. Tyranid may have ranged weaponry but prefer to close in and rip people apart with claws, blades, and teeth." This was a template the Crusier knew of, just needed the genetic material to start forming them.
"It seems expensive with that size and the biomass needed to create its own ammo and spew out its projectiles at such a distance." Perhaps that's why the 'nids preferred melee to ranged warfare. The Centaur's cannon was fairly complex in how it worked and likely takes up a lot of resources to make it and give it the capacity to generate more ammo at the speed it needed to be effective.
"Well I'd preferred if they charged at a gun line of living bullets, tank shredding missiles, clustered of exploding traps, all the while being rained on by semi-sentient acid sacks."
Assuming they didn't divine that I was gunning for that Maiden world, the Exodies would be hard-pressed to hold back a Tyranid invasion. Especially when Orks had just wrecked their world, so if there wasn't a proper army there. It was just a matter of landing, dropping many capillary towers, and beginning the construction of a massive trench network around them. Layers of defenses like the first time I was there just on a grander scale. Bunkers to mass Termagaunts and provide cover for Centaurs, loads of Spore Mines buried beneath the dirt, sniper nests. Plus team of Lictors and Longgaunts ranging ahead and harass enemies as they advance. Perhaps some artillery emplacements to bombard them with and to keep them from establishing such positions uncontested. A fleet in the upper atmosphere with drop pods filled with reinforcements to plug in any gaps they make could work to make dislodging us even harder. Any losses I take in a defensive battle can easily be pulled back into reclamation pools and recycled to make more units. So long as I win the engagement, what I'd lose can be quickly melted down into more biomass for the brood. Might even get more biomass as the enemy brings their bodies to me.
"Although Iyanden having a lot of Wraith constructs would complicate things. Those wouldn't give me anything which made any offensives to grow my area of control a tad more costly."
Actually, would I even need to expand my zone of control f I just seized onto a quarter of the planet? Enough capillary towers burrowed deeply into the planet's crust and the Iyanden forces will have to either assault the towers or let the world slowly die to fuel the Tyranid menace. Something I am certain Tuirin wouldn't let me get away with obtaining the biomass to get larger and stronger. Then it's just a matter of placing myself in a seemingly vulnerable place and luring the Farseer into Longgaunt range and bam!
"A problem sorted, my journey to the east would have no consistent adversary, Absalom would be avenged."
One thing at a time, right now I needed air support or some kind of anti-air battery. Otherwise, any Eldar crafts would have free reign to strafe or bomb the everloving crap outta my trenches. Leaving anything uncontested would be exploited from every angle possible by the Eldar, that's basically what they have to do to win wars. The main issue I was encountering was simply that I didn't really have anything that could rule the skies or just contest it. Gargoyles were the only flying unit I had and even then they were better used for flying over clumps of enemies raining beetles, spikes, and spore mines over them.
"I'm still working with vessels from a shattered Hivefleet with an incomplete roster of bioforms. I added more to it and created a new warrior form, but I didn't have anything to really based a new design on. The Gargoyles were not good specimens, they might fly fast but not quickly enough for what I needed. This isn't like a video game where I can go on various missions to unlock more creatures..."
It was that last part that had my mind wandering to Starcraft 2. Specifically to the Heart of The Swarm expansion pack where you'd gain a new Zerg unit in almost every mission. Zerg were a lot like the Tyranids, I heard that Starcraft might have been a 40k game but when that was scrapped Bizzard took what was left and made their own setting with what they had. Obtaining new troop types after every fight I win could be an actual thing here. Killing Eldar gave me Zoanthropes, Orks got me this new artillery unit, and who knows what the fauna of other worlds could add to my brood.
Still, I couldn't unlock any air units at the moment. Hence my current quandary. Can I make something that flies and takes out ships? What about some kind of anti-aircraft Tyranid... Would anything like that be practical? What projective that I had could be used to fire up quickly and in such a volume that it could shoot down aircraft? Once more my head came back to the Zerg, more specifically to one unit that was such bullshit when it came to destroying enemy aerial units.
Scourges.
They were kamikaze units designed to fly into aircraft and detonate in a plasma blast. Enough of them in the right place could bring down a Battle Cruiser. Although it was unrealistic to think I could make something that effective, but maybe I could craft something similar from scratch. It would have to be small enough to be mass-produced, move swiftly, and create an explosion that could take out or damage aircraft.
No plasma explosions, while Tyranids could create a form of bioplasma, it tended to be used by larger creatures such as Hive Tyranids. But there were plenty of acids to be made if that would even work on aircraft booming through the air. Might just fly off before it could do anything... Well, what if I increased the viscosity of the acid? Made it sticky, cause I didn't need it to spread out over an area as the Spore mines did. Getting the acidity up if I could would be a must-have, heck why not make it chunky if it gets sucked into an engine? Gunk it up to reduce speed and get even more Scourges splattering over the craft, even if the glass canopy didn't break or the engine failed. The mess would prevent them from even seeing through the glass anymore, they'd be screwed and have to pull out or just crash. Even if they safely landed the ship somewhere, just imagining them having to slowly and surely remove sticky acid made me grin.
"They'd be out of action for a while."
Now there was seeding the skies with them, they couldn't live up there indefinitely. There had to be some means by which I could house and deploy them, perhaps even make more on the ground. In Heart Of The Swarm, there was one mission where the player needed to awaken Scourge nests to take out Battle Crusiers. The nests would die off once they deployed enough Scourges to take out a Battle Crusier but what if I made a nest to create, house, and release Scourges into the sky as needs be? Plant enough of them around the place and I would have defensive clouds that would contest the skies against any aircraft that dared to swoop in and rain death over my lines.
"This could work, I'd only be able to field test the concept when we've landed and eventually encountered aircraft. But if it worked out as it was in my head, this could be a sufficient anti-aircraft option."
If it worked, that was a solid if. My Scourges would make pilots second guess before going in for a bombing run. Or at the very least. Nevertheless, it seemed like this would take up the next few hours of playing around with genetics and Tyranid parts to get what I wanted outta them.
"First the Scourges then I'll see what I could make the nests out of. But what kind of base could I forge a lightning-fast creature out of?"
Well, Centaur and Longgaunt ammunition was able to make quick adjustments while going at the speed of a bullet. While they won't be going at such speeds flying through the air, their ability to think and consider where they needed to go and pinpoint known weaknesses in a target would be useful. Especially if it was working within a swarm of others, internals that would allow them to last longer was a must-have. Heart, lungs, the purple ichor Tyranids used as blood, plus a sack to hold the newest concoction of acid. Taking from the Spore mines seemed the optimum route to take here, they had all those things to live for a while.
"But what about the wings and body? It needs to fly fast and high into the sky, it gets colder the higher one goes, so they'd need to maintain body heat. Yet not have too much excess weight being placed on them, as the acid sac would do that."
Perhaps it could fly with the wings it had? Sure it used those for adjustment but maybe if I made one and had it try to fly on its own I would learn why needed to be made for adjustments. If it worked out maybe I could make modifications to the chamber that produced them for the Scourge nests.
I had a feeling this was going to be a longer process to fashioning these new bioforms. The Longgaunt was mixing and mashing body parts together, this was completely altering what something did to fit a new role. Two really, the Scourges and a nest to house and make more. It would be a long process but thankful I had months before we'd get there to see if this would even work. Once my newest creations were underway within the chambers of the pool. It would be off to that other matter.
"Learning how to swing a sword..."
If I could learn how to swing a blade from anyone, it had to be the Howling Banshee. Not just because she held decades of experience beyond any of the Guardsmen in swordplay but because she was an Eldar. It wouldn't be exact for fighting a Farseer, for starters she didn't have Psyker powers and didn't use a spear. But in terms of speed and agility, it would train my reflexes and muscle memory to adequately counter him or any other Eldar that gets in my way. So after I got a few Scourge prototypes in the cooker.
I left to take up one of the discarded wraith bone blades and call on my newest teacher to meet me in the common room. I felt the hard handle on my thick skin. My grip held firm, despite the coat of slime that accumulated over time. As this environment did to everything within. It was a testament to how well the skin could ignore slick substances when I ran my left over the side of the weapon and got so much of that gunk. That it started sliding off in long droplets even if I was only halfway along the sword's length. I still had nothing to wash it with so scraping it off with my hand was the best I could do.
"Powered weaponry can pierce just about any material so long as the powered field was on. It would be better than any organic blade the Crusier could make for me." Plus the wraith bone sword had the added benefit of not needing to be connected to my body.
I stepped around and over the empty tin cans a smaller crates that now cluttered the cargo container I was in. Into an impromptu circle by the Hybrids, our common room was the largest space we had and I didn't mind being watched by everyone. Provided they maintained the wide ring around us. I got within a yard of the Banshee, armored yet lacked a helmet, her features were that same uncanny effect I felt seeing artwork of them. The completely smooth features and perfectly angular features looking too flawless. As if I was standing across from a scaled-up doll, towering a foot over my height. She was still looking at me wondering if I was ready. So I nodded and we got started.
Both our weapons would be powered off to prevent any serious damage. Our armor was enough to protect us from glaring blows from the turned-off swords. Images of what she wanted me to do filled my mind and my right foot shifted behind me to provide support while the left stayed where it was. The point was to keep me from falling backwards or being knocked back, it restricted rapid movement a bit. But to fall over in combat was generally a death sentence. So I followed all instructions about not tensing up too much and how maintaining your balance was about preventing your mass from falling over some center or something.
Now that I was ready, she drew in her arms to hold the blade before her and an arched back. Taking up a stance that permitted a freedom to move and adjust the arms to parry or strike any chances in your opponent's stance. To test this she had me charge forwards and try striking her. Racing forwards, intent to just swing my sword and see what happened, I brought the blade over my head and down. Only to have it swatted out of the way, with her free hand lashing out to plant a palm over my chest and shove me back. Falling on my rear, she planted the tip of her sword against my neck. Her face had remained impassive as she held my gaze, an unspoken 'that was dumb, don't do it again' crossed between us before I was helped.
"Okay, I never practiced with a sword before, hand to hand I might have something to try. Yet this wasn't claws versus fists. It was-" She shot forwards and flicked her sword down, slashing at my ankles. If I had slower reflexes and she didn't been so pronounced with the motion, it might have struck true.
Instead, I leaped back and thrust the tip of the sword at her chest. Recovering faster than I presumed the Banshee shifted her whole body in an athletic move Olympic gymnasts could only dream of doing. Moving out of the way and bringing the handle down on the main joint of my arm. The one place the carapace armor didn't cover grunting at the pain that swelled there my grip loosened and found the blade being torn away. Then crossed in an X at my neck down to their hilts, her pristine expression of disdain mere inches from mine. I had rushed in instead of reestablishing my stance, that's what caused the look. She wasn't bent over but bending her knees slightly and letting the reach of the sword try and slash at my legs. It was one of the functions of her stance to be versatile and adjust the weapon and body to do what she wanted.
Little verbal communication was used and I was thankful for it, she didn't speak a lick of my language but the synaptic link made that unnecessary. I could get what she wanted to convey better than if words could be used.
I had the chance to rub my arm when she pulled away. Only accepting the weapon from the outstretched hand after I felt ready to keep getting my ass handed to me. Eying me coolly, the Eldar didn't take up a stance and instead began circling me. I turned bit by bit to keep my eyes firmly on her, determined not to be caught off guard by any tricks this was cooking up. This went on for munie before a blur of motion had her surging forwards I held my ground and tried swiping at her to dissuade the charge. But she used that to duck left and get behind me anyway, and a sharp kick to the back of my knee send me to the ground. As soon as I steadied myself on the floor a prickle on my neck told me this round was done.
It would have been better if I waited for the attack to come or struck out in a way that didn't prevent me from sweeping the sword around to respond to the dodge. Not explain which direction I was vulnerable in with every move of my body.
"Okay, well I don't exactly know how to do that." I mentally hissed back at the condensing feel of those words.
Next time I didn't even have the time to position myself before the aspect warrior stepped forward, lunging towards my head. I batted the blade aside with my left arm. More from reflex than consciously knowing the armor would be fine if I did so. Sensing my chance, I abandoned caution to the wind and swiped towards the Banshee's shoulder. The blow failed to connect as the woman twisted her body around to both side-stepped then parry the attack far to the side. My nose became the target of her hilt and it slammed into it with such force that I was shocked to find it wasn't broken. I did gush blood and I had to take a few seconds to blow out and clumsily brush my nose against the rough brown skin covering my hand.
She could have finished me off had this been a real fight. I didn't need her to remind me of that fact by pressing her weapon against my neck. Nor dragging it to force my gaze around to hers.
Combat wasn't just running in and wailing at your opponent until an attack connected. But trying to whittle through their guard and trick them into making a mistake. They would try the same so it would be in the coming days I would learn to identify what was a trap and a legetiment mistake by my opponent. Especially now that she understood my skill level, which was none at all and I decided to just filter the next bits out.
"These are going to be some long months of travel when I'm doing this. It sure as hell won't be as fun as making new bioforms for the army..."