Warning: This story doesn't exactly follow the suit of grimdark because of the way the story may develop. If you still enjoy what you are reading then go ahead.
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Prologue
Twilight Before Dusk
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0.4+ 225 VCM.M42?. Macragge.
The sound of the recaf machine working smoothly was nothing short of a blessing in the endless grueling wrestle with paperwork. Guilliman has been at it for a long while and his constant attempts to clean up the rot and redundancy that was created by Adeptus Administratum in the last 10000 years. The mountain of papers in front of him would have otherwise sent anyone else to their early grave from shock alone but this... this is just Tuesday for him. Or at least the Macragge equivalent of Tuesday.
Guilliman sighed. This amount of repetition would drive anyone insane but he has to do everything he could to keep the Imperium from causing needless death through sheer negligence alone. Don't get him wrong, the Administratum did a phenomenal job just keeping Imperium alive but the horrifically inefficient method of storing and transporting data also inadvertently caused deaths to Imperium worlds through misinformation.
Sipping on his recaf once more, he felt like he had consumed too much caffeine to the point he feel like he could consume his own blood for the same effect as drinking recaf.
Continuing to deal with the paperwork, Guilliman also picks his moment to look over the data slate he placed along with the paperwork. It's the data of one of the major important strategic planets that he intended to invest in. The Hive Forge World of Twilight, one of the major manufacturers of plasma weaponry, Imperial Knights and Titans. All in a decent enough amount that it got its place in Absolute Strategic Value.
However, despite all of the promises it provides, it has one major flaw that could supersede all the upsides. It's the horrifically inefficient and straight-up detrimental bureaucracy on its own. With many Noble Houses vying for each other's power and plotting against one another with no qualm about the consequences of their actions. Guilliman would have already replaced those folks if it weren't for the fact that they were technically loyal to Imperium but only tenuous at best.
If there's any boogieman in Guilliman's dream, it would be the horrific and corrupted bureaucracy that the Imperium was built upon and Twilight was no different. He intended to fix that fatal flaw as fast as he could but the speed has been slow lately. Guilliman drinks the rest of the recaf then calms himself down. He has the time to expand on it, he will make sure that Twilight will be rid of its worst aspects.
Guilliman calls for an astropath so that he could communicate with the hive capital governor that planted and trained the man by himself. He had high hope for him and he believe that Twilight will finally function at its maximum capacity.
Guilliman puts his cup back at the recaf machine and continues his paperwork meanwhile. It's going to be a long day ahead of him... perhaps a long month ahead too.
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0.3- 225 VCM.M42? Twilight, Vespera Spire, Hive Capital Governor Office
Handling an ungodly amount of paperwork... Such a thing would have only been feasible by Guilliman or the Ultramarines in general. Hell, he even asks for the help of the Ultramarines that were assigned to protect him to assist with handling paperwork. Honestly, though, he wouldn't have to deal with such a ridiculous amount of it if it weren't for the Hive Nobles causing problems and shit for the sake of it. But violently removing them would only cause more problems down the line that he would rather not deal with even with his capacity.
He would honestly have died already from overwork if it weren't for Guilliman's teaching on how to efficiently work with them. What was impossible has now been reduced to brutally difficult. And as his struggles with paperwork still going on, the astropath by the governor received the message from Guilliman's side. Quick to the uptake, she notified him of the upcoming message.
"Governor Libert, I received a message from Macrage, should I forward it to you?" The astropath said to the Governor.
"Uh, yes! Yes! Tell me what is entailed in the message?" The Hive Capital Governor said to his astropath.
"Governor Libert, I send this message to inquire you of what's transpiring in Twilight. You may want to transport the data of it through voidship. May this message reach your location safely". The astropath interpreted words for words at best they could.
"Understood, thank you for your contact and may I see you one day". The governor said as he starts to motivate himself more to complete the paperwork.
The Ultramarines bodyguards also joined in just to alleviate the burden of work for the governor. It would be a horrific embarrassment if the governor died of overworking and the Ultramarine was too muscle-minded to help. Thankfully that basic administration and data-working are also what Ultramarines trained for at the courtesy of Guilliman.
What used to be a massive pillar of papers stacked on his deck which constantly increasing more if not resolved quickly is finally reduced to one paper after 85 standard Terran days. Libert honestly starts to think that the Hive Nobles are trying to assassinate him through overwork. And considering the last time that he asked them to maintain the quality of infrastructure of the Hive, they instead send mercenaries in an attempt to assassinate him before finally doing their job, he wasn't wrong to distrust them.
Looking at the piece of paper, he noticed the yellowish hue showing just how old it was left there. But as he reads the content, he started to feel uneasy with each line of words telling him a foreboding warning.
"Check the condition of plasma reactors and maintenance procedures. Deadline... 60 standard Terran days."
It dawns on him, the Governor's expression furrowed into a despairing look.
"Oh fuck..."
The horrific realization settles in and soon the innocents will pay the price in their blood for the mistakes of those who didn't care about them.
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Eventide Wain
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Twilight, Vespera Middle Hive. Eventide Merchant Guild's Parking Lot.
Alphric sits on the driver's seat of the transport truck he was assigned to and probably for the rest of his life. His livelihood depends on how well he delivers the products and supplies and failure or fatal loss would also land him a pay cut to recuperate said loss. One would think truck driving would be the least worrying job but when you are a magnet for gangers for perceived easy loot, you will eventually have a lot of bloodshed in hand just to preserve your life.
Not that he even cares about them, they considered their lives worth even less than the items on the truck thus he shouldn't care about them too much in the first place. If there's any law that is constant in the Hive, it would be the right to murder anyone that opposes you with no consequence. Even the Arbites excise extreme prejudice in the first place so the law is there to be broken with nothing to uphold. Maybe not right in front of them but the gist is there.
Alphric takes a long sigh before he is about to go on another delivery trip to the voidship port. The rogue traders at least appreciate him because of his reliable delivery for a long time. In fact, he is actually the most veteran truck driver in the guild with 10 years under the belt. That unfortunately means he outlasted all of his coworkers before him and he saw too many have sacrificed their lives for paltry items that were everywhere else.
Preparing to drive again and maybe say a few prayers to appease the Machine Spirits or something. It just works for some reason when the truck runs a tad smoother than if he didn't. Maybe a Tech-Priest could explain but he would be hard-pressed if they ever explain anything beyond its name.
"Hey, Alphric! Guess we got another trip, right?" Said a man with rugged-facial that looks like he has seen and fought too many battles on his own.
"Yup... About to be the last one of the day assuming that we have no one that is willing to pay big Thrones for night service. Go big or go home they said." Alphric said as he gazes at the waning eventide that he would imagine that he sees beneath the dense layers of cloud.
"Sigh... Guess that to live in stability, risk often has to be taken. This isn't too different than the time I was a ganger but I'm still glad that I took that offer back then." The rugged man said as his raspy voice carries many tales of war that went unheard in this part of Hive City.
The man's name is Kang. He used to be a ganger until the promise of a stable livelihood convinced him to join the guild. His knowledge of how gangers work made him very effective against them. Many plans of ambushes upon the convoy were eliminated before they actually began leading to increased efficiency and safety. It's actually why Alphric and his crew managed to fulfill a majority of their deliveries in time and earn them a reliable reputation amongst Rogue Traders.
Being a convoy guard is no easy task, you are basically confined to the seat of the truck and any damage to the supplies will earn a massive penalty for failure to protect it. Even then, it is their jobs and the reputation that they have to uphold because otherwise is a fate even worse than just starvation.
Equipped with a basic bulletproof vest that fares decently against stubbers and the like, along with a shotgun in his hand to take down any ganger approaching his convoy with ill intentions. It has been in Kang's best interest to not push his limit and the way he survived this far tells that this life lesson hasn't been forgotten at all.
"Are we beginning this trip? I've prepared my self-made treatments in case we actually come across any hostiles and suffered casualties." A seemingly young woman appeared beside Kang said.
The woman's name here is Mika always wearing a sorrowful expression on her face as if carrying bitter and everpresent guilt, she is an apothecary, the very rare kind of people when it comes to Hive City tends to be polluted beyond comprehension. Whenever she could, she would ask the rogue traders for a patch of fertile dirt from them. Most of the times that they went unfilled but when they did so, they did out of mere respect for them and the Guild they were in and the reliability that most other Guilds don't have. Middle Hive was a bit cleaner than the level below, just barely out of pollution smog that fettered the land beneath.
From the fertile soils she obtained, Mika managed to make a crude and small greenhouse to grow herbs to make medicine and treatment. And thankfully that most Gangers are illiterate and stupid, they left her greenhouse alone because they most likely didn't even know what is this ground substance. The medicine she made is also of better quality than the one they mass-produce at manufactorums thus even the Arbites are willing to turn a blind eye as long as she provides a tithe of medicine for them.
The only reason that most people don't even come to her more than how it should be is that it was kept mostly a secret 'panacea' that helps more immensely than a cure-all. At least as far as the Middle Hive would encompass.
She is wearing a coat with Emperor-know how many patches there are. If the ship of Theseus is still being used as a philosophy debate, her coat definitely counts as one. And wearing over her shoulder is a medic pouch that was given by an old Guard member which was then patched up to be used again. On her waist is a belt holster that carries a Stub Pistol, a last resort for any fight and she prays that she never has to use it because if they have to, they are already fighting a lost battle.
Both of them climb onto Alphric's truck before he turned his key. The truck lets out a loud noise from the start-up before purring smoothly after. His truck is doing what is supposed to... good... he can only pray that things will turn out well for him,
As the truck moves out of the parking lot. The three of them look at their surroundings around the guild. A hotdog stand is nearby the entrance with its owner still working ceaselessly. Alphric is tempted to have one but knowing his finance right now, he couldn't even within his conscience to buy it. Another part is Emperor-knows what is in those sausages or bread made for those hot dogs.
Kang gazed into hab blocks that stretches like a bastion wall in front of the parking lot. If there's anything in his experience as a Ganger ever said, that place could probably substitute for some Guards' garrisons and nobody would bat an eye about it. As a place to stay and as a wall against the threat that comes. He checked a hab-block like it once already. It was pitifully small that the truck felt less claustrophobic than whatever is used as a place for people. He already knew that some don't even have a roof over one's heads but the lack of attempt to improve the general livelihood of people is disgusting.
When the truck finally leave the general area of the parking lot, Mika looked into a holo-cinema nearby. A line of people waiting to enter and some looks like they have expend their life-saving just to see what was inside there once. Tales of legends or paragons... From the exemplary of Imperium's finest to the Space Marine Legions that scour the stars and fight to safeguard humanity.
Mika closes her eyes and knows there are merits in what is shown to the citizens of Imperium. Every myth always presents a kernel of truth but her illusion with the Imperium has already been shattered long ago. How? Because what was left for her revealed just how much that 'hate' has become the driving force of this society she was forced to be in.
Her father was an Imperial Guardsman and her family was living in Lower Hive before receiving the permit to relocate to Middle Hive. The constant deplorable living condition and the worn-down slum was the majority of her childhood. By enlisting themselves to the Guards outpost in the hope to obtain a better life for their child, they managed to fulfill their only wish before disappearing into the sky above. Presumingly conscripted to join the Guards as a whole. That was when she was 15 years old and she has to live by herself desperately by any means she could. And yet by all the luck she has, she didn't stray to the path of no return.
One day, she was given the permit to relocate to Middle Hive. Now no longer has to fear for her life in constant worry of being killed or worse. But a Rogue Trader contacted her when she made it there and gave her a wad of letters and memoirs. She recognized the writing which was her parents and the permit was actually issued by him. Her parents sacrificed themselves to protect him and this is the best he could only do in respect.
And from the content of the letters, she was exposed to the cruelest and most self-destructive part of the Imperium. To how many needless deaths and carnage were caused by sheer negligence of the officials and how many the unsung deeds went lost and how most pathetic acts were elevated with zealotism. At that point, Mika became dissented with Imperium itself. And yet with how much she despised it, her voice will only be silenced if she dare ever speaks up.
The hatred never peeks itself out of her expression but deep inside, she yearns for change of betterment more than most. She wanted to believe that there can be something to change for the better or otherwise, all of these never have any value or merit, to begin with. If there is only carnage and bloodshed with debauchery then what's even there to protect?
The three was silent and did not dare to raise their voice among each other. If there's anything they do notice better than others is the fact that life has been dominated by fear and irrationality itself. It has been a consensus since Emperor-know how long and the three of them can't change it no matter what.
Leaving where they started, they made their trip down toward the voidship port that they were assigned to. He sees the same people in the same periods, never once changed, and forever remains like that. It has become less of a civilization but a brutal construct where any component deems no longer usable will be forcefully replaced. People may be changed with someone else entirely in time but schedules and habits remain forever the same.
The trip was uneventful, to say the least. It was precisely the silence that Kang takes a more pre-emptive measure than he needed. Ambushes could occur and he once saw a convoy get torn to shred by gangers in its most careless moment. His eyes focused sharply on what was ahead and saw...
A metallic chain stretched across the road they were going. Kang's instinct went into the overdrive and quickly signals Alphric to gas the truck as fast as he could. With a mere subtle hint, Alphric just rushes ahead and throttles the vehicle with no stop. The velocity of the truck rushes and it drags the chain along with the truck and ripped out the wall that was used to bind the chain. Needless to say, the local Hive Gangers that were preying on them didn't expect it and thus quickly give chases.
Kang puts himself out of the truck cabin through the window and shoots the Gangers with his shotgun loaded with slug shells. The guild saw too many raids like this and arming its drivers and guards cost less than constantly training new recruits just to have them die later unable to protect themselves.
One particular Ganger got themselves close enough on the motorbike but Kang's experience with them just continues to disappoint him even more. They are predictable... too predictable when greed is controlling them. He is glad that he left his life as a Ganger behind and has honest work for himself. With one precisive shot, the Ganger's head blew open with blood, and brain parts scatter across the rockrete ground.
Too many people... too little accommodations. These folks keep vying for power and wealth for themselves and they just seemingly have no restraint or boundary when it comes to themselves. And for all the honesty he has, so too Kang had he remained as a Ganger.
"Hard turn ahead!" Mika yelled to Alphric as he keeps his focus on the road ahead.
They knew that the Gangers ain't going to give up their prey after expending so much into the plan in the first place. Always have a contingency plan and have as many as possible that you can have and fit. That's the philosophy that never once failed him. Desperation creates persistence and the prey and predators can easily be flipped even in a moment.
Alphric noticed a glint from a distance. In a moment, his experience kicks in and he instinctively swerves the truck as it drifts through the turn. Right in the next moment, the sound of something really fast hits the hull of the truck. Thank the Emperor that the truck is armored so Stub weapons don't damage as hard. Even standard transport vehicles of anything are armored to withstand Stubbers and the like.
"This isn't right, a group of Gangers working together and coordinating like this is unheard of. They may work for a common goal but the real chance of them terminating each other far exceeds that". Kang said as he tries to return fire.
"Whatever it is, I would prefer we made it there to the port. Staying out here is still very dangerous!" Alphric said as their lives were on the line with only his skills and reckless driving keeping them from falling off it.
Mika noticed something though... There are no people around here. Normally the section here would be very busy but there's nothing at all. It's unnerving her more than how she wishes for and the alternative of this being a carnage with innocent people being victims of this wild chase.
"Turn the vox on! Something isn't right!" Mika said to Alphric as he was still focused and trying his best to cut the pursuers off.
With a swift motion of his hand, he turned the vox-cast on before placing his hand back on the steering wheel.
"Citizens of Vespera! This is an emergency order requested by Hive Governor Libert. Repeat, this is an emergency order requested by Hive Governor Libert! All citizens must be evacuated from Sector 11 of Middle Hive due to collateral danger of Lower Hives Plasma Reactors Meltdown. I repeat, all citizens must be evacuated from Sector 11 of Middle Hive due to collateral danger of Lower Hives Plasma Reactors Meltdown." The voice behind the vox-cast blares right in their face.
The emergency broadcast however suddenly becomes glitchy and static as if something is jamming them. Then vox-cast no longer receive anything, Mika attempted to turn to other channels but the vox only shows nothing but static.
"Hold on, isn't the path we are taking going across Sector 11?" Mika said as she started to realize the bigger picture.
"Shit! I'm hit!" Kang shouted loudly before lunging back into the truck cabin.
"Let me check!" Mika said as she quickly examines the wound that Kang shows her.
A graze wound, nothing serious if treated fast. This kind of thing is in fact her specialty ever since assigned to Alphric's team in the beginning. Using her special anesthetic spray to dull the agony that flares across Kang's arm, she then quickly bandages it to stop hold until proper procedure could be taken. Doing surgery on the shaking and moving truck is something that is out of her paygrade and skills.
Alphric focused on the road ahead and the path he was acquainted with and remembered, so much so that he didn't even notice the Guards are barricading the road to prevent entry into the estimated area of effect from the meltdown. He moved so fast however that the Guard didn't respond in time and they slipped through. The Gangers that pursue them however weren't lucky as the Imperial Guards took out their weapons and open fire on them with no mercy.
Lasfires blew chunks of the Gangers as they pop into a bloody explosion of heat, Heavy Stubber emplacements on their vehicles make short work of the gang raiders that pursued the truck before. The fierce firefight occurs between the Imperial Guards and Gangers took place instead and we all know just who is going to be the victor. But that isn't the focus of the matter right now.
Mika noticed some flying vehicles in red flying across the sky toward the Lower Hive. It seems that the Governor's words are true and he is sending someone to check the condition. For all the order that the world has, good people always suffer at the hands of the selfish, and evil is the constant that she utterly hates and everyone's life is at the hand of those who could discard them at will if they feel like it.
Seconds passed and the built-in clock of the truck keeps ticking. Alphric still decides to continue his trip to the voidship port and hopes that it was the former that the Guards follow their order and not the latter. Kang looked at the too-familiar surrounding and the thought that the meltdown went critical and destroy this place is just... just too much for his mind to imagine. Mika clasps her hands together praying that things will turn for the better although knowing how that if it can turn for the worse, it will guarantee to do so.
One thing they haven't failed to notice even if they try not to is the stream of civilians trying to move out of the Hive Sector, it seems that they did indeed receive the broadcast no matter how short it was and words spread really fast when lives on the line. But the thing is... is every man for themselves. There's no organized evacuation route but only a blockade to prevent other Sectors from entering this one during evacuation. If they really cared, they would have done more than just this.
Civilians trample upon one another just to get out of her a second faster. Riots start to break out and despite the Arbites' attempt to suppress the chaos, using violence to quell hysteria is like pouring gas onto fire just to douse it. Needless to say that it all turns for the worse and keeps escalating even further as Arbites gave up any attempt for peaceful resolution and go for extreme prejudice.
As gores and corpses splatter into the ground in a bloodbath between hysteric civilians and Arbites, Alphric shut the door of his truck tightly and locked it so that no attempt to breach in. The truck may not be military-grade like the Arbites and Guardsmen but it is durable and resistant enough for the work it entailed. Mika can only close her eyes as the sound of brutality and gunshots echoes around. Kang looks at the constantly devolving mess that even his past as Ganger felt tame in comparison to... this...
While Kang and Mika felt disdain for what was going on. Alphric felt... nothing... Like he had seen too much to care about what was happening. It's not that he doesn't feel anything of extreme. He still hates the senseless violence and aggression brewing in front of him and yet a part of him has already made the compromise that nothing can change the course that the Imperium has gone but one keeps yelling out loud in the conviction that something has to be done. Such contradictory directives that his mind constantly turns to make him decide to stay apathetic just to spare himself from this conundrum.
They slowly move through the bloodstained ground and flesh-wedged rockrete road. He doesn't see anything else anymore, not even a single soul. Not a single Arbites in sight nor a civilian trying to run out of the Sector. Too awfully eerie for his discomfort.
The stench of death starts to settle in. Even in Middle Hive where lives are supposed to be average, the average he had in mind is far too different from that of what's truly in front of him. Deplorable and ruthless... Deliberately cruel and violent for the sake of it.
Alphric wasn't any standard Hiver. He was inquisitive and have a very good head on his body. He understood the way people work and their behaviors just from the first interaction. And he has no tolerance for nonsense or self-destructive behavior and calls out on it. For the simplicity, he is the Sane amongst the Lunatics and was probably outcasted socially unless he comes to interact with them at which point there's no noticeable difference that he detected. Even if none could tell what makes Alphric different from others, people probably prefer to mistreat him whenever possible and thus Alphric has the tendency to assume the worst of people at first contact.
The few that broke through this assuming illusion are his two coworkers or good friends Alphric has, Kang and Mika because of Alphric's no-nonsense attitude and head-on determination in this insane reality they were forced to endure and suffer on. Someone to reliably leans your back on without fear.
"I don't like this... Are people really this disposable?" Mika said as she saw plenty of violence but to see so much at once unnerves her.
"I once see a Sector rebellion got purged hard and just in the next few weeks that the people already worked there as if nothing happened. They could probably destroy this Hive and nothing would faze the governors". Kang said as he want to believe that there has to be a limit on cruelty because otherwise, such a thing wouldn't be human in the first place.
They come across a fierce battleground between the hysteric civilians and Arbites. Both of them have already been armed and the raging crossfire in between will rend nearly everything asunder in between. This avenue was once one of the cleanest parts in the Hive Sector but now they are riddled with corpses of indiscernible identity between Arbites and rebelling civilians. Smokes and residuals of gunpowder linger of heavy metal scent and charred flesh.
"I've seen gang wars like this across the Hives but this one is honestly the most brutal and bloody even if it isn't between gangs" Kang said as he felt like he could already.
Mika's pupils constrict as the overwhelming shock of seeing so many deads in front of her. As an apothecary, she couldn't allow such a thing to stand. And as her need for blood start to rise, Alphric placed a hand on her eyes to shield her from continuing to see this. This is unjust went unpunished but they are normal people in the end and they need to survive to the next day.
Alphric places his foot on the gas and prepares to rush through if needed. The moment a ceasefire moment comes, he will rush through. And knowing that if this is the no man's ground then the rest would ultimately be contested ground of either Arbites or crazed civilians in their attempt to get out of Hive Sector before the horrible fate comes for them.
Suddenly the ground trembled for a moment followed by absolute silence the next. It seems that none of them anticipated what happened and were confused by this sudden tremor. Alphric took advantage of it even if it was not what his expected kind of silence was. Flooring the gas pedal, the truck accelerates to maximum speed as fast as it could and rush through the avenue before the Arbites and rebels could do anything about it. By the time they even try to raise their guns at them, the truck has already moved long past the avenue and out of the contested ground.
But Mika felt that tremor before felt like a prelude to something worse. Unimaginably worse than the war that is going on between the desperate civilians and the ever-so-callous Arbites. And for she was right... and if only anyone other than her could remember a few more details within the few past minutes in the heat of moments.
The ground beneath them cracked and then started to tremble ragingly as already run-down infrastructure shakes like trees in a storm. Both Kang and Mika can only scream in horror as the world around them started to collapse into the chasm beneath. Fractures ran across the roads and chasms divide the Hive Sector with no stop. Roads and highways fell apart as vehicles scatter around and causing blockades upon any conceivable path around. If there's anything that can be called cataclysm then this very scene playing out in front of them is no doubt that.
Panicking civilians started to run around in panic and Arbites in their desperate attempt to get out of this place also met with the same futile demise as those they oppressed so easily.
Alphric puts his driving skill to the most brutal test conceived. He has to survive through what can be considered armageddon and threading through the destruction and collapse occurring around him. Flooring the gas pedal once more as the truck puts up the pace and blitzes as fast it can through the rapidly deteriorating world. Kang watches as the hab blocks around collapse and falls into the chasm and the loud crashing noises that reverberate across the Hive Sector. The screams of despair come as quickly just as silenced afterward. Mika can only try to moderate her breathing as the sheer stress and pressure start to mess with her sanity and consciousness.
An Arbites armored transport is driving ahead of them and the destruction that occurs behind doesn't bode too well for him either thus Alphric makes a hard swerve and drives his truck crashing through the hab blocks. Because of the nearly unmaintained condition and poor construction of these hab blocks, his truck bulldozed through them quickly with no resistance. The Arbites' armored transport, however, wasn't as lucky for the road ahead of them splinters with parts tilted upward causing them to crash into it and died instantly which is what Mika observed in the brief moment that she was given.
The hab blocks that they were on splintered upward creating a ramp for them, Alphric took advantage of it and rode upon it so that he managed to return back to the road. He doesn't dare to keep plowing through hab blocks anymore knowing just how risky the maneuver has just been.
The subterranean plumbing, gas, and electrical system beneath the Hive Sector's infrastructure shattered as some of it started to burrow up the ground and spray its horrific mixture and contents to whatever was around. The exposed electrical wiring when mixed with the leaked gas or fuel started to cause combustion explosions that spread across the Hive Sector and further accelerated its annihilation.
The local bathhouse erupted as its plumbing ruptured and sprayed across their vehicle in waste and covering their windshield. Kang in his Ganger's wisdom took out his shotgun and blast the windshield open. Even if the windshield wiper would work, there's no way to cleanse that taint ever so easily considering just what is in there. Although none of them appreciate the emboldened smell the outside now has.
The highway bridge ahead of them started to collapse and abandoned vehicles and wreckage above started to fall down upon them as the bridge integrity failed and sent wreckage onto their side. Alphric made a hard turn to his right and saw as the highway fell apart and the multi-floor parking lot to the right of his began to fall on top of him. Making his rush through the rain of steel and vehicles, his focus turns to overdrive as his reaction time exceeds normal people's expectations.
The path ahead of them splits into a chasm which forces Alphric to turn in a different direction. Quickly turning his gear, Alphric steers the truck to the left as it drifts and barely almost fell into the chasm. With the gas pedal floored as hard as could, the truck bursts forward into the collapsing highway with enough height to make it through the underpass. With as much speed as the truck can muster in its condition, the collapsing segments of the highway started to slowly apply their weight on the truck as sparks burst from the friction between the two. If he was any second later, all three of them would be flattened beneath the underpass.
Now he is entering the dense population area of the Hive Sector where skyscrapers rise toward the sky. But the ravage of the chasms and earthquakes that flow through the Hive Sector become more apparent. The nearby skyscraper is sinking down into the road they were on and there's no other way to turn toward but Alphric decided to take one final approach that they have, rushing head-on.
Open the throttle to the max, the truck burst through the skyscraper wall as it rode through the collapsing interior. Thankfully that the exterior wall is made mostly of glasses so there's little resistance or stopping force on the way. Doesn't help that the glass splinters are now what everyone just bathed on at that moment. No internal injury though which is a blessing.
Mika took out her anesthetic spray and let it loose all over the cabin. Everyone was in great agony from that maneuver Alphric did but that's the only choice they conceivably have at that moment. As Alphric continues to drive through, the screams of despair and anguish reverb across the atmosphere while filled with collapsing and shattering glasses around. With the near dim-lit environment due to electrical failure, Alphric focuses on getting to the high ground so that the truck won't be dragged with the building into the chasm.
With movements and finesse, he managed to get to the other side of the skyscraper through the myriads of obstacles in between such as decks and endless papers flying across the collapsing room. With one burst of speed, Alphric managed to guide everyone out of the collapsing skyscraper as it sunk into the chasm completely. Everyone is breathing tiredly from sheer stress and tension but they managed to do it, they got out of the approaching grasp of their demise.
While Alphric continues to look at the path ahead, he noticed one thing... This area... he recognized what this place is. He knew where he goes, this place, and the area surrounding it. This was the destination that they intended to go to for their trip. The voidship port!
"The port! We're here!" Alphric shouted loudly with no restraint because there is finally a saving grace for them from what seemed to be certain death. One last salvation against damnation they were placed against in.
The stability of this area seems to be more above others because this is a voidship port of all things but such difference it made will only be minutes at best. But even then, any second to keep them against the cold depth of the chasms and crevasses that are tearing what's remains of this Hive Sector is welcomed no matter how minuscule they are.
Alphric drives straight through the entrance of the port and ignores everything that is in between. He was here once, he once enter the voidship port for personal delivery of a few Rogue Traders thus he inexplicably knows more about the layout of this port than his colleagues. Threading through the shaking infrastructure of the port while looking for a gate to the runway outside, Mika starts to feel the dread rising as each second passes like a grain of sand through the hourglass.
A flash of insight and clarity flashed, Alphric located the entrance to the runway as he then steers the truck and goes full throttles with each precious second dripping away from his grasp. Every second felt so precious that he felt his doom will approach should he waste any of them. With a sickening crash that blew the entrance open, Kang immediately saw that a Guard flyer was about to take off from a bit distance away, and thus he immediately signal Alphric to get there as quickly as he could.
Much to their dismay that their client has already left but who would blame them?
Even just from the gesture, Alphric already sprung into action before he even realized what he needs to do. The Guardsmen on board noticed the truck and thus they decided to open the rear ramp so that the occupants might be able to board in. However, the truck itself is too large to enter the flyer and thus Alphric knew what he has to do. Once again going for max speed, the gas pedal is floored once more.
Behind them, the splitting has finally reached them as the voidship port begins to fracture and collapse. The Guards start to contemplate whether or not to rescue them but Alphric has made the final decision making for them, with his truck rams straight into the inside of the flyer which reduced its speed but thankfully no casualty. Alphric, Kang, and Mika quickly got out of the truck before it finally drags out once more to the collapsing ground behind. Alphric looks with a sad expression as if he held a long attachment with that truck and felt sentimental that this is the sacrifice he had to make. Kang and Mika felt so tired that their mind refuse to work any longer.
The rear ramp closes as the flyer takes off right before the voidship port collapsed into a chasm of miles deep beneath. Everyone lets out a sigh of relief but it seems the Guardsmen really want to reprimand Alphric for that reckless stunt he just pulled but now are willing to look past that because they are amongst the few that were rescued from this disaster of horrific scale.
However because of the lack of speed thanks to the added weight the truck just did before being removed once more, the flyer can now only fly near the ground before stabilizing itself to gain height. As the infrastructure around and highway roads and overpasses collapse and fall into the abyss in front of them and vehicles in their still moving momentum flung out of the rift that was formed daring to collide with the flyer and the explosions that continue to ravage the already broken Hive Sectors even more than it is.
The desperate screams and destruction rang out below into a maddening orchestra as chaos and havoc are wrecking apart everything. And despite how everyone beneath them should have died already, people's persistence and tenacity within such a cataclysm are frightening and horrific when it is literally only seconds left before their assured demise.
The pilot continues to maneuver through the rain of debris that is falling into the chasm while desperately attempting to gain height. Suddenly as a transit train burst out from one of the disjointed tunnels nearly hit the flyer as the pilot managed to get out of its way in the nick of time. And within its trajectory landed on a nearby powerplant and explodes in a horrific yet spectacular fashion.
They managed to get out of the chasm but they are not out of danger yet. Even the land beneath will soon be sunken and what's ahead could also be the start of a new chasm to form. As the two skyscrapers ahead of them lost their foundation and collide with one another, the flyer quickly threads itself through it but what they have seen during that moment will be a traumatic memory that they would never forget even if they were to make it out alive.
As Alphric and Kang watch in horror as the contents of the skyscrapers spill out from hundreds of meters above. People's screams of despair and anguish formed into a cacophony of suffering and misery that would definitely cause immense grief if one looked at them too closely. But the real most affected was Mika, within just one late afternoon. She just saw literally billions of deaths happening in front of her. The immense anguish did a huge number because of her disposition and nature. To say that she was too kind-hearted is understating. She was too good to deserve a reality that disregards lives and wishes as much suffering on anything sapients and as much as possible.
In this world... those with kindness are the first to die.
As the collided skyscrapers begin to fall, their direction literally just has to be towards the flyer that the Guards piloting. Despite no one actually seeing it, the intense anxiety they felt was the proof of it. The pilot tried to go faster but it was the most that the flyer could in its condition. The only thing they have left... is to pray that they will manage to evade it.
Within a second that felt as long as eternity, the skyscrapers... missed the flyer. Right afterward, everyone felt a massive weight off their chest that they truly got out of danger and all they hope for is that they find a landing zone to get off.
Alphric looked at the massive hole where Hive Sector 11 once was and it seems that the Lower Hive beneath it has also collapsed below the Middle Hive itself. If he ever gets a chance to read the disaster report of this, the number of casualties has to be on the level of billions. There is just no possible way around it. As he looked around at just how big the hive really is, something in his mind is screaming as if a new danger is approaching. Looking outside the flyer, he noticed that something is flying toward him. But the trail of fumes behind is telling him of horrific danger inbound.
"Pilot! Watch out!" Alphric yelled out to the pilot but it was too late.
The flying object struck the flyer right at its hull and tore apart the turbine of the right wing of the aircraft. The sudden change of air pressure caused a massive vacuum effect and sucked out the Guardsmen misfortune enough to be nearby assuming they weren't dead already. With the loss of one of the wings, the flyer spiral out of control as it spins toward the bottom of the chasm.
Mika and Kang were fortunate enough to hold onto something and not be sucked out of the flyer but the rest of the Guards were not fortunate like them. Alphric checked the pilot only to find out he died from internal hemorrhage because of that flying projectile just now. Having to replace the pilot, he then quickly took control of the aircraft and hope that he might be able to guide them, at least land safely.
Pushing his instinct to the ultimate and from how he saw the pilot controls, he then tried to steer the plane even if it has only one functional wing. Against all the odds, he managed to find a way to keep the flyer going. Right in front of him are more of those things that hit the flyer itself. There's clearly someone who is trying to kill him with malicious intent. At least whatever was in the plane just now.
Turning the plane's critical flaw into the greatest strength that he has, the plane begins to spin extremely fast due to imbalanced weight distribution and it was precisely that it managed to evade the incoming whatever it was. Alphric just doesn't know what to call them but he knew clearly that they are dangerous. Strangely, all of these barrel rollings would have put a massive strain on his mind from the sheer stunt and gravity change, and yet through his head-on determination that he pushes on regardless. If there's anyone worthy of Space Marine gene-seed, it would be Alphric with no question asked.
Both Kang and Mika keep holding to the best they could because one moment of weakness will mean their demise. Someone is wanting them dead, and they will deny it with all they have.
Alphric yelled as he starts to feel the straining his mind endure. It was so close yet so far but... it didn't even matter...
The tail of the flyer was struck and now it plummets toward the abyss below. There can only be a certain limit that determination can carry everything else and unfortunately for him, determination alone just wasn't enough to change his fate and others. Alphric starts to reflect on his whole life and how much he always stood in defiance against the unjust and cruelty that the world dead set pitting him against. How much he defied the unnecessary suffering for its sake and how much he is willing to fight for the betterment of life instead of accepting fate as it is. And now, fate has decreed that his existence is unnecessary to this grimdark world.
As the howling winds flew past, with his hands still holding onto the steering rod of the flyer. The incessant screaming of his friends that were a mixture of fear and a plea for help yelled loudly behind Alphric. Moving at a speed exceeding 1000 kilometers per hour, he still calmly faces what's ahead of him even if what's ahead is certain death.
There's no longer any way out of this. Death was a constant for him and his friends and perhaps too much for them at this point now facing the recollection of the few seconds that they have left, they decided to recollect their lives in these meager seconds.
A part of him has already made peace with his approaching death. Another part screams his conviction to somehow defy this fate. As much as he could have tried to remain apathetic, he felt very sorry that he couldn't be there by someone dear to him when this disaster happened.
The ground or the ruins became much closer and his mind's desperate and futile attempt to find anything to avert this very fate. He could see in the corner of my eyes that Kang and Mika were holding each other's hand, facing their demise while his hands still holding onto the steering wheel for a miracle to occur.
Before the last second passed… he muttered his name in the last attempt to make a difference.
"My name is… Alphric"
His last words are said in an attempt to call for a salvation that didn't come...
...in a way he expected.