Chapter 210: The First One No One Expected
The clouds were yellow and hazy, reeking with a pungent chemical odor. On the murky ground, filthy structures resembling termite mounds crowded together in bloated clusters, rising high into the sky.
Standing on that barren and impoverished plain, one could see the black hive cities in the distance. They looked like a range of mountains—majestic and filthy.
Hades hesitated and blinked, then tried removing his helmet and took a deep breath—
Perfect. Poisonous air.
He let out a bitter chuckle and put the helmet back on.
The Death Guard really had a thing for toxic atmospheres.
To become a hive world, the first sacrifice was always the natural environment.
Waste gases from endless factories were pumped directly into the sky, creating Galaspar's eternally murky atmosphere. Wastewater flowed into the rivers, rendering every source of water on the planet highly acidic.
Humans would never attempt to restore the environment. That would be too wasteful—and entirely unnecessary. The hives had their own internal ecosystem, and most people would never leave their hive for their entire lives. There was simply no need to treat the lethal environment outside.
Give it a few generations, and it wouldn't even matter.
To them, this would just be normal Galaspar sky and normal Galaspar soil.
Hades looked down at the filthy, nutrient-deprived soil beneath his feet.
It was overloaded with heavy metals—and even mildly radioactive.
In his heart, Hades considered what it would take to terraform Galaspar.
Conclusion: not very realistic.
Barbarus at least had the political clout of being a Primarch's homeworld, which brought in massive Imperial investments. The initial Imperial construction of orbital rings also gave Barbarus a huge boost in development.
Plus, Barbarus had a low population, making mass relocations and environmental projects feasible.
But Galaspar?
That would be a monumental task. He'd have to think it through more.
And besides, all things had to be considered in terms of cost-efficiency. Right now, the most effective plan would be to leave things as they were and get Galaspar back to full industrial production as quickly as possible.
Unlike Barbarus, any large-scale transformation of Galaspar would be a long-term ordeal.
Hades let out a deep sigh and gestured to Garro, signaling him to lead the way into the central hive.
If the hive cities looked like garbage heaps from a distance, then walking into their underlayers would only confirm that impression—they are garbage heaps.
Aside from the essential industrial zones and upper spires, everything else was chaos. Piles of dark-colored construction waste stacked haphazardly in the corners of makeshift shelters. The stench of rotting waste flowed along the cracks of walls. Crude huts, dugouts, and holes carved into the hive's foundation were everywhere. Nervous, reverent eyes peeked from within—then quickly bowed their heads in fear.
These were the people of the lower hive.
They lived here. And here they would die.
Underneath his helmet, Hades furrowed his brow.
He had seen the barrenness of Barbarus, the kind of desolation where man struggled against nature, fighting for survival.
But Galaspar was a different kind of hardship—bloated and suffocating.
People packed together. Survival was stagnation.
To live was to not spend resources—only to slowly wither away.
While the Imperium saw Galaspar's massive population as a blessing—countless hives meant an endless pool of manpower—for the locals, it was far from fortunate.
In his mind, Hades began planning the first steps:
Step One: Reduce population density.
Drune could accept a large number of migrants. Barbarus could take in a few as well. Even the Death Guard's Forge World satellite, Mint, was short on people.
And with the Legion's recruitment drive ramping up, military needs would help offload the pressure.
Worried that only a few would qualify for Astartes recruitment?
Well, when war breaks out, that won't be a concern anymore.
Step Two: Begin simple environmental improvements around the hives—move parts of the hive population to the surrounding plains to slow the decline.
Step Three was to cooperate with the Mechanicum, modifying the hives by installing water purification units and dedicated waste treatment zones.
During earlier reconstruction efforts on Galaspar, the Mechanicum had prioritized restarting the factories that had shut down due to the Death Guard's invasion—those machine-oil fanatics didn't care about living quarters unless the population decline began impacting production rates.
Step Four was to establish a hive system, one that would regulate inter-hive relations and develop a balanced ecological structure—both environmentally and socially.
As Hades progressed deeper into the hive, he gradually pieced together a rough plan for what needed to be done on Galaspar. It was still just a drop in the ocean, but at the very least, it would relieve some of the intense survival pressure on the population.
[Commander Hades, we've arrived.]
Garro's voice came through the vox channel. They had arrived at a cliffside on the outskirts of the hive.
This was one of the Death Guard's recruitment sites on Galaspar. Candidates had to start from the acidic river at the hive's edge, trek along it through the landfill zone, and finally climb the cliff.
The time limit was three days. Each candidate was responsible for their own rations and gear. Though the Death Guard had become more lenient with equipment, this trial might be even more grueling than the ones on Barbarus.
And considering the poverty of Galaspar's hive dwellers, most probably couldn't scrounge up decent gear.
Along the route, there were only two apothecaries stationed: one reachable after one day's march, and the second after two days. Receiving treatment from them meant automatic disqualification. The final checkpoint also had apothecaries, but they were only for treating successful candidates. Due to the vast number of participants, no other stations were established.
To be honest, Hades felt that the trial here on Galaspar was perhaps even harsher than on Barbarus. But given the massive population in Galaspar, it was a necessary measure.
Even with a recruitment scale far larger than usual, the proportion of accepted candidates would still be small—many would be screened out.
Hades sighed heavily.
He was currently standing at one of the pilot selection points. If this trial proved successful, thirty-seven similar recruitment sites across the Galaspar system would activate simultaneously.
This one was designed to be the longest and most difficult, but those who made it through were promised greater opportunities within the Legion. That promise alone had attracted many volunteers.
The Death Guard kept the registration informal: free participation for all healthy males of appropriate age. There were simply too many applicants to record names. However, each was provided with at least one week's worth of rations.
Compared to the trials on Barbarus, Galaspar's selection was far more chaotic.
Hades sighed again.
Unlike Barbarus, where there was a solid cultural foundation, Galaspar would need to stumble through a period of confusion and adjustment.
[It has begun.]
Garro's voice crackled through the vox.
Hades glanced around, sighed, then chose to sit down at the cliff's edge, one arm propping up his chin, eyes fixed toward the distant trail—waiting to see who would be the first to arrive.
And no one—absolutely no one—expected that the first to arrive would be a woman.
Hades opened his mouth in disbelief.
He saw a thin, staggering figure wobbling her way out of the garbage heaps. Her lower left leg was missing, and pus—yellow and white—was oozing from the stump.
'Is this... a follower of Nurgle?'
That was Hades's first thought.
Cautiously, he diluted a tendril of Black Domain and probed her essence. To his shock, her soul—though faint to the point of near extinction—was shining bright and unpolluted.
[What is this?]
Garro's confused voice came through the channel.
Hades swallowed. Through the penetrating scan of their helmets, they clearly saw the battered figure's internal organs—complete ovaries and a womb.
She was undeniably female.
[You did specify that we're only recruiting males, right?]
[Yes, it was clearly stated. Very explicitly.]
Then... what is she doing here?
The figure was staggering, almost crawling. She dragged herself up to the cliff edge. She had tied rags—filthy and barely cloth at this point—around her severed leg and smeared dried lumps of trash on her hands.
She was increasing the friction on her palms.
She was going to climb.
Hades stared, anxiety gripping him as he watched her ascend. What is she trying to prove?
He waved off Garro, who had been about to shout at the woman. As the first to arrive, she had earned at least that—a measure of respect.
A hand—filthy, caked in grime—grasped the edge of the cliff.
Hades stood up and stepped back, waiting as the first successful candidate hauled herself up.
She was a woman, gray-haired. Not only did she not meet the gender criteria, she was clearly past the age range—well beyond a teenager.
Chemical burns and ulcerous scars covered her face, blurring her features. Maybe, once, she had been beautiful.
When she saw Hades, she collapsed to one knee, sobbing, wiping tears away with trembling hands, choking on her cries.
Hades didn't move. He simply stood there, patiently waiting.
At last, she seemed to calm down, trying to kneel again.
"Do not kneel."
Hades said it calmly.
Sure enough, she trembled violently and broke into tears again. Her breathing was ragged.
"This selection isn't open to women. And you're overage."
Hades continued, flatly.
"My lord, I know, I know..."
She instinctively leaned forward to kowtow, but, after Hades stopped her again, ended up awkwardly sitting down, shaking. Fearfully, she covered most of her face with her hands, leaving only her tear-reddened eyes exposed. The pus from her infected stump was already forming a small puddle on the ground beneath her.
"I only wanted to thank you for saving us… me…"
"My lord, please take me with you. I don't want to stay here anymore. You brought liberation—I don't want to be a slave anymore."
"Thank you for the liberation… Praise you, my lord… Please take me away…"
Hades was struck speechless.
He hadn't liberated Galaspar.
In fact, he had even opposed the idea of liberating it.
<+>
Author Note:
This woman had appeared in the original lore of Galaspar. She'd even been given a name by Mortarion himself.
But in every other Death Guard-related text, she never appeared again.
<+>
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