Inside the bright facility, a dozen gang members listened dazed as Alexei explained the armor and weaponry. Their brains felt overloaded trying to process the data. Once the realization set in, it was replaced by pure excitement. With this gear, seizing the Hive was child's play.
"Who wants to try first?" Alexei asked with a smile.
"Me!" "Get lost, I'm first!" "Boss, let me! You know I'm the most loyal!"
Alexei chuckled. He had underestimated their hunger for power. He ushered those willing into the stalls. Strangely, Kaider remained still. "You aren't trying it?"
Kaider scratched his head and sighed. "I want to, but I have to go back eventually. Wearing this would be a bit too conspicuous."
"Fair enough." Alexei turned to the console and initiated the mounting sequence. Half an hour later, the doors opened, and several figures in power armor stepped out. They tested their strength, some even throwing punches at each other in joy. Their shouts echoed through the comms channel.
"This is incredible, Boss!" "What the hell? Why did you hit me!" "Don't move so much!"
Alexei cleared his throat, and the channel went silent. A dozen CMC-300 armored figures holding Gauss Rifles stood in a line.
"From now on, all resources are diverted to the Barracks," Alexei ordered. "Within fourteen bell tolls, every member of the elite squads must be armored. Once everyone is familiar with the gear, we strike the Lower Hive! The rule of the Hordem family ends now!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Several standard Terran weeks later.
Before the massive main elevator—the largest in the Underhive. Previously, this area was controlled by the PDF for transporting minerals and waste. Now, it was entirely in Alexei's hands. The clearing was packed with thousands of "Sons of the Tide" members.
Thousands of elite members in CMC-400 armor and over ten thousand regular gang members stood in neat formations. They would be the tip of the spear to pierce the main defenses of the Lower Hive.
Alexei looked up into the darkness of the elevator shaft. He knew the Hive authorities would be prepared. Kaider had informed him that the suppression of other Hives had slowed, with PDF units and heavy vehicles returning to defend the capital. The Hordems knew this was more than a simple riot.
But Alexei wasn't worried. He was ready.
For days, the Zerg had been lurking in the countless maintenance tunnels between the Underhive and the Lower Hive. Zagara would command them to swarm out the moment the attack began. Other gang members waited at smaller elevators to launch simultaneous strikes. And his moles in the Arbites would open the high-alloy gates at the critical moment.
"Brothers of the Underhive! The final hour is upon us! We will break their lines and let them feel our fury!" Alexei's voice roared through the comms.
"The nobles of the Spire never cared for us! They saw us as vermin in the trash, rats in the gutters! They took everything with greed, and now they have even betrayed the Emperor's light! Let us bring death to these traitors! Let us show them the Emperor's wrath!"
"Kill!" "Kill! Kill! Kill!" The roar shook the very foundations of the space.
Even the PDF troops at the top of the shaft heard the distant thunder. A high-ranking PDF officer approached a gray-haired man with a cybernetic eye. "Marshal, our defenses are set."
The Marshal looked toward the shaft. "Do not be careless. End this riot quickly." He turned to leave as his soldiers gave the Aquila salute. "I don't understand why the nobles are so worried. It's just a common riot."
In his eyes, these "trash" were far less dangerous than the Genestealer cults. They had heavy lines, auto-turrets, and Leman Russ tanks waiting behind the alloy walls. The "vermin" would die before their blood even touched the gates.
On the vast three-layered elevator platform, hydraulic systems hummed. The elite CMC-400 armored troops packed the platform in silence. They would be the first wave to tank the hits and establish a beachhead.
The PDF soldiers gripped their autoguns, watching the rising platform. "Here they come!"
Clang! The first shot rang out, followed by a torrent of fire.
"What?" To everyone's horror, the bullets didn't pierce flesh. They ricocheted uselessly off heavy power armor. It was as if they were polishing the enemy's gear.
"Are you kidding me? They have power armor! Repeat, the enemy has—" The PDF commander roared into his comms. He couldn't fathom how "trash" from the Underhive had thousands of suits of power armor.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thousands of Sons of the Tide began their charge. The PDF autoguns were toys; only lasguns did any damage. Meanwhile, the Gauss Rifles shredded the PDF soldiers along with their cover.
"Why!" The PDF commander screamed before his torso was pulverized by a burst of 8mm spikes.
It wasn't a battle; it was a massacre. Thousands of PDF were mowed down in seconds. The beachhead was secured, and the same was happening at every other elevator.
As the elevator doors hummed again, Alexei and the rest of the army arrived at the front. The battle for the PDF's first line was over.
Alexei looked toward the distant alloy walls. It was easier than he had imagined.
"Zagara, Lutheca... await my signal," Alexei commanded through the psionic network.