Triumphal parades, victory declarations, celebratory banquets, and administrative arrangements—after several days of consecutive large-scale events, even Alexei's body felt fatigued.
Now that there were no more pressing matters requiring his personal attention, he could finally go see the Zerg's "Great Work."
Alexei walked toward the Swarm Hive in the lower levels, accompanied by a girl who hadn't stopped chatting. Speaking of which, Ellie had been growing faster lately and her personality was becoming more vibrant. According to Abathur, this girl was so bored she spent her days messing with the Swarm, to the point that the Zerg would flee the moment they saw her.
"Abathur," Alexei looked at the biological gene-engineer. "How much longer until the Leviathan hatches?"
"Master," Abathur turned slowly. "Leviathan embryo... expected maturity... within two weeks."
"Good. Let's go, take us to see it." Alexei nodded and summoned an Overlord. He entered its ventral sac; though little Ellie chose to float alongside them because she found the Overlord "gross," it didn't hinder their progress.
The group arrived at a ridge. Amidst the breeze of the setting sun, a Zerg chamber nearly two kilometers long appeared before Alexei, occupying almost the entire basin beneath the ridge.
Through the translucent outer membrane, Alexei could vaguely see a beast of exaggerated proportions moving inside. "Hiss... so this is the Leviathan." Seeing it up close, the scale of it inspired nothing but pure awe.
As for whether a beast of this size would crash due to planetary gravity, Alexei wasn't worried. The Leviathan was a psionic unit—Level 10, in fact (for context, the Queen of Blades was Level 12).
"Finally, the era of the Swarm has... borne rich fruit!" Alexei looked at the scene with excitement. Having a Leviathan meant the Zerg wouldn't be trapped on Aiur to develop slowly while fearing discovery by passing Imperial fleets.
One must understand that the Zerg Swarm were creatures that didn't need an atmosphere at all. They only needed to find a rocky planet, a lava world, or even an ice-ball. Spread some creep, soak up some solar energy, organic matter, or geothermal heat, and by the next year, he'd have a harvest of Zerg.
In fact, mass Zerg reproduction and creep coverage could even improve the environment of a dead planet. In a sense, they were completely different from the Tyranids—they were a race that grew stronger through "farming."
"Next, the Swarm can develop on other planets instead of being confined to the narrow lower hives." Alexei pondered future developments. "Abathur, if I didn't limit your growth and gave you an entire planet, how long would it take for the Swarm to produce another Leviathan?"
"One year," Abathur replied.
"Hiss..." Alexei did the math. One Leviathan colonizes one planet. At this rate, one in the first year, two in the second, three in the third... There were four planets in the Aiur system capable of sustaining the Zerg. It was currently 993.M41. There were six years left until 999.M41.
"Holy shit..." Alexei cursed for the first time. He realized that by the year 999.M41, he would possess an incredibly massive Swarm fleet. A dozen Leviathan Motherships would be enough to sweep this sector.
Combined with fully unlocked Zerg units and thousands of Battlecruisers, he could easily end the rule of the Sector Governor... provided the Imperium didn't send its primary naval fleet after him. Otherwise, it might still not be enough.
Wait, why would he attack the Governor of the Phoenix Sector? Alexei thought about it. If he had Guilliman's permission by then, he could just declare the Governor a traitor. After all, "loyalty that isn't absolute is absolute disloyalty!"
Alexei was fully immersed in his fantasy of becoming the Hegemon of the Dark Frontier until Ellie tapped him, snapping him back to reality. "Ahem. Abathur, call me as soon as it's ready to hatch."
Then Alexei looked at Ellie, who was watching him with curiosity. By then, the Imperium Nihilus would likely be crawling with new psykers, Warp daemons, and even the Emperor's "living saints" would manifest more easily. He still needed to be careful.
"Let's go back." Alexei turned to leave. In the next few years, he needed to quickly upgrade the Terran combat strength and unlock the remaining buildings and equipment. Since he had decided to seek out Guilliman and Cawl...
There was one campaign he absolutely had to participate in. Alexei looked toward the Segmentum Obscurus—specifically, the place where the connection between the galaxy and the Warp was deepest: the Eye of Terror.
"The 13th Black Crusade... Abaddon... Cadia, the Fortress World..." Alexei muttered. He knew he couldn't help the Imperium hold Cadia, but he definitely had to go there to make his presence known.
---
Two weeks later, on the ridge. The group watched the massive, writhing chamber in the basin. The translucent membrane pulsed with a lavender glow, looking like an egg sac about to burst. The creep below surged violently, pumping stored biomass into the interior.
"It begins," Abathur said behind Alexei.
The membrane suddenly pulled taut, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its surface. Thick fluid seeped from the fissures. Then, a roar that shook the heavens erupted from beneath the earth, and the entire basin trembled as if hit by an earthquake.
"Growth optimal. Exceeding projections," Abathur noted again.
The beast's body slowly squeezed out of the chamber, mucus pouring down like a waterfall. As it gradually rose from the basin, the Leviathan's form was revealed to all. It was a terrifying fusion of a giant whale and a flea, with writhing tentacles hanging from its neck. Sharp antennae covered its carapace, and its underbelly was thick with barbs.
Looking at the massive abdomen that occupied almost the entire body, Alexei knew it was capable of transporting Swarm units sufficient to destroy worlds. Mass Zerg would be slammed into the enemy via internally stored drop-sacs.
Furthermore, the Leviathan was a combat vessel in its own right. Its dozens-of-kilometers-long body and thick chitinous armor could withstand endless enemy fire. In combat, it could extend terrifyingly thick spine-tentacles to tear apart ships. Moreover, the controlled speed of the tentacles meant they didn't have to worry about Imperial void shields, or they could simply spew out swarms to shred the target.
"...No different from a Tyranid Hive Ship. This is our biological warship," Alexei explained to his commanders, though a trace of unease still flickered in their eyes.
"Zagara, prepare to take the Swarm to the surface of the third planet to establish a Hive. Develop without restraint," Alexei commanded the Broodmother through the Hive Mind.
"Understood, my Master."