"Xenos!" Cawl and Qlan reactivated their combat protocols instantly. Beside them, Creed's hand flew to his waist, ready to draw his bolt pistol.
Cawl's Solar Atomizer leveled directly at Abathur, whose stature rivaled his own. "Explain yourself!"
"Easy, everyone." Alexei stepped between Abathur and Cawl's group. He calmly faced the high-energy weapon humming with power. "It follows my commands completely. I have absolute control."
"You keep Tyranids? Those swarms that fought alongside the Aiur guards... they were all yours..." Creed looked at the Governor of Aiur in disbelief.
"They aren't Tyranids; they evolved from local organisms," Alexei interrupted. Seeing the lingering suspicion, he turned to Abathur and commanded, "Abathur, tear off your left forelimb."
"As you wish, Master." A moment later, green ichor sprayed. The group watched in horror as the creature tore off its own limb without hesitation. Alexei turned back, expressionless. "Do you believe in my control now?"
He looked at the wavering Cawl. "Think about that modification plan. You know its value. Abathur is a supreme master of biological genetics—its capabilities are not inferior to yours."
"Loyalty today does not guarantee loyalty forever," Cawl buzzed. "Thousands of years ago, Xenos factions that submitted to humanity bared their fangs the moment chaos erupted. They were just as 'obedient' back then."
"I have no intention of letting go of the reins," Alexei said, meeting Cawl's gaze. "The benefits they provide to humanity far outweigh their threat. Is there really any room left for humanity's situation to get worse? Besides, this is why I am going to see Guilliman. If the Primarch is willing to ally with the Aeldari, I believe he won't mind humanity gaining one more ally."
"Furthermore, they have fully integrated into daily life on Aiur. Most of the meat the civilians eat comes from them. The people of Aiur have fought side-by-side with them countless times."
If only Cawl and Qlan weren't so heavily mechanized, Alexei thought privately. The success rate for Infestors would be nearly zero; otherwise, I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.
Cawl stared intensely at Abathur, who stood submissively before Alexei, green fluid still dripping from its wound. After a long silence, he finally lowered his Solar Atomizer. "I will trust your words for now."
"Cawl?!" Qlan looked at the Archmagos in shock. Since when was this guy so easy-going? First Necrons, then Aeldari, and now Zerg—how much lower could his standards drop?
"Thank you for your trust." Alexei nodded. At his signal, Abathur's wound healed rapidly, and an identical limb grew back at a visible speed.
"This..." Qlan gasped at the terrifying regeneration. Cawl remained silent, eventually turning away. "I want to see your armory."
"Of course, you're welcome to," Alexei smiled and followed. It was too much to ask Cawl and Abathur to collaborate immediately; they just needed time to get used to the Swarm's presence.
Abathur took two steps toward Qlan, who was still staring. "What are you doing! Stay back!"
Qlan bolted to catch up with Cawl. Creed took one last complicated look at Abathur standing in the shadows before leaving the area.
"Humans. Sensitive. Fragile," Abathur muttered quietly after a long silence.
---
On the Cinder Plains, the morning sun hit the desert, bringing a hint of sweltering heat. The Aiur Guard had begun their withdrawal. Alexei led Cawl and the others onto a transport craft heading back to camp.
The cabin was deathly quiet as everyone processed the existence of the Swarm. Finally, Creed broke the silence. "Alexei, I want to know where the Cadians you took are now." He looked up, a trace of unease still lingering after seeing the Xenos.
"In the nearby Doppler system. A flight leaves for there in thirty minutes," Alexei replied immediately. "Want to see for yourself?"
"A flight?" Creed blinked.
"Yes. The warp jump from Aiur to the Doppler system takes only half an hour, though it requires four hours of preparation. There is a round-trip flight every four hours," Alexei explained. "All 300,000 Cadians I took are there. It's convenient enough if you want to visit."
Under his orders, the transport redirected toward the space docks. Soon, they boarded a Hercules-class transport ship bound for Doppler III. It was loaded with construction materials and massive quantities of frozen Zerg meat. Alexei explained, "Doppler III was once ravaged by Orks. The major cities were destroyed, and it's in desperate need of supplies."
"An Ork attack?" Cawl glanced over. "How did you deal with the lingering spores?"
"The purple Creep you saw earlier—to them, spores are the most valuable nutrients," Alexei said without looking back.
Cawl fell silent, internally raising the threat level of the Zerg by another notch.
The short-range jump was faster than expected. Shortly after exiting the warp, Qlan looked at the planet covered in vast purple patches. "Is this an Agricultural World?"
"The Creep is still restoring the planet's ecology, so some remains. Once the process is finished, it will recede on its own."
"Restoring a planet's ecology?" Cawl looked at Alexei again. He had encountered more questions today than in the past several decades combined.
"Yes. Zerg Creep can restore a planet's ecosystem, even on a barren rock world," Alexei answered with a smile.
"Even a planet consumed by Tyranids?"
"Theoretically, as long as the planet isn't dead, the Swarm can make it habitable." Alexei knew Cawl was researching how to restore worlds devoured by Tyranids—specifically Sotha, the Scythes of the Emperor's home world, which in the original timeline would take a century to recover.
He wanted the value of the Swarm to grow steadily in Cawl's mind.
Cawl grew pensive. Having heard this, he decided he needed to re-evaluate this new race to determine if they truly possessed the capabilities Alexei claimed.