Atlas was no fool. A gargantuan creature several stories tall was not something he could handle alone. It would likely take a dozen or more Knight Suits from a Noble House to bring down such a beast.
He had encountered the Tyranids once before. While pursuing a certain Drukhari, he had been sent through a Webway gate to a planet infested with Tyranids. Atlas had nearly died on that world. He only escaped because he happened upon a squad of Deathwatch Space Marines conducting an operation there.
Now, a new swarm had appeared, and it was a threat the Imperium had to be wary of. As an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, it was his duty to be vigilant against this race. All xenos were enemies of the Imperium!
But it wasn't just the Inquisition; even some Space Marine Chapters and Imperial Navy fleets in other sectors had begun encountering the Zerg Swarm.
The Hands of Judgment Chapter was a successor of the Imperial Fists. As Sons of Dorn, they wore the same yellow power armor as their parent Chapter. Since the publication of the Codex Astartes, thousands of Chapters had been established; some perished and others were born as time marched on.
The Hands of Judgment possessed their own Chapter Barques and a dedicated fleet, though it was relatively small. They were currently guarding their assigned sector when they received an emergency distress signal from the Agri-World, Lotasen.
"We are under xenos attack! Repeat, we are under xenos attack! There are too many of them!!!"
Upon receiving the call for aid, the Chapter Master of the Hands of Judgment immediately dispatched the 4th and 7th Companies to Lotasen. As soon as they reached the planet's outer orbit, they saw that portions of the once-fertile Agri-World were covered in black patches.
"That is..."
"According to the Auspex scans, those are bio-signatures," the Magos Biologis on board replied.
"By the Emperor's bones, is it a Tyranid Hive Fleet?"
The Hands of Judgment had fought a splinter fleet of Tyranids once before. That fleet had only a single Bio-vessel—no Norn Queen, only a Hive Tyrant—yet it had still cost them many battle-brothers.
"I'm not scanning any Bio-ships. Strange... a Tyranid Hive ship should be nearby?"
Wherever Tyranids were found, a Bio-ship was sure to follow.
"Could it be hiding?"
"Regardless, we cannot sit idle. All stations, prepare for orbital bombardment!"
Captain Ares of the 4th Company, having witnessed the horrors of the Tyranids, gave the order immediately. Against a swarm, landing blindly was suicide. The most logical choice was to soften them up with orbital strikes first.
"Captain Ares, this is an Agri-World. Directly bombarding it..."
"Say no more. You do not understand the terror of these swarms. Only orbital bombardment can thin their numbers enough for us to make a landing."
In this regard, the Imperium's doctrine mirrored that of the Protoss when dealing with the Zerg.
The orbital bombardment commenced shortly after. Beams of light fired from the ships slammed into the black-patched regions of the Agri-World. The sudden strikes from the heavens instantly wiped out a massive number of Zerg units and alerted the Overmind.
†Holy crap! I just sent out the second wave of Overlords, and suddenly seventy-plus planets are under attack!†
Lotasen was a planet the Overmind had only recently occupied. However, this expansion was not going smoothly. Over 50% of the second batch of 100 Overlords had met tragic ends, and over a dozen worlds were currently under assault by the Imperium, Orks, Eldar, and the T'au Empire.
Even the T'au could bully the Zerg before a Hive was established.
Currently, the Overmind's mind was filled with the constant notification: "Your Swarm is under attack." Fortunately, the Swarm didn't require his micro-management to fight back.
†And then there are these cowards who just sit in orbit and glass the planet without even landing first. Are you that afraid of casualties? Get down here and fight me on the ground!!!†
A ground war was out of the question for the Imperial fleet. The Overmind felt like he had transitioned from playing StarCraft II to Stellaris. Every step he took now seemed to disturb a "cockroach" nest—not lethal, but extremely annoying.
Although he now possessed five Leviathans, it wasn't enough to cover every planet. Most worlds only had Mutalisks and Scourges for air defense. Without a Leviathan, the Zerg air force felt powerless against the capital ships of the various races.
†Calm down, calm down. First, filter out the planets that are too heavily defended. It's unwise to force an attack on main worlds during this precious development phase.†
Instantly, a dozen Fortress Worlds, Death Worlds with extreme environmental hazards, and the heavily guarded primary worlds of other races were discarded.
†Next, discard worlds with sparse resources or those too far from their stars. Those have long recovery cycles and aren't worth the deployment.†
Another ten freezing, star-distant worlds were crossed off. Such worlds were too cold and lacked solar energy, making them unsuitable for Zerg development.
†So, these are the only ones left with high resources and low defenses?†
Lotasen was one of the few planets the Overmind refused to abandon. Agri-Worlds possessed excellent environments and high biomass—worlds loved by both humans and Zerg alike.
†Kans, you lead the counterattack.†
"As you command, Overmind."
Kans began controlling the Swarm on Lotasen to burrow deep underground. Zerg units near mountain ranges had already excavated tunnels; they now retreated into these passages, avoiding the brunt of the orbital bombardment.
This tactic was exceptionally effective. The kinetic impact of the orbital strikes caused only localized damage, as the surface absorbed the rest of the shock. Only the Creep on the surface was destroyed.
After a round of orbital strikes, the black patches visible from space had been reduced by over 75%. This result satisfied Captain Ares.
"Prepare for landing!!!"
As the orbital bombardment ceased, the Nydus gates began pouring out Zerg reinforcements. Countless units were flooding in to bolster the Agri-World.
Watching the Thunderhawk Gunships plunging through the atmosphere, the Overmind had a new idea.
†Abathur.†
"Awaiting instructions, Overmind."
†Can you create a Zerg organism capable of generating a planetary-scale psionic shield?†
"..."
Abathur was silent for a long time.
Clearly, even the Master of Evolution was taken aback by this request. A planetary-scale shield? It was easy to destroy a planet, but protecting one was a monumental task. Still, Abathur accepted the challenge.
"Attempting... sequence analysis. Will try."