The Ethereals have always maintained an air of divine mystery, quietly pulling the strings of the T'au Empire from the shadows.
But in reality, an Ethereal is far from invincible. They have been cut down by the Swarm, dismantled by the Necrons, and executed by the Imperium alike. What truly sets them apart from the average Fire Clan warrior isn't physical prowess, but a low-level latent psychic ability and the release of specialized pheromones used to ensure total biological obedience.
This secret was the undoing of their unity; once Commander Farsight discovered the truth, the Enclaves broke away. These days, every race in the galaxy seems to be fracturing into sub-factions—even the T'au aren't exempt from a little "civil unrest."
"Hmm, the T'au ships are actually performing quite well," the Overmind observed. "Despite my numerical advantage, they're holding their formation against the vanguard."
It was a curious sight: the T'au were fighting the Swarm to a bloody standstill. One had to wonder whether to praise their tactical efficiency or criticize the Swarm's local performance. Of course, Zasz was only leading a fragment of the fleet; the bulk of the Hive Mind's focus was currently locked in a brutal war of attrition with the Tyranids in the Tiamat system. This gave the T'au commander the dangerous illusion that victory was within reach.
However, he would never get the chance to grasp it.
"That Bat-winged vessel in the center—that has to be the flagship."
The T'au's intentions were too transparent. Any ship guarded that heavily was bound to be the heart of the fleet.
"Bring it down."
After a Leviathan tore an escort frigate in two, it surged toward the flagship—a Protector-class cruiser. Shaped like a massive bat, it was the pinnacle of T'au naval engineering: sturdy, durable, and bristling with railguns.
But compared to a Leviathan, it was still just a toy.
The Leviathan's tentacles lashed out, punching through the Protector's hull. The cruiser's turrets roared to life in response, their frontal firepower proving truly terrifying as they fired in a synchronized, thunderous volley.
"Enemy boarding parties detected on decks four through nine!"
"Don't panic! Focus fire on the appendages! Sever those tentacles!"
The T'au were disciplined. As the Zerg began to spill into the corridors, the ship's internal turrets and external batteries hammered the Leviathan's limbs.
"Oh, not bad. You actually have some experience," the Overmind noted. "Knowing not to let the troops board is smart. But a Leviathan has more than one arm."
Six more tentacles stabbed forward simultaneously. Some targeted the cruiser's gun decks. T'au turrets were far more fragile than the armored gothic spires of the Imperium; a single blunt strike from a tentacle was enough to shatter the delicate railgun housing.
With another sweeping motion, the Leviathan sheared off an entire row of weapon systems. The structural difference was clear: T'au ships were built for elegance and range, not the brutal, grinding durability of an Imperial warship. The entire vessel rocked violently, nearly throwing the Ethereal from his high-backed throne.
"Commander, the bridge is compromised! It's no longer safe!"
The T'au commander grit his teeth. Despite prioritizing the most dangerous flyers, he was still losing ground.
"Launch the torpedoes!"
"Sir, at this range, the backblast will cripple our own shields!"
"It's better than being eaten! Launch them now!"
At point-blank range, aiming was a formality. The torpedoes cleared the tubes and impacted the Leviathan in under three seconds. A series of violent explosions ripped across the creature's thick hide, the shockwaves rattling both ships. The Leviathan's flesh was torn and its blood hissed in the vacuum, but for a creature of that scale, the wounds were merely superficial.
"Is it made of stone? How is it still moving?!"
The commander's despair grew. In his mind, no carbon-based organism should have survived that volley. But a Leviathan is built to withstand the absolute zero of the void and the searing radiation of stars; it wouldn't be brought down by a few fusion warheads.
The Leviathan's primary tentacle lunged again, this time aiming for the command center. The commander had just enough time to scream, "Brace for impact!" before the world turned into a nightmare of screeching metal.
The outer armor was pierced, the reinforced glass shattered, and the tentacle crushed the starboard side of the bridge. The impact knocked the commander unconscious, his combat suit barely absorbing the trauma of the decompression.
When he finally came to, his vision was swimming. The bridge was a graveyard of sparking consoles and frantic crew members trying to seal hull breaches.
"Aun... where is the Ethereal?"
The commander looked toward the center of the room. Where the Ethereal had been sitting, there was now only twisted wreckage and a gaping hole leading into the bio-tunnel of the tentacle. The Ethereal was gone—likely pulped or dragged into the Swarm.
"So fragile," the Overmind complained. "Nothing like the brick-houses the humans build."
The Zerg Overlord was unimpressed with T'au ship quality, though he had to admit the Kroot Warspheres were a different story. The Leviathan had been battering a Warsphere for an hour and had barely scratched 30% of its hull. It was built like an avocado—a thick, fibrous outer layer protecting a hard core.
"Zasz, status on the Kroot?"
"Fourteen live samples secured. Over two hundred cadavers collected for genetic mapping."
"Keep at it. I want a complete genome."
The Kroot were beginning to realize they were the primary targets. The "elusive tentacles" hidden within the Zerg boarding parties were specifically snatching their tribesmen. As a social, tribal race, the Kroot fought desperately to reclaim their fallen, but they were being overwhelmed.
"Why are there so many?!" a Fire Clan warrior screamed, emptying his pulse rifle into a never-ending tide of Zerglings. "There's only one bio-ship! Where are they coming from?!"
The Leviathan wasn't just a transport; it was a mobile hive. It was churning out reinforcements at a rate that defied biological logic.
"We have no choice," a Kroot Shaper barked. "Release the Great Knarloc!"
From the depths of the Warsphere, a colossal Kroot beast—the size of a prehistoric dinosaur—was unleashed. It was a mountain of muscle and beak, larger than a Roach and roughly the size of a super-heavy tank.
"Wait, what is that?" the Overmind paused, watching the sensors. "Why are there dinosaurs on this ship?!"