The melodious tolling of bells echoed through the spires of the Hive City.
Here sat a vast, luxurious palace, the residence of the Hordem family—the supreme rulers of this planet, vassals of the Emperor.
Sunlight filtered through stained glass depicting the Emperor and his Primarchs, casting quiet patterns on the floor. Isaac Hordem, the Great Planetary Governor, walked slowly through a corridor until he stood before a massive portrait of his ancestors.
Eight thousand years ago, the Hordem family had received an Imperial charter to become the actual controllers of this world. For eight millennia, they had dutifully paid the Tithe, providing endless regiments for the Astra Militarum and vast mineral resources for the Imperium.
However, over the last millennium, the required Tithe had been repeatedly adjusted upward. The Imperium cared little for the planet's survival, and the next collection fleet from the Administratum was due to arrive soon. Lately, massive xenos uprisings had broken out across every Hive on the planet, making it impossible for him to meet his tax quotas.
He should have been facing Imperial judgment—panic and confusion once haunted his heart, waking him from nightmares every night. But now, Isaac Hordem was no longer afraid.
He had found a true god and received his master's grace. As for the other high nobles—those fools who refused to obey his master's commands—their souls had already been sacrificed.
A grim voice echoed from the shadows at the end of the corridor. "My Lord, the plan in the Underhive has met with an accident. Our master's army was not successful..."
Isaac remained silent, but a man's scream soon erupted from the darkness. "My Lord... My Lord! A new xenos force has appeared in the Underhive... we..."
A sickening crunch followed, and the voice vanished.
"A new variable?" Isaac mused. "How very interesting..."
"You're saying Art died at the hands of a psyker?" Alexei asked the man bowing respectfully before him.
"Yes, my Lord. Shortly after the trade with you, the boss died on his way back."
Alexei narrowed his eyes. A powerful psyker... combined with the sudden appearance of the Tzeentchian demon horde, was there another Tzeentch cult active in the Underhive?
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. For now, he needed to manage his current sphere of influence. He gave orders to the man he now controlled: first, seize complete control of the factory zone, replenish the lost workers, and finally, with his help, eliminate all other gangs to unify the Underhive.
Alexei walked out of the Sons of Rusty Iron headquarters, heading toward the factory zone. He wanted to observe it properly this time.
Inside one of the factories, the Feast of Ascension had passed, and the facility had returned to its usual frantic pace. The assembly lines were running at maximum speed. Workers labored for twenty-four standard Terran hours followed by only twelve hours of rest—a schedule just barely enough to keep them from dying of exhaustion while maximizing their utility. Their only sustenance was starch bars and corpse starch synthesized from various waste products.
It was no wonder they turned to dark gods and heretical faiths. Alexei sighed; once he took full control, he intended to give these miserable people at least some basic human rights.
He walked past the workers, who kept their heads down, afraid to look at him. He stopped before a pile of metal scrap dug up from the depths of the Underhive by gang members.
He picked up a piece of processed metal. Suddenly, he felt the metal slowly disappearing in his palm, as if his body were absorbing it.
"What's going on?" Alexei's eyes widened as the metal turned into a pile of gray ash. He fell silent for a long moment.
He checked his panel. Sure enough, a new resource value had appeared.
"This... do I unlock Terran units by absorbing processed metal?"
For a moment, Alexei felt he was even more of a scavenger than the Tyranids. He had to compete with the Tyranid Swarm for biomass, banish demons for Soul Shards, and now he had to consume the planet's mineral resources.
He didn't overthink it and spent the next few hours picking up and setting down metal scraps. The workers behind him watched with a mix of curiosity and fear as the "Enforcer" stood by the scrap pile for so long.
When the bells tolled again, Alexei rubbed his aching back and looked at his panel with satisfaction. Unlike the Protoss and Zerg, the Terran path seemed to focus on producing factories rather than units directly.
Did this mean he could use ore to mass-produce equipment? He thought of the legendary STC templates. Could these factories function like an STC?
He needed to build a Terran structure to find out.
Alexei went to a large clearing on the outskirts of the factory district. He ordered his Roaches and Infestors to clear the area of any dangerous local wildlife. Then, with a thought, his accumulated metal resources were emptied. A 4mx4mx4m black cube was projected into the center of the clearing.
Before his shocked eyes, the cube unfolded and restructured itself until it occupied the entire space.
"Holy shit... a Command Center???" He stared at the building, dazed. This was incredibly powerful.
He hurried inside. A technological aesthetic entirely different from the Warhammer universe greeted him. The interior was vast, bright, and high-ceilinged, containing several sealed workshops. He couldn't see what was inside.
He approached the central control panel. He couldn't read the script, but he intuitively understood its meaning. After a series of operations, a massive mechanical din erupted from the workshops.
Alexei waited. After the second bell from the Spire, the noise subsided. He stood up as the automatic doors slid open, revealing several five-meter-tall machines standing quietly inside.
Seeing the massive multi-purpose claws and power drills, he recognized them instantly. "SCV!"
Excellent. With these, the mountains of waste dumped into the Underhive over centuries would become the fuel for his growth. He only needed to train people to operate these SCVs, and they could continuously transport metal scrap to the base for processing in fully automated workshops, unlocking more Terran structures.
As for the toxic organic waste—the acidic swamps and local beasts—they would become biomass for his Swarm.
Alexei was overjoyed. All he needed now was a little more time. "Tyranid fleets, Tzeentchian demons... bring it on. Let me develop until I'm on 12-base economy, and then we'll see who wins."