Karl-2.
Luna's fleet had already clashed with the Greenskins occupying Karl-2 no fewer than five times. Although neither Luna nor the Tech-priests had extensive experience in naval warfare, they relied on superior weaponry and equipment. Bolstered by a naval tactical analysis unit from the Dark Age of Technology, Luna's fleet consistently held the upper hand in every engagement, often achieving crushing victories.
This was a primary source of Luna's confidence. If any other Imperial fleet had utilized such forbidden combat units, they would have risked Chaos corruption or loss of human control. But Luna, being an agent of Tzeentch backed by the Mechanicus, had no such concerns. They had simply corrupted the unit beforehand, turning it into an obedient "Magical Compendium of Tactics."
The first two engagements took place in the void surrounding Karl-2. Both battles ended in overwhelming victories for Luna. The most lavish and massive fleet the Greenskins could muster was easily torn apart under the fleet's absolute firepower and precise control, standing no more chance than wet paper.
With the Greenskin capital fleet crippled, Luna's fleet pushed forward, concentrating fire on the station's outer defenses and destroying hundreds of turrets and anti-aircraft platforms. They successfully carved out a relatively safe landing zone on the western side of Karl-2.
Three hundred thousand Skitarii and one million PDF soldiers launched a forced landing on the outer regions of Karl-2 under the fleet's fire support. They advanced ten kilometers and destroyed countless Greenskin fortifications but were eventually forced to retreat under a frenzied counterattack.
In the final engagement, Luna attempted another landing. This time, she deployed mechanized forces: a vast number of Leman Russ tanks and Sentinel walkers. Onager Dunecrawlers and Ironstrider Ballistarii held the front lines, while heavy weapons like arc cannons and rapid-fire plasma guns handled armored targets. Skitarii Phosphor squads were deployed specifically to thin out the Greenskin tide.
The advance distance quintupled, nearly reaching the station's interior. However, the Greenskins were simply too numerous. Furthermore, Ironclaw Chandler, a long-renowned Big Mek, commanded forces with a level of mechanization and quality far exceeding those found on Brevis. Eventually, the landing forces ran out of ammunition and were pushed back once more.
Five clashes, five victories—if one only looked at the casualty ratios. Luna's fleet held an absolute advantage; for every soldier she lost, the Greenskins lost several times more, often exceeding a ten-to-one ratio. The problem was that she could not achieve a true victory. The massive space station remained floating in the void, firmly under Greenskin control.
Luna stood on the bridge of the Measure of Discipline, staring at the ugly metal tumor outside the viewport, her brow furrowed. "Why can't we take it?"
She had asked this question more than ten times over the past half-month. Her adjutant answered cautiously, "My Lady, the Greenskin numbers are too vast. They have the home-field advantage. We are unfamiliar with the interior terrain of the station, and every landing devolves into urban street fighting."
Luna knew he was right. Unless their Warboss was eliminated, Greenskins would continue to be born on Karl-2 indefinitely. But Karl-2 was immense—nearly the size of a small moon. The Greenskins had expanded it to twice its original size using scrap, making the internal structure as complex as a labyrinth. Even if her fleet could maintain a total blockade, fighting through the interior would take time. A vast amount of time.
And time was the one thing she lacked most.
"What about the Warboss? Has he appeared yet?"
The adjutant shook his head. "We tried the Governor's method—broadcasting provocations and insults—but he won't show his face."
Luna narrowed her eyes. It seemed the Greenskins were indeed not that easy to handle. She decided to pause the heavy assaults and maintain the blockade while sending agents into the interior of Karl-2 to locate the Warboss for an assassination.
Unbeknownst to Luna, her opponent was contemplating the same strategy.
Brevis, the Governor's Palace.
Raynor sat in his office, listening to Sarah's detailed breakdown of the naval situation. The Genestealers lurking within Luna's fleet had meticulously recorded the details of the five engagements, the success and failure of the landings, and the fluctuations in fleet data.
Isod stood behind him and said, "It's just as we guessed. She can win, but she can't win decisively."
Raynor nodded. "When fighting Greenskins, the key is always decapitation. If you don't kill the Warboss, killing the boyz is useless. You can't kill those things faster than they reproduce."
He looked at Isod. "At Luna's current intensity, she hasn't yet forced the Warboss of Karl-2 to reveal himself."
Sarah understood his meaning. Chandler wasn't hiding because of cowardice; he hid because he knew he didn't need to show himself yet. Luna's fleet could not yet pose a true threat to him or to Karl-2 itself. Therefore, taking Karl-2 still required a decapitation strike.
"So," Isodsaid, "the key now is who finds the Warboss first?"
"Correct," Raynor replied firmly.
The mission of the Purple Crystal had not been limited to harassing Karl-2. Before departing, it had left behind a few "gifts."
The first gift was a pack of ten Lictors. Their bodies, over three meters tall and covered in chameleon scales, could achieve perfect optical stealth. Combined with their extreme physical capabilities, they were ideal for reconnaissance in almost any situation.
The second gift was over a hundred Ymgarl Genestealers. These sub-species looked similar to ordinary Genestealers, but their heads resembled massive leeches. Because their genetic infection capabilities were weak, they had long ago been discarded by the Hive Mind from the primary infiltration units. However, they possessed one unique ability that ordinary Genestealers lacked: top-tier physical camouflage.
They could alter their flesh into any shape or color in an instant. A pile of scrap, a corpse, a metal plate—as long as they had seen it, they could mimic it. They could also drastically harden their chitinous armor at the moment of impact. They were units perfectly adapted for stealth.
Against Greenskins, their abilities were more useful than genetic infection. Due to the Greenskins' unique fungal reproduction, the Tyranids' genetic infection was difficult to implement.
The Lictors and Ymgarls slipped out of the Purple Crystal, drifting toward Karl-2 through the void without using spore sacs. This made the probability of detection infinitesimal. Their bodies would not freeze in a vacuum, and their respiratory systems could function in anaerobic environments for several days. They were perfect infiltrators.
Simultaneously, Luna was also taking action. "Deploy the Sicarian Ruststalkers and Infiltrators. The entire First Company is to move out. Find that Warboss!"
Sicarian Infiltrators were elite assassin units of the Mechanicus. Their members were survivors of grievous wounds taken during Skitarii campaigns. After being saved by the Mechanicus, they underwent total augmentation. Their brains were implanted with the combat data of hundreds of veterans, and their bodies were replaced with advanced mechanical prosthetics. Every joint was a weapon; every movement was a killing blow. They needed no proof of their prowess; they were the synonym for death itself.
One hundred and three Sicarian Infiltrators departed from a landed transport ship and slipped into Karl-2. Additionally, several Tzeentchian cultists used the cover of the final landing battle to infiltrate the station.
The various factions thus began their competition within the interior of Karl-2. On one side were the Tzeentch followers with super-sensory perception and psychic stealth, joined by the Sicarian Infiltrators with high-tech gear and centuries of combat experience. On the other side were the Tyranid assassin units relying on genetics and mutation. Their allegiances differed, but their goal was now identical: find Ironclaw Chandler!