After receiving Colton's message, Alexei calculated his options. To maintain the current situation, they needed massive over-the-horizon firepower. The Tyranids were too numerous—their numbers exceeded the humans' bullet counts, and their long-range bio-artillery was ferocious.
He rushed toward the heavy factories in the Underhive. The existing Imperial heavy vehicles and artillery were simply not enough.
"I have to bring out the tanks early." Even though it would consume vast resources and potentially halt power armor production, he couldn't afford to hesitate.
Simultaneously, he contacted Abathur. "Abathur, accelerate the Swarm's evolution. Add every useful genetic fragment you can!"
Alexei opened his system panel and spent his rapidly accumulating biomass to unlock three Zerg units: Banelings, Scourge, and Corruptors. He knew that if he didn't spend the biomass now, he might not get the chance later.
"If we can mass-produce Terran Siege Tanks, we have a chance..." Alexei muttered. He had to go to the factories personally.
Suddenly, Inquisitor Diana, who was traveling with him, shouted, "Look out!!"
Alexei dove forward instinctively as a sharp blade grazed his back. Diana's gun barked behind him. He looked back. "Damn it, a Lictor."
The destruction of the Creep and the loss of Overlords had allowed this Lictor to slip into the Hive.
"Step aside, let me handle this!" Alexei ignored the pain in his back and gripped his power sword. He didn't have time to waste.
Alexei rolled and lunged at the Lictor. He hit the creature with the force of a cannonball, his power sword's disruption field glowing brightly. In just three strikes, utilizing his immense strength, he decapitated the creature.
"Keep up," Alexei said without looking back as he continued running toward the factories. Diana watched the twitching xenos corpse in shock, realizing for the first time the true combat prowess of the man she was following.
They reached the industrial zone of the Underhive. PDF reserves were donning power armor, and Goliaths were being airlifted out of the factories. Alexei entered a heavy factory, ordered the workers to step back, and took control of the central console.
He unlocked the Arclite Siege Tank and hit the production button. The factory's workshops began to hum autonomously. Because Siege Tanks were heavy vehicles, their production time was significantly longer than Goliaths. Alexei could only wait anxiously.
He ordered Colton to pull back a dozen experienced tank crews. They were to hold the lines as best they could with their current gear until the new tanks were ready. If the lines fell, they were to retreat in an orderly fashion to preserve manpower.
Alexei spent the hour reading the operation manual for the Siege Tank so he could personally instruct the crews. There was no time for extensive training; they just needed to drive them to the front, switch to Siege Mode, and blast the bugs. The sheer density of the Tyranid swarm would compensate for any lack of accuracy from the novice gunners.
An hour later, fourteen Arclite Siege Tanks rolled out of the alloy gates. The PDF crews were stunned. "What model is this...?" The twin cannons, cold alloy armor, and massive articulated tracks were awe-inspiring.
"I'm going to walk you through the basics quickly," Alexei began. "Before you is the Arclite Siege Tank. It is 12 meters long, 5 meters wide, and 4 meters tall."
"It has two modes. In Tank Mode, it uses twin 90mm cannons and can move freely across complex terrain. In Siege Mode, it anchors to the ground, and its weapons transform into a 180mm Shock Cannon firing 'Maelstrom' armor-piercing shells. It can shred almost any biological form."
With the help of automated consoles, the tanks weren't as hard to operate as they looked. Alexei chose the best-performing crew to stay behind and train others, while the rest were sent immediately to the front.
A standard Terran day had passed since the invasion began. The front-line losses were horrific, but thanks to the fortresses built by SCVs, the lines hadn't collapsed entirely. Meanwhile, the Zerg hives in the Underhives were pumping out reinforcements. Under Abathur's guidance, the Zerg were adapting—becoming larger, with thicker chitin armor.