After nearly a decade of peaceful development within the Aiur sector, the Swarm's numbers across various planets had reached a terrifying scale. Had the Zerg encountered the Tyranid fleet from ten years ago now, they could have fought a war of total annihilation on the spot.
To this end, before departing to support Cadia, Alexei had assigned several tasks to Abathur. The first was to see if the Adeptus Astartes augmentation process could be improved—hardly a challenge for a master of biological genes like Abathur.
The second task was for Abathur to modify a portion of the Swarm to reduce their aggression, remove harmful toxins and substances, and fatten them up slightly. Yes, Alexei intended to ranch a portion of the Zerg to use as food.
The vast spaces within the Hive City's Underhive could be fully utilized: one part for processing decomposable organic waste, and another for ranching these genetically specialized Zerg. After all, the corpses currently on Aiur were fed directly to the Swarm in the Underhive for processing, and the Swarm, in turn, fed the humans—a virtuous cycle.
Furthermore, he assigned Zagara and Colton a mission: to conduct live-combat exercises between the Zerg and the Aiur military. Training alone cannot directly enhance a recruit's combat effectiveness, and he couldn't lead a group of green soldiers to face demons and monsters without them having "seen blood." Moreover, the Swarm could not be allowed to grow stagnant; they had to fight constantly to maintain the collective's lethality.
It appeared now that Alexei's orders had been executed perfectly. Abathur's refined Astartes surgery eliminated the Black Carapace implantation phase while adding a new gland to the brain. This gland significantly enhanced the Aiur Astartes' physical adaptability—particularly against Warp-capable viruses. They also possessed strength far exceeding that of a standard Astartes and powerful regenerative abilities, capable of regrowing a lost limb in about a month.
Additionally, they were given the choice to connect to the Swarm's psionic network. The only side effects were a distancing of personality and changes to their skin and pupils.
When selecting candidates for transformation, the requirements for age and physical fitness were extremely high. After the final gene-seed modification stage, these "recruits" would participate in a trial—a killing game.
At this moment, in the Underhive of Aiur's Primary Hive City, Colton sat within an Orbital Command Center. Beside him stood a massive Queen. Initially, he wasn't used to being alone with the Zerg, but after frequent interactions, he no longer minded. Moreover, his counterpart was an exceptional strategic master; even if they viewed things from different angles, Colton could learn much through communication.
Before them was a giant screen—provided for Colton's benefit—divided into nine sectors. Each sector represented a fixed area where the creep was swarming with Zerg of all types, all under the direct command of the strategic master, Zagara.
"30 minutes until the start of the first Killing Trial," the Adjutant's voice echoed in the command center.
"Understood," Colton nodded. This was the second Killing Trial, designed to test the combat proficiency of the prospective Astartes recruits. Their goal was singular: use any means necessary to destroy the target Hive.
Participants were divided into ten-man combat squads, given free rein over their equipment and Power Armor, and deployed into the nine fixed zones. They had to fight through the full resistance of the Swarm to cooperate and destroy the central Hive.
Though these warriors were precious assets, Zagara would not hold back. To prevent total loss, a powerful psyker, Ellie, hovered above the battlefield. Using her psionic powers, she would briefly stabilize the vital signs of dying warriors before handing them over to off-site medical teams. Ellie loved this job; to her, it was like watching a thrilling movie.
Mario stood silently with his battle brothers before a lift platform. He wore a specialized suit of CMC-300 Power Armor, wielding a heavy alloy shield in one hand and a heavy Gauss spike rifle in the other. The rifle was fitted with a massive monomolecular bayonet; a weapon so heavy for a normal human that Mario could wield it single-handedly with ease.
The brothers behind him shared similar configurations, except for three heavy fire-support members wearing specialized CMC-660 Power Armor. Their thick plating made them a head taller than the rest; from behind, the black alloy armor obscured everything. In that silence, it was impossible to tell they were even human.
Mario's golden, slit-pupil eyes scanned the prompts on his visor:
Objective: Destroy Swarm Hive.
Time: 24 Terra Standard Hours.
Squad Size: 10.
Remaining Squads: 9.
The Adjutant's voice crackled in the squad channel: "Attention, the Killing Trial is about to begin. Please stand on the lift platform."
The tactical squad stepped onto the center of the platform with heavy strides. "Descent in 30 seconds... 29... 28..."
As the countdown ended, the platform began to descend slowly. The roar of hydraulic levers echoed in the cramped space until a loud "Thump!" signaled they had hit the bottom.
In the confined space, the squad remained silent but immediately shifted formations. The three warriors in heavy CMC-660 armor moved to the front. With the screech of a rusting iron door opening, everyone raised their weapons.
As the first sliver of dim light entered the space, thunderous gunfire erupted alongside the distant shrieks of the Swarm. The slaughter had begun!
The squad advanced with incredible unspoken coordination, providing cover for one another. They didn't immediately hunt for the Hive; instead, they rushed toward a specific direction.
The other squads had made the same decision: they intended to rendezvous first. Naturally, Zagara would not let them have their way. Tides of Zerg firmly separated them. Seeing this, the squads changed tactics, using the psionic network to communicate and alternate attacks on the Swarm's weak points.
However, they failed to realize that Zagara was also within that network. She followed their communications and intentionally exposed a weakness to lure them in.
When the Overlords detected the majority of the squads heading for that weak point, Zagara knew they had fallen for it. The moment they entered the zone, a massive swarm surrounded them. Casualties spiked; men fell and were teleported out by Ellie.
Yet, just as victory seemed certain, the wail of an Overlord caught Zagara's attention. One squad hadn't gone!
Mario had led his squad using the internal comms of their Power Armor rather than the network. They had cautiously bypassed all creep and Overlords on the way to the Hive. He could not let the sacrifice of the main force be in vain. The moment they sighted the silhouette of the Hive, he knew they had won.
Amidst a barrage of grenade fire, the Hive collapsed into a heap of gore. The humans had won this round.
"An interesting game," Zagara hissed quietly.
"Very impressive. They were clever, but you were overconfident," Colton chuckled. This was enough to prove the strength of these warriors. In the future of Aiur, there would surely be a place for them.