The inefficiency of the Imperial Administrative Department is notorious in Warhammer circles.
The Empire possesses too many planets—so many that while losing some, others are being colonized. Their sheer scale means they hardly care about sacrificing a few planets or colonizing a few more.
"Governor Munch, are you there?"
"Yes."
A weak voice came from behind the desk. Munch looked up, clearly not having left the office for some time, his hair disheveled, utterly exhausted.
"How long since you last rested?"
"Not sure. Maybe a week, maybe a month."
Though over a hundred years old, Governor Munch still appeared young, though some white strands now dotted his black hair.
Perhaps he wasn't an exceptionally outstanding Planetary Governor, but he was certainly a competent one.
"What brings you here, Frank?"
"Can't I just come for a drink? Enough small talk. Do you remember Zeg III?"
"Of course. That beautiful rainforest planet. If not for the occasional acid rain, it would be an excellent colonization target."
"That planet now shows no trace of rainforest color. I suspect unknown life forms may have appeared. I want to investigate and respond accordingly, but my document hasn't been approved."
"As you can see, I'm swamped. Compared to the chaos in the underhive, Zeg III is trivial."
"No. I have a feeling there are heretics on that planet."
Hearing 'heretics,' Governor Munch became serious.
"Alright. Take a fleet to investigate. If heretics are found, exterminate them on-site."
The Planetary Governor took his seal and stamped Frank's newly brought document. Only then could Frank mobilize the fleet.
The threat of heretics far outweighed underhive chaos.
Munch didn't want a heretic base next to his planet, nor heretic fleets reaching his homeworld.
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Meanwhile, on the Zerg Swarm side, after Abathur's modifications, a new Queen emerged.
Her appearance didn't change much from the standard Queen, but her somewhat Zerg-like face now carried a hint of Aeldari features—some humanoid traits, though still fundamentally Zerg facial structure.
Additionally, she gained an extra pair of arms. These arms had Aeldari hands, not Zerg hand structures.
To put it simply:
†Not much change. Probably couldn't tell it apart from a regular Queen if placed side by side.†
Regardless, the Queen's appearance didn't matter. As long as it could open Webway gates, even if it looked like a slug, it was fine.
†Psychic power indeed increased slightly, but not much. That's good. Psychic units—best to be stable. Strength isn't crucial; stability is paramount.†
The Overmind didn't want its psychic units, especially command units, to self-destruct.
Command units usually have elite guard units nearby. If a psychic explosion occurred... tsk tsk, losing the guard units would be a huge loss.
"Overmind, I pledge my loyalty to you."
From the Queen's mouth came a beautiful female voice, which was somewhat surprising. The Queen's original voice should be hoarse, typical smoker's voice.
But this Queen's voice resembled Izsha, the Zerg adjutant from Heart of the Swarm 2.
†Excellent. Go to the Webway gate. See if you can open it.†
"As you command, Overmind."
Escorted by numerous Zerg units, this special Queen seemed to already know how to open the Webway gate. She swept her palm over the Webway beacon, which lit up with ancient Aeldari script and a brilliant star map.
†It works! Excellent! Abathur, awesome! Give him a thumbs up!†
With Webway gates, the Swarm Overmind could truly go anywhere.
Nearly all planets have Webway gates, varying in size. Some can accommodate fleets; some are only person-sized.
†This is fantastic. Like the Tyranids planting Genestealers, I can plant Drones on various planets too.†
Conquest, expansion—that's the Zerg Swarm's purpose. Webway gates would become the primary enabler!
"Overmind, detecting a fleet approaching this planet. Observed vessel count: five."
†Five?!†
This startled the Overmind. It projected its vision through an Overseer. In the distant void, five Imperial ships approached.
Two were Lunar-class cruisers, two Cobra-class destroyers, and one massive vessel—a rare Emperor-class battleship. It bore a golden, cloaked angel statue holding a sword and shield. The statue alone was over 1 km tall.
†Madness? Is the Empire collapsing? Lunar-class is normal—easy to build, numerous. But an Emperor-class battleship?!†
Lunar-class: around 5 km length. Cobra-class: around 1.5 km length. Both relatively conventional Imperial ships.
An Emperor-class appearing on the battlefield was ridiculous.
Actually, not that ridiculous. Frank's thinking was simple: Lunar-class ships were patrol and meat shield exemplars—must bring. But if enemies emerged that Lunar-class couldn't handle, the fleet needed a decisive force.
Thus, this Emperor-class battleship, named Eternal Emperor, was deployed.
Emperor-class ships are typical mainline duelists. A well-handled Emperor-class could sway a battle's outcome.
†Alright, alright. The Empire comes for trouble; I won't hold back either. Newborn Queen, I bestow upon you a name. From today, you are Izsha. You will execute a new mission.†
"I obey the Overmind's command."
†Take Infestors and part of the Swarm forces to the nearest human planet. Unleash an infestation tide in the Hive City's depths. I don't require you to conquer the Hive quickly, but you must create chaos.†
"As you command, Overmind."
The newborn Queen Izsha entered the Webway gate directly, followed by Infestors.
Don't worry. Queens like this could be produced as many as resources and time allowed. Their loss wouldn't be mourned.
The Swarm Overmind often granted Cerebrates, Queens, and Overlords some command authority, similar to Norn Queens, Hive Tyrants, and Warriors.
Whether Izsha could complete the mission wasn't the Overmind's concern.
Now, focus shifted to this Imperial fleet. It wasn't time to attack yet. Wait for the Astra Militarum to land first. Otherwise, if attacked before landing, the fleet would likely conduct orbital bombardment.
Orbital bombardment truly hurts. No species wants to face it.
†I don't have planet-scale Void Shields. Can't rely on my psychic shield every time. Zasz, lower aerial defenses. Let those human forces land on the planet. Then they won't conduct orbital bombardment.†
Theoretically, they still might, but only if ground forces suffered severe losses.
No commander would order orbital bombardment right after troops landed, not even fearless Kriegers.