"Much better."
There was a profound satisfaction in using a capital ship's main battery to swat a Greater Daemon. Normally, a being of that caliber wouldn't give an orbital gunner the chance to lead a target, but the Rain Father's arrogance had been his undoing. He hadn't even bothered to raise a psychic shield, believing his physical presence was enough to cow the stars.
"Zasz, have you finished cleaning up the other four?" the Overmind queried through the hive link.
"Returning to the Overlord: the localized resistance has ceased," Zasz replied.
"Good. Let's wrap this up."
Without Rotigus to anchor them, the remaining Great Unclean Ones were as vulnerable as unpicked fruit. Sensing the shift in the Warp, the four daemons had no intention of continuing a losing battle. They turned their bloated backs on the Brutalisk and scrambled toward the failing altars.
As the morale of the Greater Daemons collapsed, so did the resolve of the remaining Nurgle cultists and Plaguebearers. The "invincible" legion turned tail and fled.
"Cowards. Well, it saves me the energy of hunting them down individually."
The Swarm began its planetary harvest. Every living thing was cataloged and consumed—the fungal forests, the twisted crops, and the sprawling mushroom colonies. Biomass that could be recycled was dragged into the spawning pools; that which was deemed useless or too contaminated was incinerated by Ravager fire.
As the Swarm's footprint expanded, the Overmind noted the increasing friction with the Warp. Conflicts with daemons would likely become a staple of this galaxy, but that was the price of expansion.
Before long, with the coordination of the Queens and Overseers, the Creep blanketed the planet. The T'au who had been enslaved by Nurgle were not spared; they were repurposed as biomass to fuel the next generation of the Swarm. The daemons left nothing behind; upon their banishment, they dissolved into raw sub-dimensional energy.
The Zerg had taken some losses in this skirmish, but as a "pastime," it had been more than adequate.
"The T'au expeditionary fleet and the Kroot Warspheres are approaching, Zasz. Prepare to welcome our guests."
"Yes, Lord. I shall ensure they never leave."
"Pay close attention to the Warspheres," the Overmind cautioned. "They have the capability to jump into Warp space. Do not let them slip away. Even if the hulls are lost, we must secure enough Kroot genetic samples."
Whether the T'au lived or died was a secondary concern. The Kroot were the prize. Their technology was surprisingly sophisticated—often surpassing that of the T'au—though they kept their true capabilities a secret from their blue-skinned benefactors. There was a deceptive depth to those bird-headed mercenaries that hinted at the machinations of Tzeentch, though the Overmind had yet to find definitive proof.
The T'au, meanwhile, had no idea what they were sailing into.
The expeditionary fleet was led by an Ethereal, who sat serenely in a high-backed chair. He was dressed in loose, monastic robes, slowly running a set of elemental prayer beads through his fingers.
An Air Caste commander knelt before him. "Aun, we are entering the system. We are approaching the planet from which the distress signal originated."
"Be vigilant, Commander," the Ethereal warned softly. "The enemy may still be present."
"Regardless of who they are, we shall overcome them for the Greater Good."
"The Path does not seek conflict, Commander. However, if they insist on being our enemies, you have my permission to retaliate with the full might of the Sept."
This fleet was formidable, bolstered by the massive Warspheres that served as their orbital bulwarks. They had faced Imperial fleets before and held their ground. But when they reached their destination, the T'au bridge crew gasped.
"What... what is that?"
Even at a distance, the sensors were screaming. The biological signature of the Leviathan was like a sun in the darkness. Onboard the flagship, T'au biologists were struck with a mix of awe and terror.
"Incredible! We long suspected that mega-fauna could survive in the vacuum, but this... it is a biological miracle!"
The fleet commander, however, was less concerned with miracles and more with the wreckage floating nearby. Scans confirmed the debris belonged to their commercial fleet. The damage was consistent with massive, crushing impacts—the work of the Leviathan's tentacles.
"It is confirmed. These creatures are the aggressors."
"Excellent. Load torpedoes. Ready the railguns. Destroy them before they can react."
"Wait, Commander!" a biologist interjected. "We should capture a specimen for research! This could revolutionize our understanding of xenobiology!"
The commander looked at the scientists as if they were mad. "That creature is larger than a cruiser. It has already decimated a fleet. You want me to 'capture' it? I will not gamble the lives of my crew on your curiosity. We win first."
The command was given. "All batteries... fire!"
Railgun slugs and torpedoes streaked across the void, slamming into the Leviathan's outer shell and gouging deep craters into its thick chitin.
"And so, they've arrived," the Overmind thought.
The Leviathan let out a psychic roar that resonated through the hulls of the T'au ships.
"My ears!" a technician cried, clutching his head.
"Be careful! It's calling for the brood!"
Just as the warning was issued, the T'au sensors flared red. Thousands of new biological signatures were emerging from the planet's shadow and the dark rifts of space.
"We're surrounded, Commander!"
"Stay calm!" the commander barked. "Fleet formation Delta-3. Guns facing outward. Open fire the moment they enter the kill zone! Warspheres, take point on the defense. Do not let them breach our perimeter!"
The Kroot Warspheres moved to the front of the formation, their ancient shields shimmering into existence just as the Leviathan fired its Bio-Plasmic Proton Cannon. The green bolt of energy splashed harmlessly against the Warsphere's void shields.
"Ah, shields," the Overmind noted with a grin. "Not surprising. But let's see how long they hold when the swarm actually starts to bite."