Imperial Frontier: The Plan Begins

Mal Hammer was in a foul mood—an incredibly foul mood. He had lost three factories in a mere two months; even for the sake of The Emperor, this was absolute bullshit.

The leader of the Hammer Gang walked along the pedestrian street overlooking the abandoned mine. It was deserted, the once-thriving massive mining site now completely empty.

This place was once one of the primary sources of uranium for Victoria Hive.

Back then, the Underhive wasn't called the Underhive; it was simply a part of Victoria Hive, a monument to the planet's development and prosperity.

But as centuries passed and the resources here were bled dry, this meritorious mine was abandoned and forgotten, just like the Underhive.

Of course, Mal wasn't here to be sentimental. In the current Imperium, no one cared about such emotional matters.

He was here to keep an appointment—a strange "date."

Mal Hammer walked along the winding road that had once been used by the mine's heavy-duty trucks.

Centuries had passed, yet the tracks of those heavy vehicles still remained on the road.

But all these ancient relics were nothing compared to the beauty standing ahead.

At an observation deck at the end of the road, Silver Snake stood in silence, leaning against the railing and looking down into the massive, terraced pit.

"Miss Silver Snake, your choice of dating spot isn't exactly great. You would have been better off coming to my bar."

Mal chuckled, his mohawk bobbing as he gave a crude laugh. He walked up to Silver Snake and rested his sturdy mechanical right arm on the railing.

"I'm quite confident my private stock is no worse than yours. You'd want to have a couple of drinks, and then we could talk," Mal said with a grin.

But Silver Snake gave a soft laugh and took two steps back. "Sorry to ruin your mood, but she is on a date with me."

The voice made Mal turn his head in utter astonishment, and then he saw him—the man he had been hating so much lately that his teeth ached.

"You!" Mal cursed, raising his mechanical arm. His palm quickly split open to the sides, a laser pistol extending out and aiming straight at the man's head.

The bastard just smiled with calm indifference, casually pulling back his coat to reveal an empty holster underneath.

Mal didn't buy it. Either he had arranged an ambush nearby, or he was a weapon himself, having installed bionic prosthetics just like the wealthy folks in the upper hives.

Because of this, Mal didn't lower his wrist, keeping his aim locked on Vito. The veins on his face bulged, much like when Ragnar was infuriated by one of Lancelot's jokes.

"I asked Miss Silver Snake to arrange this meeting, not for a firefight, Mr. Mal." "Bullshit! I had no idea I was meeting a bastard like you! If I had, I would've brought a melta gun to melt your goddamn face off!"

Vito chuckled and calmly walked over to Mal, leaning against the railing without the slightest concern for the muzzle pressed nearly against his head.

Vito pulled a bottle from his coat, took a swig, and then handed it to Mal.

"Drink up. It's not poisoned; I don't intend to kill you yet."

Mal stared at the bottle in silence. He didn't take it, continuing to glare with murderous intent at the idiot who had caused him such heavy losses.

Silver Snake sighed helplessly, stepped forward, and snatched the bottle. It was different from when she drank at the bar.

Back then, Silver Snake usually removed the strange respirator mask from her face.

At least for the brief moments she was drinking, she would. But here, Silver Snake only lifted a corner of the mask, took a sip, and immediately covered it back up.

It was as if she were an Astra Militarum soldier hunkered down in a trench, wanting a drink to take the edge off while Nurgle demon gas drifted overhead.

Vito watched Silver Snake, who shoved the bottle into Mal's hand. Mal took it with his other hand, looked at Silver Snake, gazed into those gray-green eyes, sighed, and took a drink.

Mal powered down his weapon, the dangerous mechanical arm closing back into a hand.

"For Silver Snake's sake, Vito Constantine, I'll give you a chance to speak. But you'd better say something that interests me before my patience runs out."

Mal said this as he walked up to Vito, standing a full head taller than him. "And my patience isn't exactly deep, nor does it last very long."

Vito smiled. "Then I'll give you the big news straight: I'm going to help you deal with the Crimson Essence threat."

Mal froze, looking at the man before him with hesitation. "Are you high?" "Crimson Essence? No, not at all, and that stuff doesn't work on me."

Vito said with a slight shrug, "You heard me right, Mal Hammer. I'm going to help you deal with Mosley, and I'll destroy the Crimson Essence factory in Victoria, just as you'd want." "Why? I don't trust you."

Vito laughed playfully, crossing his arms as he looked at Mal. "Mosley has become a threat to me—or rather, he's a stumbling block on my path to ascension. Even Henry is. I intend to take them both out."

"And the Crimson Essence factory isn't under my control. Guess where it'll be rebuilt once the current one is blown up?" "You're seizing my three factories." "No, the Hammer Factory."

Before the words had even left his mouth, Mal's veins bulged, and he grabbed Vito by the throat, his powerful mechanical arm clamping down on his windpipe.

"I'll kill you right here! You stole my Sentinels, and now you want to steal my most important factory?! In the name of The Emperor, I'll kill you!"

"Calm down, Mal, calm down." Vito patted his arm. "The lady is still here; don't be in such a rush to kill."

Mal glanced at the indifferent Silver Snake standing to the side with her hands on her hips.

Vito stood up and straightened his ruffled collar. "Taking the Hammer Factory is the start of the plan. It's a step I'm using to take out Mosley, and the starting point for everything that follows."

Mal crossed his arms, his mechanical limb clicking against his chest. "Then you'd better give me a reason—a damn good reason—for me not to kill you."

Vito smiled, keeping one hand behind his back. "Let me lay it all out for you. In three days, your outer factories will suffer a series of attacks, but the real goal is a riot at the Hammer Factory. Mosley will incite and lead it, using those workers who have been consuming Crimson Essence and indoctrinated by him to start an uprising. My people will use the Sentinels to launch an attack from the perimeter, taking the factory from the inside out."

"Inside the factory, Mosley will be alone—or rather, he will be alone. I've already provoked him. To prove his worth, my friend will be so impatient that he'll send out everyone he has, trying to seize as much of the factory as he can before I do."

"But he won't go himself, because he has one more task. I told him he needs to open an abandoned tunnel gate from underground. I suspect his original plan was to wait there to mock me and gloat about how he'd already taken most of the factory while I'd only just gotten in."

Vito laughed sardonically. "His ego and arrogance will lead him right into a trap, and I'll be the one to fire the first shot of the hunt."

Mal fell silent, staring at the man before him. After a moment, he gave a slight shrug. "You still haven't told me, Vito Constantine, why I should let you take my factory? Especially now that you've told me your plan."

"First, the factory's seizure is inevitable. Even without me, the Devout Society would eventually take it. I'm offering you a chance to pull out all your important equipment, supplies, and personnel to avoid the loss."

"Second, I need an opportunity. You see, the factory is in total chaos. A few days ago, someone leaked classified information to Silver Snake, leading to a shipment of Crimson Essence being hijacked by our unfriendly friends. If that spy were to leak Mosley's whereabouts and information to Silver Snake again, and it eventually reached Mal Hammer, what then?"

Vito chuckled, looking at the Hammer before him, "That would be truly tragic. After the great battle, we would sadly discover that the Mosley brothers had vanished."

Vito shook his head hypocritically and turned to look at the large hole below, "And the scene would be filled with a mass of mangled flesh, or remains simply burned to ash, caused by the large-scale lethal weapons we recently acquired for use inside and outside the factory during the battle. Therefore, we would have no choice but to believe that the Mosley brothers had unfortunately passed away."

A cunning smile curled the corners of his mouth as he turned to look at Mal, "Along with them, several missionaries from Mosley's side. We have already decided at the meeting that we will not use Crimson Essence for influence and proselytizing without missionaries present, so the Hammer Gang's operations to strike at the Crimson Essence would be forced to pause."

"What's worse, the Mosley brothers apparently knew the location of the Crimson Essence factory. In a fit of rage, Mal Hammer tortured and interrogated the Mosley brothers, eventually using some unknown means to force them to reveal the location of the processing plant, and then destroyed it."

Mal listened quietly, appearing very patient. Vito smiled and walked up to him, "And in the end, the Crimson Essence factory would need to be rebuilt. The site would be chosen at the largest and most readily available location: the Hammer Factory. And the manager of the Hammer Factory, due to the unfortunate passing of the Mosley brothers, would become..."

"You," Mal said. Vito smiled and gave a slight nod.

"Why should I believe you'll reach an agreement with me? You mean you'll kill Henry at some point, become the boss of the Devout Society in the Underhive yourself, and then call a truce with me to define our borders? And why should I believe you won't take the opportunity to kick me while I'm down?"

Vito clapped his hands, a look of gratification on his face, "You are a smart man, Mr. Mal. You certainly should ask that question."

As Vito spoke, he nodded toward Silver Snake, who pulled a recording pen from somewhere on her waist.

The beautiful bartender handed it to Mal, who took the device with an expression of near shock.

He looked at Vito with extreme confusion, while the latter remained smiling. Mal looked at the recording pen in his hand, "You've given me a weapon of mass destruction, Vito—a handle strong enough to get you killed. Why aren't you worried that I'll hand this over to Henry?"

"Because I am the only one willing to cooperate with you, Mr. Mal. So, what will you choose?" Vito said with a smile.

Mal stared at the recording pen in silence for a moment, then tucked it into his coat and turned to leave.

After walking a good distance away, he shouted, "I will do my job, and now you go do yours! Vito Constantine!"

Silver Snake stood with her hands on her hips, watching Mal with amusement, then glanced at Vito, "Today's date was quite a success." "You made a big gamble, Vito."

The latter chuckled, wrapped an arm around Silver Snake's waist, and looked into her eyes, "And fortunately, I have never lost a bet. There's another date—are you interested?"

"Where?" Silver Snake, unexpectedly, did not pull away from Vito, but let out a long sigh and asked in return.

"How about the Hammer Factory?"

Silver Snake smiled and gave a slight shrug, "A very unique date spot. Hmm, sure." "Excellent. But this time, someone else will be coming with us. Don't look at me like that, and don't be quick to get jealous. That person isn't a woman, and honestly... well, I don't even know if he can still be considered human."

Vito raised his arm, and the communicator on his wrist lit up, "Omega, I need you to come down here. Keep a low profile." "Understood," came the soul-stirring electronic reply from the other end.