Imperial Frontier: Shadows Approach

"So, did you manage to interrogate anything out of him?" Silver Snake asked. The beauty with silver-gray eyes crossed her legs, her long, slender thighs exposed under the faint orange-red light. Her bright blue evening gown shimmered like a galaxy of stars, the shifting gradients of blue turning her silhouette into something dreamlike.

Silver Snake sat on the bar stool; it must be said, the dress suited her perfectly. Seeing her in it, one would never doubt that she was the daughter of some Governor or perhaps a duchess from an Imperial feudal world.

Her exquisite gray-green hair hung over her shoulders, small braids resting against her cheeks. Opposite the beauty, Vito leaned against the bar counter, chin in his hand, watching her with keen interest.

Silver Snake sighed softly, swirling her glass. "Have you seen enough? Can you answer my question now?"

"No, but of course, I can." Vito smiled, taking off his long black trench coat and hanging it on a nearby rack. Underneath, he wore a simple shirt—surprisingly, no body armor. Given Vito's usual combat style, the lack of armor suggested a certain degree of confidence.

Vito returned to the bar, leaned against the counter, and cracked his neck. Silver Snake raised an eyebrow, spotting the two holsters under his arms, each containing a laspistol.

"How many guns do you carry? Three for one person?" "My dear, you can never have too many weapons. You never know when you might need a second gun."

Vito poured a drink for Silver Snake as he spoke. "Your marksmanship isn't bad either. One shot, one head with that shotgun. Quite impressive, considering your background."

"My background? This is the Underhive. People learn to shoot before they learn to walk." "My dear, we've been through life and death together. You don't need to lie to me."

Silver Snake stopped drinking. She fixed her gaze on Vito, her hazy eyes lingering on him for a moment before she took another sip.

"Then where do you think I'm from?" Silver Snake asked in her melodic voice. Vito shrugged, picking up the bottle to pour himself a drink. "The Upper Hive."

"Why?" "You always wear a filter mask. That thing is for filtering toxic gases. I've seen many types of filters while fighting alongside the Death Korps of Krieg, so I can recognize them at a glance."

"You only take off the mask in this bar because the air here is purified and filtered. Believe me, I've smelled every kind of gas there is, and you never take it off once you step outside."

"The reason is simple: people born in the Upper Hive breathe clean air from birth. Even the lungs of Mid-Hivers are raised on smog and partial toxins, so they can breathe down here directly—at most, they'd just be uncomfortable, rather than suffocating or struggling to breathe."

Vito looked at the half-face filter mask as he spoke. "You didn't grow up here. You grew up in the Upper Hive and came down after a certain age. Even after all these years, your lungs still can't adapt to the air here."

As he spoke, Vito laughed again, leaning out to glance at her leg. "Besides, I've never seen a woman with such a figure in the Underhive."

Silver Snake pushed Vito's head back, a helpless smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Vito laughed, crossing his arms, the two laspistols under his armpits shifting slightly.

"My dear, I'm an outsider too, not even from Victoria. You can tell me your identity; perhaps I can help you?" "Help me? I'm skeptical, my dear Vito." "Then let's find out."

Vito vaulted over the bar, leaning in beside Silver Snake. He nodded slightly, signaling he was ready to hear the story.

Silver Snake sighed, swirling her glass in silence for a long while before finally speaking.

"My name is actually Olivia. Olivia Caen-Johnson." "A noble surname? Hmm. If I recall correctly, my dear, the current planetary governor is named Luven Caen-Johnson."

"That's right, he's my uncle. I quite liked him before he used a coup to kill my parents and tried to finish me off." Silver Snake, or rather Olivia, said with a laugh that turned into a sob. She turned to look at Vito. "You don't seem surprised, my dear Vito."

"My dear, I've seen too many messes like this. You see, the Imperium is vast; there are always people who think they can get things done without notifying the Imperium."

Vito smiled, glancing at Olivia. "I believe some of my colleagues would have a stronger reaction, but I won't. By the way, it's a lovely name." "Thank you."

Olivia offered a moving smile. "You see, I grew up in the Governor's Palace, just as you thought—servants, big houses, and a decent life. My family has ruled Victoria for many, many generations. Though it had nothing to do with me; I would have just been married off eventually to form some political alliance."

"That alliance would have to be worthy of your beauty. Have you considered an alliance with the High Lords of Terra?" "I'll take that as a compliment."

"But you see, every such family has a cliché plot. Your father's brother was dissatisfied with your father inheriting the throne, secretly gathered power, assassinated your father, and then wiped out your whole family. Then you were forced to flee, turning from a governor's daughter into an exile and bar owner who goes out to kill people from time to time."

Silver Snake gestured with her fingers, quite calm. "So I came here, before my scumbag uncle could kill me too. I don't know what he would have done to me, but it certainly wouldn't have been anything good. So I ran away, to here."

"A wise choice. The lawless Underhive—I imagine your uncle doesn't know where you are, or even if you're alive." "Right, he doesn't. No one would ever guess that the owner and bartender of this dive is that Olivia. After all, plenty of people flee from the Upper Hive due to similar messes."

Vito raised his glass slightly. "So you not only survived in this hellhole but became the mistress of the place and an information broker? Oh, I bet that story is quite something."

"Indeed, it could fill a book, but I won't write it." Olivia rested her head on her hand, looking at Vito. "So what do you think? After hearing this cliché story."

Vito shrugged slightly, crossing his arms. "Well, how did your uncle pull off the coup? Did he unite with political allies in the Upper Hive?"

This time it was Silver Snake's turn to shrug. She took a casual sip of her drink. "Partly, I suppose. The rest, I don't know." "Never thought about revenge?" "My dear, I'm just a girl alone with no one to rely on. When I came down here, I didn't even know how to survive outside the Governor's Palace. Do you think I can count on revenge?"

Vito chuckled. "You can now. You have someone you can rely on."

"You?" Olivia asked playfully, a mocking smile on her face. "Who are you to take down a Governor?" "Would an Inquisitor do?"

The air froze. The smile vanished from Olivia's face. She sat up, staring at Vito in shock. The latter wore a wry smile. "What's wrong? Didn't guess that?"

"No, I knew you were an outsider, but I thought you were just an agent sent by the Sector Adeptus Arbites. I didn't expect..." "Right, an Inquisitor. I'm not joking."

Vito stood up straight, smiling, and gave a polite bow. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. Ordo Xenos of the Imperium, or as people often call it, an Inquisitor of the Inquisition, Vito Constantine."

Olivia looked at Vito in silence for a moment, then took a drink. After a long while, she turned back. "Alright, did you come alone?"

"There's a tech-priest inside. By the way, his name is Omega, from Mars." "Anyone else?" "Hmm, a battlecruiser, a ship full of crew, plus a captain." "I can tell there's more." "Ah, right, four Deathwatch Space Marines. Four oddballs. Is that enough?"

Olivia sighed, poured herself another drink, and downed it in one go. Then she slammed the glass heavily onto the table.

She took a deep breath. "I can tell you're not lying, but are you sure..." "Very sure, my dear. I swear on my professional standing as an Inquisitor: your uncle definitely has a problem."

Vito flicked his fingers, speaking eloquently. "The Upper Hive is clearly condoning the problems brought by the Devout Society. He's likely connected to them. So yes, if the Devout Society has a problem, I will resolve him along with it."

"You can remove the 'if'." A mechanical voice spoke. Vito and Olivia looked over. Omega was walking out from the back room. He stopped in front of them, his mechanical eye scanning Olivia once more.

"Your injuries are recovering well, Miss Silver Snake." "Thank you, Magos Omega." "Very good. Vito, you should learn to call me by my full title, not 'Octopus'." "Well, did you find out anything? So I can remove the 'if'."

Omega looked at Olivia, but Vito nodded slightly in affirmation. "Miss Silver Snake, or rather Olivia, is now our ally. I trust her. Go ahead."

"Very well. Combining Mosley's memories with the extracted genetic samples, calculations show he has a 56.32% genetic match with the Tyranids. Based on the database, I can basically confirm he is a..."

"Genestealer."

The smile that always hung on Vito's face vanished. His expression darkened as he looked at Omega seriously. "Anything else?"

"It is not good news. I read his memories. When he was at the space station, he received a Tyranid psychic signal from the void. The station also observed it. When the station prepared to transmit the signal back to the capital to issue a warning and alarm, he led the Genestealers within the station to riot, killed the station commander, and sabotaged the signal transmission."

"Regarding the cold case of the corpses, it has been resolved. At the time, he had a pure-strain Genestealer by his side. It was extremely hungry, so after the surviving Genestealers brought it onto the shuttle, they also brought along most of the corpses that hadn't been sucked into space for it to feast upon."

Vito turned around and paced a few steps through the bar, but stopped after only a short distance, snapping his head toward Omega. "Are you certain he received a Tyranid signal from the void?"

"Quite certain, Inquisitor." "What are you two talking about? I don't understand."

Olivia asked. Vito looked at the beauty and remained silent for a moment. "Do you know about the Battle of Macragge?" "I've heard of it. My father told me about it when I was a child. It sounds like the Ultramarines had a scrap with a bunch of space bugs on their home world."

"My dear, they are indeed bugs, but these bugs exist in numbers vast enough to blot out the stars, extinguish the sun, and devour every scrap of matter on a planet. Everywhere they go, only pure destruction and desolation remain. Can you imagine a cosmic-scale locust swarm?"

Olivia froze. Given her level of education, she understood exactly what that implied. She looked at Vito, stunned, and the latter sighed. "Yes, the Hive Fleet is coming. These Tyranid Genestealers have likely been nesting on this planet for who knows how many generations, and now, the signal they sent has been received."

"Then what do we—" Vito stepped up and gripped her shoulders. She looked up at him, and the Inquisitor turned his head to look at Omega.

"Did you execute him?" "No need, his brain was fried." "Very good. Did you see any other useful information?"

Omega nodded slightly, his head tilting just a fraction. "I did not find the explicit location of the Patriarch, but I can pinpoint the origin of the Crimson Essence that affects the psyche." "Is it precise?" "The data lacks verification, but I will return to the Infinite Frontier as soon as possible to conduct a ground scan using the auspex."

Vito nodded slightly. After a moment of silence, he gripped Aurelia's shoulder. "Have the four of them prepare for a strike. It must be thorough; leave no survivors. Any evidence—blow that place to hell. I will accelerate the established plan."

Omega nodded slightly and turned to leave. "Inquisitor, should we send an alert and a request for reinforcements to the sector command?"

Vito smiled and rubbed his neck. "Rely on those bureaucrats? I have my doubts."

He turned around, one hand behind his back, and looked into Omega's flickering mechanical eye. The slacker demeanor he had worn earlier vanished, and he looked like a true Inquisitor.

"Send a signal to all surrounding Imperial fleets, the Astra Militarum, Astartes chapters, and every armed force available. I, Vito Constantine, Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos chosen by The Emperor, in the name of the Divine Emperor, demand that all loyal subjects answer the call and come to the Victoria System to face the coming Great Enemy of The Emperor."

"May The Emperor guide us. Over," Vito said. Omega nodded solemnly—or at least, it appeared very solemn—as a stream of data flashed through his eyes.

"You have more to say, don't you, Vito?" "Of course."

The corners of Vito's mouth curled into a smile. "Send a message to the sector command. Tell those morons that if they don't come to help, I will issue an Exterminatus order for the entire Victoria System and all surrounding systems."

Olivia's eyes widened, and she stared at Vito in disbelief. The latter shrugged playfully, and even Omega let out a strange, mechanical laugh.

"Very fitting for your personality, Vito. I will execute the expected objectives as soon as possible. Now, goodbye." Omega turned and left without a moment's hesitation, like an efficient machine—perhaps the word "like" could be omitted.

"Let me get this straight," Olivia asked. "You're going to help me reclaim the position of Governor, and now you also have to wipe out alien traitors inside the planet, all while facing an impending apocalyptic disaster."

Faced with Olivia's expression, Vito rubbed his chin, looking rather awkward. "It seems... the situation is a bit complicated."

"It's more than just a bit complicated." She covered her face in exasperation. "I just had a glimmer of hope for reclaiming my life, and now I find out that the entire system might be wiped out. This is just..."

Vito smiled faintly and raised two glasses, handing one to Olivia. "A typical day in the Empire?"

She took the drink and smiled helplessly. "Yes."