We Need Smart Atoms

Swarm Prince walked into the ruins of the command tower.

Its pace was still neither hasty nor slow, and the blue-white slits swept across the ruins and finally landed on Astria.

"Sons of the Sky's Archon." Its voice was low, with a metallic hoarseness, "Your resistance is meaningless."

Astria looked at it without saying anything.

Swarm Prince raised the biological sword in her hand, pointing the tip of the sword between her eyebrows.

"Hand over your Psionic Energy core. Hand over your technology. Hand over your genes. Great Devourer will give you a painless end."

Astria's mouth corners rose slightly.

That's not a smile, it's a kind of calmness that says, "I've lived for twelve thousand years and I don't need you to teach me what to do."

Her body began to glow, and silver-white light poured out from her chest, illuminating the entire ruins.

"I won't let you touch my people."

Her body exploded.

That light is not an explosion, but a kind of sublimation.

Her Psionic Energy was released to the extreme in an instant, covering everything around her - ruins, rubble, and the twenty creations of Swarm Prince.

The temperature of that light was so high that even Tyranids's carapace could not withstand it. Several weaker creations let out ear-piercing screams and their bodies began to melt.

Swarm Prince did not return.

It stood there, letting the light burn its carapace.

There was no pain in its eyes, only a cold indifference, like watching an ant struggle.

It stretched out its hand, and its five carapace-covered fingers passed through the silver-white light and grasped Astraea's dissipating psychic core.

Give it a gentle squeeze.

The light went out.

Swarm Prince looked down at the still beating light spot in her palm. It was the Psionic Energy that Astria had accumulated for twelve thousand years, and it was her last relic.

It brought the light spot to its mouth and swallowed it.

Its body trembled slightly, and the light traveled under its carapace, and then was digested, absorbed, and transformed into its own power.

"It's all meaningless," it said.

It turned around, and the twenty creatures behind it were getting up from the ground.

The carapace burned by the silver-white light is slowly healing, and the new chitin is harder than before.

Swarm Prince lifted the biological sword, pointing the sword tip in the direction of Milky Way.

"Let's go. Great Devourer's hunting ground is over there."

Hive Ship's engine was re-ignited, and dark green light beams spurted out from the stern of the ship, pushing the huge body towards Milky Way.

Twenty-one creatures stood at the bow of the ship, their bodies glowing with a cold sheen under the starlight.

The first creature spoke, its voice shrill, with a tremor of excitement. "Human Primarch. Their power, their genes. Great Devourer will like it."

The second creature shook his head. "Don't underestimate the enemy. Human Primarch is not Sons of the Sky."

The third creature did not speak, but slowly pulled out the bone knife on his arm.

The light of Milky Way is reflected on the blade.

Swarm Prince stood in front of them, and the whirlpool of Milky Way was reflected in the blue-white gap.

The corners of its mouth, the lipless mouth hidden under the helmet, seemed to be raised slightly.

"For Great Devourer." it whispered.

Twenty-one voices responded simultaneously, "For Great Devourer."

Hive Ship accelerated.

It passed through the dissipating pale golden nebula, passed through the still-burning wreckage of the Sons of the Sky battleship, and passed through the torn Psionic Energy barrier.

Behind it is a dense fleet composed of countless Tyranids battleships, covering the sky like dark clouds.

Their target is Milky Way.

Their target is humans.

Their targets are those Primarchs who sit on the throne and think they are the masters of Milky Way.

On the other side of Milky Way, Guilliman is handling government affairs in the palace of Terra.

The quill in his hand paused for a moment, and a drop of ink fell on the parchment, blooming a tiny blue flower.

He frowned, crumpled the parchment into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

Outside the window, the sunshine is just right, and Terra has a rare day without smog.

He didn't know that there was a pair of eyes looking at him outside Milky Way.

Deep in Hive Ship, Swarm Prince stood in front of a row of huge biological display screens.

Those display screens are not glass, but a flesh-and-blood curtain composed of Tyranids sensory organs that can receive Psionic Energy signals from the entire star field.

The holographic image of Milky Way flows on the curtain, and countless light points are slowly rotating - each light point is a star, and each star is surrounded by planets.

Its fingers traced across the curtain, and dark green energy seeped out from the fingertips, drawing an arc on the south side of Milky Way.

The arc starts from the edge of Milky Way and extends inland, bypassing those bright areas marked with "danger" - that is the core world of Imperium of Man, the area guarded by those beings called "Primarch".

"Start from here." Swarm Prince's voice was low and calm, as if he was stating a theorem that has been verified countless times.

The twenty creatures behind it stood silently, the light of Milky Way reflected in the slits of their blue-white eyes.

They don't speak because their job is not to think, but to execute.

Thinking is for princes, they only want to kill.

"The south side of Milky Way is the most laxly managed area of Imperium of Man." Swarm Prince turned around and scanned every creation with his pupilless eyes, "They call it 'Savage Worlds'.

The resources are poor, the population is sparse, and the defenses are weak.

To Imperium, it was a wasteland not worth investing in.

But for Great Devourer--"

It stretched out its hand and spread its fingers.

The light spots marked Savage Worlds on the curtain lit up at the same time, and dark green light spread among them, forming a network as fine as a spider web.

"Every planet is made of biomass.

Every corpse is nourishment.

Every battle is an evolution."

The corners of its mouth - the lipless mouth hidden under the chitin helmet - were slightly raised.

That's not a smile, it's a predator's instinctive reaction when it's targeting its prey.

"Imperium of Man is very strong now.

They have mastered a technology called 'Smart Atoms'.

It allows ordinary human warriors to gain demigod-like power—to fly to the sky and escape from the earth, and to be omnipotent."

It retracted its hand and walked to the curtain. The long, carapace-covered finger stopped on a slowly rotating blue light spot.

That is the home planet of Macragge, Guilliman.

"Hive Mind analyzed that technology.

Genetic samples extracted from the recovered remains of Space Marines.

But the samples are too small, so small that they can only confirm the existence of this technology and cannot replicate it."

It turned around, and dark green flames ignited in the slits of its blue-white eyes.

"So we need more samples.

More remains.

More--Smart Atoms."

It raised the biological sword, pointing the tip of the sword at the patch of Savage Worlds on the curtain.

"Send out the swarm.

First use regular troops to sweep those worlds and accumulate biomass.

When our troops are strong enough that Imperium of Man will have to send out their elite soldiers - those warriors with Smart Atoms - then we will surround and kill them.

Leave no one behind.

Seize their remains.

Analyze their genes."

Swarm Prince put away the sword, the fire in those eyes went out, and became cold and calm again.

"Smart Atoms, must belong to Great Devourer."