The Long Night Part One: Embers in the Dusk: A Planetary Governor Quest (43k) Complete Sequel Up

@Durin omake!


Seeing Weakness

Diving deep into the Warp in the midst of an Incursion was generally an act of foolishness or desperation. Even at the best of times the Deeps were inhospitable to the life and sanity of those bound to the Materium, and that was before the corruption-inducing and sanity-twisting powers of Chaos were factored in. During an Incursion? The normally placid flows and tides of the Deeps roared with implacable force, and the turbulence alone could easily tear apart even native denizens of the Warp. Add in the overwhelming and surging power of the Chaos God, seeking through raw might to enforce its claim and will over the whole of the local Warp and accidental annihilation became all to plausible, merely as a byproduct of the clashing forces. And then, of course, there were the daemons—boosted by their patron's power, packed even more densely in the unreal space of the Warp than they could ever exist in the Materium, and all eager to find and eliminate any that would dare oppose their master's will.

Ridcully could probably do it casually if he so wished. He didn't—doing dangerous things casually was a good way to die, even if they weren't particularly dangerous to you. Instead he did it seriously. Sentries he could have casually sauntered by were carefully avoided, barriers that could be passed through were circumvented where possible, and currents that he could slip through were still crossed with care. A sentry could be more than it seemed, a barrier could still delay, and a river that one could wade through without issue could easily prove dangerous should one slip on a rock.

He was not surprised to see more than a few dangers that were greater than they first appeared. The forces of the Abomination knew their weaknesses and were cautious. They had struck here before and even then had been aware of a Seer of more than average skill protected the Saint. Their defenses and precautions had been totally inadequate, but they had still tried to prepare.

They had not skimped out on them this time. High-circle Angyls were present among the sentries, all but visibly chaffing at the duty below their station and the lack of opportunity for glory. Wardings only short of what the Abomination itself could create shrouded every approach. Even the currents of the Deeps had been turned to a crude defense, guided into forming moats and to sweep the unwary into great wards shaped as nets. And shining through all their defenses was a chest of the Abomination's false-gold, their last and greatest line of defense, likely forged by the Abomination itself, there to defend their plans from even the greatest infiltrator or Seer.

It was also the only defense worth mentioning. The Wards could slow him, the sentries hinder him, the flows move him, but only if he allowed it. He had their number, their weaknesses, their patrol routes, the patterns they followed, and every one of their poorly-hidden surprises and traps. Now the Wards would merely provide an obstacle to any of the sentries that somehow spotted him while he slipped through with impunity, the sentries just conferring a false sense of security and a vector for misinformation, and the flows could be used to speed his infiltration or escape.

All this would be for naught, though, should the chest defeat him. For all that its origin was beyond flawed, it was a flawless work, perfection in every detail and locking away the plans of the Incursion from all that sought it. Against any lesser than him it would be beyond any hope of opening. To him, though, this was merely a challenge—the first real one he had encountered thus far. And being without flaws mattered little if its purpose itself was flawed. To lock away the plans too completely would prevent even their forces from being able to access them in whatever arcane manner the Abomination's forces used. A chest was made to be opened, it had been opened before, and it would be again soon. An obvious weakness to a Seer, and one that it tried to protect against, but the flaw was no less fatal for its obviousness and the protection for all its perfection in execution was imperfect in what it could cover. For all that the chest did not open and protected what it held from being read by him while it was lock inside it failed to prevent him from reading what it contained in the fractal possibilities of it being accessed.

Learning its contents was no trivial feat, but once completed he sped back to reality, easily bypassing the myriad defenses on his way while trying not to laugh. The situation was grave, to be sure, but their enemy had blundered in its estimations. The plans had detailed just how much of their efforts, both in counter-Divination and in favor, had been spent trying to keep said plans concealed. Efforts that had not only just been totally nullified, but which they would remain convinced would work—for the chest had indeed been granted to them by the Abomination itself as a mark of favor for the Incursion to succeed, and to question if it had succeeded in blocking him would be to question their faith itself.

They didn't have nearly the time to craft counters to their foe's stratagems as they did in the ill-fated Abominable Crusade against Saint Lin, but he could not doubt this was any less a coup at the strategic level than his success there had been.

Genelords

Of all the new tyranid derived creatures revealed during the incursion from the Gargouilles and their controllers to the dozens of more minor creatures none are more terrifying in their potential than the Genelords.

The tyranid strains they hail from are obvious with only a few moments of observation by one who knows about the various Tyranid strains.

First the Broodlord variant of the Tyranids, the most powerful species of the Genestealer able to fight on even terms with even Astartes heroes, their monomolecular claws able to shred through power armor like it was nothing.

Second is the Lictor strain, or rather the enhanced version unique to hive fleet Grabaknir. Its invisibility perfected after generation after generation fell against the high tech sensors of the Necrons until they were almost completely undetectable.

Finally the and perhaps most terrifying is a strain tentatively identified as originating from the Swarmlord. In the age of the Imperium the Swarmlord was the most potent and devastating combatant and commander available to the Tyranic swarm, and while the Genelords do not yet possess the level of experience demonstrated by that being, they certainly show its capacity for leadership, psycic and physical strength and dominating intelligence.

These three strains of tyranid have been brought together, perfected and then enhanced under the ministrations of the world into a killing machine of unbelievable capacity.

The veterans of the Tyranic wars will attest to how dangerous the Grabaknir Genestealers are with their invisibility and ability to teleport. Now they have psycic power of great proportions with a vast arsenal of powers at their command and perfect invisibility to add to their repertoire.

While there is little vid footage remaining, the soldiers who can attest to the Genelords assistance describe them as forces of nature, their claws and powers ripping through the Angyls like a hot knife through butter, only slowed down by the most potent Archangyls. A particularly impressive scene was of an invisible creature taking apart an Archnagyl of the Fourth Circle seemingly without any difficulty, overwhelming the daemon through its strange attack patterns and powerful bioblades.

But, the soldier's testimonies state that by far the most terrifying part of the Genelord's abilities is their abnormal and active intelligence.

These are no mere animals, for while each is apparently an individual all are connected via a synaptic network similar to the tyranids that allows them to instantly share information and devise plans to take full advantage of their abilities. What's more, they were able to use an impressive example of telepathy to connect large groups of soldier's together in a highly competent network. When connected the soldiers describe the experience as bizarre, but also extraordinary, as they were amplified by the biometic power of the Genelords and were able to gain advantage from their powers, tactical genius and draw morale support from one another.

One particular example given by one group of soldiers with the highest survival rates, stated that when a particularly powerful Archangyl exerted its power to try and dominate them, their combined will power was able to contest it. The advantage of the synapse letting them thwart its mental attack, when if it had simply attacked them as individuals they would have undoubtedly fallen.

At present all information on the Genelord's physical appearance is spotty at best, due to confusion and their constant invisibility. What all survivors attested too was the use of bioblades similar to the Swarmlord, an extremely strong bio carapace, of varying colours and that the creatures were bipedal in stature and gait, but seemed comfortable adopting any posture that suited the situation, hinting at a very flexible bone structure.

Currently all soldiers who have had direct contact with the Genelords are in quarantine and undergoing stringent assessments of their spiritual, psychic and physical purity. Current psychiatric interviews indicate some mental issues, characterised by intense squad loyalty and desire to put the group ahead of the self. However, given the circumstances of the incursion determining whether this is a reaction to trauma, or the influence of the Genelords alone is unclear.

All current information pertaining to the Genelords is to be reviewed by Archmagos Maximal at his earliest convenience, as they are indicative of how dangerous the creatures Avernus is capable of crafting from Tyranic biomatter.

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Terminators rate -10/10 terriying.

@Durin