Chapter 141
---3rd Person POV, An Hour Later, Hive Ankhar Tertius Underground---
Making their way to the abandoned hive city of Ankhar Tertius, while Victor took care of things at Saint's Haven, Bloodtide, Luxion, and a small group of Stealth Automatons were hot on the trail of the Genestealer Cult's main base. While Imperial leaders believed the Genestealer Patriarch was hidden in the Dirkden or Dontoria Hivesprawl, where the cult was currently most active, it was really hidden away where it first nested, Piston's Hollow. Using one of the cult's many passageways to reach the subterranean dwelling, the machines arrived just as a large group of cultists began another bout of fervent worship. Able to get in close unnoticed, due to their bleeding-edge stealth tech, Bloodtide and Luxion silently observed them. Opening a channel with Luxion, the AI asked his comrade a quick question.
Dispersing a small portion of her body, Bloodtide sent her nanites out to infest all the organic lifeforms in front of them. Guiding her nanites to the host's brain, instead of killing them immediately, Victor had asked her to try and take control of the Patriarch's brain. Providing Bloodtide with all the necessary technological upgrades she needed to make it happen, the AI was anxious to test everything out. Having the nanite begin scanning all their brains, she needed as much data as she could to effectively enact Victor's plan.
(Luxion)
A bit miffed that Luxion was downplaying her upgrades, Bloodtide chalked it up to him being jealous of her. Choosing to be the better AI and not rub it in his face, she proceeded to answer his question.
(Bloodtide)
Having observed the formerly cold AI carefully since her arrival, Luxion was quite surprised by how quickly the Ancient AI fell in line. Dair and UR-025 took a few weeks to fully trust Victor, but she had allowed him to perform sensitive work on her systems within two. At any point during the procedure, Victor could have killed her with ease, but she placed her trust in him with minimal hesitation. Wanting to know where this sudden shift had come from, he decided to simply ask her for the answer.
Caught off guard by Luxion's question, Bloodtide took a moment to reflect on his question before speaking.
Startled by this revelation, Luxion never imagined it was possible for AIs to experience emotions. If Bloodtide did indeed experience pity and sadness, that part of her code could help their kind unlock other emotions.
Verifying that everything looked in order, Bloodtide moved her nanites into position and embedded them into specific locations throughout the Patriarch's brain. Exerting complete control over the Tyranids' body, she tested out her controls by making the beast walk around. Making the necessary corrections, after a few clunky steps, the AI was satisfied she had total control of the creature. As Bloodtide was about to inform Victor of her success, a previously dormant part of its brain began to activate.
Observing that region of the brain closely, it abruptly released a powerful psychic pulse that killed its subordinates before ultimately killing the Patriarch too. Watching as all its synapses began firing at once, the brain quickly turned into a thick slurry inside its cranium. Collapsing to the ground all at once, Luxion turned to her for an explanation.
"Did something happen on your end?", Victor inquired, as the Imperial leaders looked to him for an explanation. "I was in the middle of identifying cultists when roughly twenty thousand soldiers keeled over dead."
"I see, well now we know that the Hive Mind is extremely sensitive to anomalies within its subordinates. While it is unfortunate we will be unable to study their brains more, at the very least Vigilus should be permanently safe from Tyranid invasions. If it believes this world is infected with an unknown parasite, it will likely blacklist this world to avoid contaminating a Hive Fleet.", Victor said, "Either way, I really appreciate your assistance eliminating the incursion. Please have the automatons bring back a few specimens for further study."
---Saint's Haven---
While the AIs and automatons wrapped up in Piston's Hollow, Victor prepared himself to break the news to his chain of command. Happy that the Tyranid incursion was dealt with, the mass number of sudden deaths was bound to cause problems in the civilian populace. Needing to get ahead of it, before baseless rumors began to spread, our best bet was to leverage the Ecclesiarchy to get the word out.
"Good news everyone, the Genestealer Cultists will no longer cause Vigilus problems. My team was successfully able to take control of the Patriarch and accidentally trigger a genetic flaw that caused all of them to die. The people that died were either afflicted with the Genestealer's Kiss or were Tyranids.", Victor elaborated, "My team will put together a brief to share with you later. For now though, we needed to spread the word to the masses about the situation. Mass hysteria is likely to break out due to a large number of people abruptly keeling over dead. Canoness Superior Blaise and Canoness Hrethnar have the members of the Ecclesiarchy that interact with the public begin to spread the news. The defense forces successfully purged the Genestealer, and we need assistance collecting all the dead."
"It will be done, my Lord!", they acknowledged.
"Fabricator Vosch… the Genestealer Patriarch and their upper echelon were found nesting within Piston's Hollow.", Victor informed Vigilus' Mechanicus leader. "Have your men disable any remaining traps and collapse their underground tunnel network. We cannot allow the forces of Chaos to use them against us."
"We will complete the work as soon as possible.", Vosch assured me.
"Lastly, Chapter Master Kantor, Jarl Dragongaze, Iron Father Stronos, and Watch Master Acastian lead your men toward the southern end of Hyperia. I want the area cleared of all criminal activity and troublemakers so my men can make critical repairs to the hivesprawl's defenses.", Victor commanded them, "Once you have completed your work, return to your barracks for food and rest. The Imperium needs you in peak condition for the grueling fight ahead of us tomorrow. I will ensure plenty of booze is sent to your barracks so you can relax."
Having only meager amounts of alcohol throughout their service on Vigilus, the Space Marines were more than happy to comply with my orders in exchange for several barrels of it. Sprinting out of Saint's Haven, before their commanders had a chance to give the order, other Chapters looked at him with hopeful gazes. Granting them permission to head out as well, he promised to give them booze as well.
"As for the rest of you, return to your barracks and take a much-needed rest.", Victor ordered, "I will ensure each soldier receives a fresh, hot meal tonight along with several bottles of purified water. The people of Vigilus will be relying on you tomorrow to keep them safe. Do not fail them!"
Saluting Victor with content expressions, the soldiers properly headed out, leaving Victor and his chain of command to hammer out the defense plans for tomorrow.