926.M41.
Yuki pulled on his clothes, savoring the lingering sensations of their recent activity.
The Norn Queen was capable of more than just gestating various Tyranid strains; she could also bio-engineer unique living furniture. Aside from the texture being slightly too soft, Yuki had no complaints. Every time he exerted force, the surface of the bed would sink in, significantly hampering his leverage, which caused him a fair bit of frustration.
"Why have we slowed down?"
The Hive Fleet's FTL travel relied on unique biological vessels known as Narvhals. The localized gravity wells created by these ships were easily influenced by large celestial bodies, causing a fleet to naturally drop out of superluminal transit when approaching a destination. However, according to their current trajectory, the Aether Fleet was nowhere near its intended target.
In Yuki's plan, the Aether Fleet was supposed to head toward the borders of the T'au Empire first, consume the remnants of Hive Fleet Gorgon, and then sweep through several T'au colonies while awaiting the arrival of Hive Fleet Kronos. This place looked nothing like the Eastern Fringe.
Yuno was draped in a light, translucent veil, her graceful silhouette shimmering faintly. She walked to Yuki's side and rested his hand on her shoulder.
"These things happen occasionally. Sometimes the Warp storms are too intense, interfering with realspace and even shaking the Shadow in the Warp, forcing a fleet to drop out of transit. After all, while the Shadow can weaken psychic energy, it cannot completely suppress it."
Yuki did not lower his guard. He looked out at the boundless starry void as the sixty-two Tyranid bio-ships slowly dispersed. The number was too small; having only sixty-two bio-vessels left Yuki feeling quite insecure.
In terms of raw specifications, Tyranid bio-ships couldn't compete with the reality-defying, inertialess engines of the Necrons. They were likely inferior even to the "brute-force-and-ignorance" vessels of the Imperium. At best, they were slightly superior to the ships of the T'au Empire.
"Let's conduct a reconnaissance sweep."
"I have no objections," Yuno leaned shyly against Yuki. "It would be wonderful if there's something to eat."
"Hmm... something to eat. Do you want some milk?"
"I do."
...
After completing a considerable amount of "physical exercise," Yuki personally boarded a small bio-interceptor.
It was somewhat ironic that Tyranids didn't have strictly defined ship classes; they simply grew as needed. If the Imperium's ships were large, the Hive Mind worked to grow larger ships with stronger cannons.
This interceptor was the same—essentially an organic organism. The seat was a pouch-like opening. Upon sitting inside, accompanied by a sharp pang of pain, Yuki's field of vision shifted to the craft itself. It felt as though he had become the interceptor.
With a thought, he and the machine soared out into the void.
This was exhilarating. One didn't need to worry about why an organic being could fly wildly through space without protection; it was simply the miracle of life.
Yuno took command of the massive bio-ships, following behind the scouting swarms, ready to provide fire support at a moment's notice. Gradually, Yuki and his wing moved further away from the main fleet, though they remained within the range of the synapse network.
As a synapse node, Yuki could control all the surrounding bio-flyers; their discoveries were fed directly into his mind. The situation was peculiar. Yuki could sense changes occurring in realspace, yet the Warp remained largely unaffected. One could even say the Warp felt as if it had vanished; the physical world felt unnervingly stable.
The sensation was bizarre. Yuki pressed forward. After approximately forty hours of travel, he finally saw the object causing the anomaly from a distance.
A massive, green planet.
"Holy crap, is that an Ork Attack Moon?"
Yuki moved closer before dismissing the thought. "No, this thing is too symmetrical. How could Orks produce something this precise?"
If it wasn't Orks, what other green, planet-sized objects existed in the Warhammer universe? Had he accidentally stumbled into Catachan to fight plants for air? No, that didn't make sense either—this planet looked far too technological.
Wait, technological? Speaking of technology in the Warhammer universe, there was only one race.
As several crescent-shaped fighters approached, Yuki felt like laughing. "You've got to be kidding me. How did I run into the 'Necron Panties'?"
The Necrons—the pinnacle of technology in the Warhammer world. They were a mechanical race born after being deceived by the C'tan into trading away their souls and flesh. They were also currently top-tier contenders in the galactic "battle royale."
Incidentally, the Tyranids were also strong candidates for the ultimate winner of that same battle royale. And for what it was worth, Yuki believed the Aeldari and the T'au were currently engaged in a desperate struggle for the bottom-tier spot.
"Time to bail."
Yuki had no reason to fight the Necrons. These guys had neither organic biomass nor souls; even a dog wouldn't want to gnaw on them. Furthermore, now that he had confirmed they were Necrons, the identity of that planet was clear: it was a Necron World Engine.
This planet-sized super-construct was terrifyingly powerful in the lore. Yuki wasn't the protagonist of some "World Engine" novel; he couldn't just lead seven hundred Tyranid Warriors on a suicide charge to blow it up.
"Retreat, retreat. Let's pretend we didn't see anything."
Yuki withdrew rapidly, but the Necron Doom Scythes and Night Shrouds had no intention of letting these sudden organic intruders go. Rays of dangerous light streaked toward him. Yuki had zero desire to waste time here. Rather than fighting Necrons, it would be better to find an opportunity to ambush any Imperial forces attacking the World Engine.
Necron Gauss weaponry was no joke; it was practically designed specifically to strip organic matter apart.
Executing evasive maneuvers that exceeded his own imagination, Yuki quickly led his unit away from the pursuit of the Necron vessels. It was only then that he realized he could only sense Yuno's general location and could no longer communicate with her directly.
It seemed that while the Hive Mind's psychic power was vast, it wasn't omnipotent. Over cosmic distances, the sheer scale of space could leave even Yuno somewhat overstretched.
Yuki finally began to feel concerned. Anything could happen in this Warhammer universe. If a World Engine was here, Imperial forces would surely be gathering nearby. If they collided with those fleets, the advantage they had painstakingly built up would vanish.
More importantly, Yuno's current body had taken many years to cultivate. If it were lost, he would have to spend a vast amount of time regrowing it. He could not accept losing contact with Yuno, especially in such an uncontrollable manner.
With these thoughts, Yuki accelerated. The bio-interceptor beat its wings, and he finally saw the Aether Fleet in the distance. The massive bio-ships, sensing his return, accelerated to meet him.
Yes, these colossal organisms were also the product of Tyranid bio-technology.