Chapter 26: The Norn Queen and the Battle Plan
Everyone in the Watch Fortress was listening carefully to the report of the Sage Webster, until he came to a shocking conclusion:
Now it seems that the alien creatures that appeared early in the Tiamat galaxy are all experimental creatures of the Tyranids. Facing the explorers who entered the Tiamat galaxy, they were united by unknown psychic powers to fight against the human invasion.
The original Genestealers were likely born in the Tiamat system. These alien life forms and the psychic network they constructed were the prototypes of the Genestealer sect.
The Hive Mind undoubtedly sent the original gene sequences of the gene stealers to other hive fleets, which gave birth to gene stealers with different characteristics. The environment and culture of the people infected by the gene stealers were different, and eventually genes with different beliefs were produced. The Cult of Stealers!
Hearing this, Tai Yue couldn't help but be stunned and thought carefully.
How the Genestealers were first created remains a mystery to the Imperium, and while the Empire discovered the correlation between the Tyranid invasion and the Genestealer Cult uprising, no one directly observed the creation of the Genestealers by the Tyranids. , and all Tyranids or hive ships are produced by the Norn Queen.
The Norn Queen is sometimes called the Splicer Beast. It is a node Tyranid creature directly connected to the Hive Mind. The most important role of the Norn Queen is to guide the Tyranid Zerg to adapt to each new environment or new battlefield, and guide the swarm to choose the most suitable one. The appropriate evolutionary path controls the evolution process of Tyranids.
Norn Queens generally live on large hive ships at the center of the Hive Fleet. While they ingest the biomass and genetic material of the target planet, they edit the genetic material and use asexual reproduction to create and produce various Tyranid creatures, ranging from as small as Tyranids. The microorganisms are as large as a hive spaceship.
In short, the Norn Queen has a genetic connection with all Tyranids. Tyranids other than the Norn Queen, such as knife bugs, gunworms, gargoyles, etc., can also produce cloned eggs with exactly the same genetic sequence as their own, and hatch them into The offspring Tyranid organisms are exactly the same as the parent, without any new genetic sequences, and naturally have no ability to evolve.
As the terminal of the hive mind, the Norn Queen directly controls the hive fleet and issues orders to other node creatures that invade the planet. The node creatures then pass these orders to low-level Tyranids through the hive mind.
After the Hive Fleet arrives at a new target world, and when the Hive Mind finds the world difficult to capture, the Hive Fleet will release the Alpha Swarm. The Alpha Swarm contains the genetic material of the Norn Queen, and can transmit information about the environmental conditions and battlefield requirements of the new world to the Norn Queen through telepathy. The Norn Queen will quickly give birth to the second generation and subsequent targeted targets. of Tyranids.
If the Norn Queen is killed, it will produce a special psychic impact when it dies, and more Norn Queens will be born in the nearby Tyranid bioship. This is an instinctive survival mechanism of the Tyranids. Known as the "Hydra Effect", this is also the reason why after the Hive Fleet is defeated, it can quickly form a splinter fleet and eventually become more powerful than before.
"Glory to the God of All Machines, we have compared the genetic sequences of gene stealers from all over the galaxy. They do all have a highly conserved genetic sequence. We call it the 'Insect Gene', which is related to the Tiamat Hive Fleet. The genetic sequence of the Gene Stealer is more conservative, and the conservation of the genetic sequence decreases the further away from Tiamat Hive Fleet."
Sage Ellan then showed the latest research results of the Varnak Circle Sect. The complex multi-helical structure of genes was displayed in the projection of the conference room, and the location of the gene stealers in the galaxy was marked.
"Essentially, the Hive Fleet is a mobile ecosystem, but this ecosystem also has supporting psychic power, which is the Hive Consciousness. The Genestealer Sect is the weapon of this ecosystem to invade the society of intelligent creatures.
From this point of view, the Tyranid and the Green-skinned Orcs are similar in that they are both flesh-and-blood entities in the real universe plus psychic beings, the hive mind or the psychic network of the Genestealer Cult and the Green-skinned Orcs' Waaagh force field There are similarities. The spores produced by the death of orcs can pollute the planet, grow fungal mushrooms and then reproduce the race. The gene stealers under the Tyranids directly infect intelligent races and summon the hive fleet through psychic signals to absorb the entire planet. Biomass and the atmosphere. "
"According to the speculation of the Tribunal, the green-skinned orcs are creatures designed by an ancient intelligent race. It seems that the Tyranids are also designed by an ancient intelligent race. No one knows that the two are creatures designed by the same ancient intelligent race. It was designed by two different and even hostile ancient intelligent races."
Sage Ellan believes that the Tyranids are not a naturally evolved race, but aliens designed by the hive consciousness.
"Your Majesty the God Emperor, we don't care whether the Tyranids have a creator or not. The purpose of our coming here is to destroy the Hive Fleet."
Admiral Priestley interrupted Sage Ellan, who now just wanted to join the battle as soon as possible and lead the Kalar fleet to destroy the Tiamat Hive Fleet.
Judge Kriptman waved Sage Ellan to stop the introduction. After clearing his throat, he spoke out the battle plan with a serious expression:
"Your Majesty the God Emperor, our warships will be divided into two fleets. After entering the Tiamat system, the first fleet will fight against the defensive tentacles of the Tiamat hive fleet in the system, and the second fleet will take the opportunity to head to Chiapria. Star, destroy biological constructs, or psychic beacons."
The commanders attending the meeting discussed in a low voice. The missions of the two fleets were very dangerous. The first fleet had to hold back the endless hive ships, and the second fleet had to face the unknown psychic lighthouses.
"If the hive tentacles outside the Tiamat system return to the system, how should we deal with it?"
The Lord of Watch, Viernus, suddenly said that the hive tentacles outside the system could not be ignored.
"The first fleet is still responsible for interception. The hive fleet cannot be allowed to return to defend the star Ziapria. Our first task is to destroy the psychic lighthouse!"
Inquisitor Kliptman said firmly that even if the first fleet is sacrificed, the mission must be completed.
After many rounds of discussion, everyone finally reached a consensus:
The 'Marduk Fleet' summoned by the Dark Side of the Empire is the first fleet, including the Imperial Navy's Karal Fleet, the Death Watch and other Astartes warships.
The second fleet is composed of the Blackstone Fortress, the Black Ship of the Inquisition and the fleet of the Triple Far Forge World.
After determining the battle plan, everyone returned to their respective warships to carry out pre-war mobilization.