Chapter 67: The Gene Thief

After a week on Terra of relentless assault by viral and biological weaponry, there were scarcely any breathing creatures left in the lower hive of Thanatos Hive City.

Clad in fully sealed powered armor, the Transcendents and mortal auxiliary soldiers ventured into the underhive to hunt down the remaining Gene Stealers and their hybrid spawn that had managed, by sheer luck, to survive the initial purges.

The 65th Infantry Regiment of the "Stellar Transcendents" mortal auxiliaries moved in tandem with the Second and Sixth Transcendent Regiments, descending into the lower hive to commence the final phase of the cleansing.

The streets of the underhive were strewn with the corpses of myriad Gene Stealer cultists, intermingled with the occasional green-skinned Ork, their bodies lying haphazardly across the thoroughfares.

The mortal auxiliaries of the "Stellar Transcendents" worked in pairs, wielding flamethrowers to incinerate the gathered corpses.

Promethium was doused over the bodies, and the flamethrowers’ tongues of fire set them alight with ease. The burning flesh crackled with a sound reminiscent of roasting meat, though this was swiftly overtaken by the sharp, popping noises like dry wood snapping in a blaze.

The temperature of burning promethium was so high that it rapidly evaporated all moisture and carbonized the remains; by the time the flames died, only ash and bone dust remained.

This ash would be collected by the auxiliaries—not to grant the dead a burial, but to enrich the farmland newly established beside Sisyphus Hive City, in fields engineered by the First Combat Engineers.

With little else to occupy them in recent days—having already unearthed several Necron tombs by blasting apart a few hills at Wang Ming’s command—the First Combat Engineers were finally assigned another task at Xu Zheng’s insistent request.

“If you like, I can give you some farming implements. Why not try planting something?” Wang Ming had said.

Armed with their new tools, their innate racial talents awakened, and they transformed the former Ork-infested Sisyphus Green into vast arable land. There, a strain of genetically enhanced wheat, bred during the "Golden Age," was now thriving under the engineers’ diligent care.

“Gene Stealer!” A mortal auxiliary, busy feeding bodies to the flames, suddenly shouted to a nearby Transcendent. Up above, on a pipeline overhead, a Gene Stealer lay in wait, eyeing him and preparing to pounce.

Crack!

Just as the mutant was about to spring, an explosive round found its mark, blasting apart its skull. The headless corpse tumbled from the pipe and landed amidst the burning dead below—destined to become fertilizer for Sisyphus Green.

“The Emperor's angels are with me,” the auxiliary murmured with palpable relief after the threat was ended.

Despite the devastation, large numbers of Gene Stealers still survived in the lower hive. These creatures, with their tenacious vitality, had endured even a week of rampant viral and chemical warfare.

In some districts, Transcendents and mortal auxiliaries were still engaged in combat with them. Even with Transcendent support, the auxiliaries had sustained several dozen casualties. Against the pure-strain Gene Stealers, not even their powered armor could offer much protection—the creatures’ bio-energetic talons, after all, could rend even Terminator armor with ease.

“This is Scout Hahn of Fifth Company. I've spotted a large group of Gene Stealers in Sector Three. They’re moving toward Eighth Company’s position,” came a report from behind a cluster of shattered pipes.

Hidden, Scout Hahn watched the mass of Gene Stealers racing down the street and relayed his findings via communicator to the main force.

He failed to notice a single Gene Stealer silently breaking away from the group and creeping toward his position.

“Received. Eighth Company is ready to engage,” came the reply over the vox.

Upon hearing the response, Hahn prepared to vacate his precarious hiding spot and continue tracking the creatures elsewhere.

Clink…

Just as he was gathering his gear to leave, a faint sound—a pebble striking metal—caught his attention. He cautiously peeked from behind the pipes, scanning for the source.

The sight nearly stopped his heart: a Gene Stealer was crawling towards him in utter silence.

“By the Emperor!” Hahn muttered, ducking back and seizing his lasgun.

The mutant, unaware that it had been spotted, continued its stealthy approach.

Hahn slowly extended his lasgun’s barrel past the pipes, taking careful aim.

After a brief moment, he squeezed the trigger. The lasgun’s beam struck the Gene Stealer in the head, punching through its biological carapace, but failing to kill it outright.

Hahn’s habit was to keep his lasgun set at low power. Had this been a high-powered shot from a QBZM21, the mutant’s skull would have been instantly perforated.

Stung, the Gene Stealer abandoned all pretense of stealth and charged. Its four arms, each ending in talons, gleamed with a metallic luster in the dim light.

Hahn broke from cover, firing as he retreated. Yet the creature anticipated his shots, dodging with uncanny reflexes.

Before his conscription by Wang Ming, Hahn had been a veteran of the Imperial Guard, and his battlefield prowess was not lacking.

When the Gene Stealer was just twenty meters away, Hahn affixed a monomolecular bayonet to his lasgun.

Though the bayonet was now in place, he continued firing, but the low-powered beams could only pierce the creature’s outer carapace.

The chitinous armor of the Tyranid strains was extraordinarily tough; the QBZM21’s low-powered shots could not bring it down quickly.

The Gene Stealer closed in, but before it could strike, Hahn executed a tactical roll, dodging the slashing talons. The mutant, missing its mark, immediately lunged at his new position.

Hahn sprang to his feet, gripped his lasgun in both hands, and charged. At this range, only the bayonet would suffice.

Enhanced by the feedback servos in his powered suit, Hahn moved with remarkable speed. He dodged another swipe, then drove the bayonet deep into the creature’s neck.

With the blade embedded, Hahn squeezed the trigger again.

A volley of low-powered laser beams severed the mutant’s neck, and its head, unsupported, crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.