Chapter 51: The Hive Mothership Boarding Operation, the Remnants of the Deathwatch

Norn Queens are also endowed with terrifying psychic powers. They are closely guarded by Norn Emissaries and Norn Guard units.

These massive creatures are not only formidable psychic entities, but in close combat, they can slaughter ordinary Space Marines in the blink of an eye. Their combat prowess is entirely on par with, or even surpasses, that of Hive Tyrants.

The Imperium is generally quite proficient in boarding actions; however, in imperial combat records, almost no boarding operations against Hive Ships have ever been executed successfully.

First of all, gaining entry into a Hive Ship is extraordinarily difficult. Most Hive Ships are surrounded by dense clusters of bioship escorts, providing airtight, heavy defense.

The chitinous armor of Hive Ships possesses astonishing defensive capabilities, completely impervious to the firepower typically carried by standard space landing craft.

Attempting a boarding operation via landing craft is nearly impossible to achieve. Either they are blasted out of the sky before getting close, or upon reaching the hull, they fail to breach the Hive Ship's defenses.

Psychic teleportation is equally impractical. To begin with, Norn Queens possess immensely powerful psychic abilities, enveloping the ship's exterior in a thick psychic field capable of repelling warp phenomena.

Ordinary psykers cannot teleport through this barrier; only formidable Chapter Librarians stand any hope of piercing these psychic wards and teleporting directly into the interior of a Hive Ship.

Yet the real question is: once successfully teleported inside, can combat actually be waged and won?

Ordinary Space Marines, or any other Battle Sisters, upon coming face to face with a Norn Queen, require no assault from Norn Emissaries or Norn Brain-leeches. They would simply go mad from the psychic pressure of their own accord, succumb to control, and effectively serve as a biological takeout delivery straight to the Norn Queen.

Therefore, ever since the emergence of the Tyranids down to the present day, the Imperium of Man has never completed a single decent boarding operation.

As for other races, Rod estimated that only the Necrons possess the capability to pull off such boarding actions. Those entities utilize phase shifting and possess dampening pylons.

Furthermore, the Necrons carry no biomass whatsoever and wield an overwhelming arsenal of lost ancient technology, making them the ultimate counter to the Tyranids.

Perhaps it would be possible to gather a batch of death-defying Space Marines to undertake this task—sending them on a boarding mission to test whether they could successfully dismantle a Hive Ship.

His own teleportation bracelet could easily bypass the exterior, as it relies on technology rather than psychic power.

The psychic interference of the Norn Queen could also be resolved quite simply. Rod could borrow the Emperor’s psychic might and directly activate the golden-radiance mode.

This would neutralize the localized influence of the Hive Mind, allowing the infiltrating Space Marines to operate shielded from the Hive Mind's suppression for a short duration.

This endeavor held immense potential! The teleportation bracelet combined with the Emperor's psychic blessing would undoubtedly prove exceptionally effective.

***

A short while later, he would search for any surviving Deathwatch Space Marines.

These Deathwatch Space Marines were specialized experts dedicated to eradicating xenos, and their kill-team combat capabilities were remarkably formidable.

A bit of persuasive deception was in order! He would simply declare that the Emperor watches over them—loyalty and honor!

This was a glorious mission bestowed upon them by the Emperor Himself!

Rod arrived within the mother ship's command chamber. Under his direct control, the Pedom mothership smoothly shifted into a specialized cloaking state, rendering it utterly undetectable to any observer.

Upon upgrading to a compact mothership, Rod’s vessel gained the capability to monitor every single surface condition in the vicinity simply by hovering within a planet's atmosphere.

Rod seated himself in the captain's chair, observing the external conditions displayed on the virtual panoramic screen. At present, his active combat units operating in the field consisted of Bemular and the four split-ship components of King Joe.

This force was more than sufficient to cleanse the ground-level swarms; the current hive forces possessed virtually no capacity for resistance.

Following a brief scan, Rod successfully located a group of surviving Deathwatch Space Marines.

Under Rod's manipulation, the visual feed zoomed in rapidly, allowing him to hear their conversation with crystal clarity.

This was a squad of Space Marines clad in ebony power armor and wearing skeletal death-masks; they belonged to the Imperium's specialized xenos-hunting branch, the Deathwatch.

Among these individuals, Rod successfully pinpointed the Deathwatch Chaplain who had previously engaged in psychic communication with him.

At this moment, the Space Marine Chaplain was in critical condition, unconscious with a massive, gaping wound torn through his chest.

Although the bleeding had been stemmed, his overall condition remained dire.

"By the Emperor, what on earth was that silver monstrosity? Is it a living organism, or some kind of mechanical construct?" a Deathwatch operative spoke up.

The recent display by Mechanical Ultraman had thoroughly terrified all of them. That was a Hive Ship! Yet it had been single-handedly driven off by a construct the size of a Titan!

The terrifying rainbow-colored rays emitted by this massive brute possessed a firepower that could rival even the colossal macro-cannons mounted on Imperial battle barges!

They had witnessed with their own eyes countless colossal biological warships in the skies being obliterated by it. Ordinarily, destroying those Tyranid bioships would cost the Imperial Navy dearly.

Not to mention the crimson-gold beams unleashed thereafter, which had decimated over a dozen orbital Hive Ships and ultimately forced the entire swarm into a direct retreat.

***

"That thing is clearly not any known biological organism; it is a mechanical construct, most likely some form of xenos Titan," remarked a Deathwatch squad sergeant.

This constituted the most troublesome aspect: amid their engagement with the xenos, an unknown alien civilization had intervened in the conflict.

Those streamlined contours and the silver-and-crimson skin profile were unmistakably traits that could not be manufactured by any Imperial Forge World's Titan workshops.

"I suspect that silver-red giant bears a resemblance to the Titan constructs of the Aeldari," suggested another Deathwatch member.

Within his memory, only Aeldari Titan constructs possessed such slender proportions and such terrifying velocity.

"It is no Aeldari Titan construct. While Aeldari Titan machinery is extraordinarily agile, it falls vastly short compared to this entity," the Deathwatch lieutenant sighed deeply and said.

Aeldari Titan creations were not nearly that powerful, nor were they capable of flight.

The ultra-long-range energy strike unleashed by the adversary was simply too staggering!

To strike targets in outer space directly from a planetary surface—what manner of monstrous firepower was that?

Even an Imperator-class Titan of the Imperium possessed no such combat output, effortlessly reducing over a dozen Hive Ships and hundreds of escorts to ruin.

Before this silver giant, all other Titan units looked like ordinary civilians facing down a Space Marine.

To exaggerate slightly, it was the vast disparity of a normal human standing before a genetic Primarch.

Just as the assembled Deathwatch Space Marines fell into silence, a voice suddenly echoed.

"You have been chosen!" Rod activated the psychic golden-radiance mode, utilizing his own psychic power to communicate directly with this cadre of Deathwatch Space Marines.

You have been chosen by the Emperor. You have been chosen by me.