Directly above the Ninth Sector of the Hive Middle, the long-abandoned orbital freight dock had undergone a complete transformation.
The once lifeless, rust-covered metal skeleton was now re-energized, its indicator lights flashing like a sea of stars. The most striking change was the six massive ring-shaped devices at the base of the dock—the heavy anti-gravity generator array that Andy had forced Magos Sol to craft during overtime had finally been successfully deployed.
Once activated, this device would create a high-intensity anti-gravity field beneath the dock with a singular purpose: to catch the starship about to burst forth from the depths of the earth.
It was, in fact, a very simple application of physics.
When the starship surged out from underground, it would carry immense kinetic energy and inertia. If it were to make a hard landing directly into the dock, it would undoubtedly shatter the structure. But with this anti-gravity field, it was like laying down a thick, invisible cushion in mid-air. As the starship entered, its velocity would be forcibly neutralized, allowing it to come to a steady halt within the reach of the mechanical gripping arms.
Nearby, the vacuum field shield generators had also finished preheating, standing ready to seal the area the moment the ship docked to prevent precious air from leaking into outer space.
Andy had moved nearly every asset the Vault had accumulated over the past few months up here. The warehouses were packed with unopened precision machine tools, tons of rare alloy ingots, and crate after crate of brand-new ammunition.
Meanwhile, thousands of meters deep underground.
Inside the Shinpon's auxiliary bridge, the lights burned bright. Andy pulled out the black metal box and slotted it back into the cylindrical main console.
Click.
As the physical interface locked, the console—which had been pulsing with a yellow standby light—instantly turned a deep spectral blue.
Six was online.
"Lord Andy, this is Six ," her cool, steady voice echoed through the bridge. "Full ship systems self-check complete."
"Power Core: 35% output. Void Shield Generators: Fully charged."
"Structural Integrity: 62%. Multiple breaches detected, sections sealed."
Though it still sounded like a wreck, the ship was finally alive. Andy hadn't been idle these past few days; he had led engineering drones in a maniacal "emergency overhaul" of the vessel.
What did emergency overhaul mean? It meant it didn't matter if it looked good, and it didn't matter if it met safety regulations—as long as it worked! Naturally, the priority was the reactor. Many non-essential compartments, such as crew quarters, the mess hall, and cargo bays, currently showed air pressure readings of zero. Andy hadn't bothered to fix the life support in those areas; he had simply welded the airtight doors shut.
The only habitable places left on the entire ship were the bridge and a small area around the core engine room. But as long as it could fly and reach the orbital dock safely, that was enough.
"What's the situation on the surface?" Andy sat in the only reasonably intact command chair, watching the holographic displays.
"Evacuation is in progress." Six pulled up the surface surveillance footage.
At the main gate of the Acid Marsh Base.
The rain was pouring down, the acidic droplets striking the mud and sending up plumes of white smoke. Several hundred workers stood in a long line, clutching their small bundles of luggage, not daring to move even as the rain lashed their faces.
Beside the line stood a man in a black leather greatcoat and a peaked cap. Gamma-9's current look was, frankly, incredible. He had found an old-fashioned officer's coat from somewhere, modified it, and wore a large-caliber bolt pistol holstered at his hip. The submissive, scripture-muttering Tech-Priest persona was gone, replaced by a cold, stern, and almost fanatically iron-blooded aura.
Gamma-9 hadn't been keen on the change, but it was what Andy had demanded.
A Commissar.
In the Warhammer universe, Commissars are officers responsible for maintaining discipline and morale in the Astra Militarum. They are best known for executing deserters with a bolt pistol and delivering speeches that either set one's blood on fire or made them wet their pants.
Andy's instruction had been: "You, go make them wet their pants."
After some coaching from Andy, Gamma-9 had clearly grasped the essence of the profession. Standing in the rain, his single eye scanned the crowd.
"Listen up, all of you—!" Gamma-9's voice boomed through the loudspeaker.
"Move faster! Anyone who falls behind, anyone who tries to run—I will represent the Sage and send him to meet the God-Emperor on the spot!"
"We aren't going on a trip; we are going to war! We are fighting for our own future!"
"I know you're afraid! You should be!"
"But staying here is death! Follow the Sage. Even if you die in space, it is a glorious sacrifice!"
Terrified, the workers scurried into the shipping containers. These were the same containers as before, painted in that disgusting yellow-green and covered in labels like "Highly Pathogenic Bio-Waste" and "Toxic Sludge."
The interiors were rudimentary—just rows of iron chairs welded to the floor, along with vomit bags and sedatives Andy had specifically ordered Powell to prepare. To move everyone at once, they were taking the freight elevator that led to Hive Middle, then straight to the orbital dock. It was the safest and most covert route. After all, the Shinpon was going to be used to ram through the planet; if these mortals stayed on the ship, the G-force alone would crush them into meat pies.
Sisyphron and Roger stood by the cab of the first truck, their faces as white as paper.
"This is insane..." Roger's hand shook as he clutched a half-eaten starch ball. "Packing hundreds of people into these stinking cans and trying to sneak them past the Helios checkpoints..."
"If even one person can't help but vomit or screams out, we're all finished."
Sisyphron was slightly more composed, being a drug dealer who had seen his fair share of chaos. He took a deep breath of the sulfur-choked air and straightened his tie.
"Stop talking and get in the truck. Andy is about to ignite the engines."
"If we're still lingering on the road when the earthquake hits and the path is cut, we'll truly be left behind to be buried with this planet."
The convoy started up. Dozens of heavy trucks disguised as garbage haulers roared out of the base gates. They carried the last of the Vault's "demographic dividend," the cornerstone of Andy's grand agricultural ambition, toward the space elevator that pierced the heavens.
The atmosphere on the road was incredibly oppressive. A deathly silence hung inside every container; people didn't even dare to breathe loudly. Fortunately, the Helios blockade was as lax as ever. The mercenaries, who weren't getting paid overtime, saw the foul-smelling convoy covered in skull symbols and didn't even bother to stop them, simply waving them through.
They never imagined that these boxes seemingly filled with rotting meat and toxic sludge contained hundreds of living people—and hundreds of CBS high-explosive crossbows.
Two hours later.
The convoy successfully arrived at the freight elevator entrance in the Ninth Sector of Hive Middle. The massive lift car carried the trucks, slowly ascending toward the sky. It wasn't until they entered the orbital dock located at the edge of the atmosphere—now under Andy's control—that everyone finally breathed a true sigh of relief.
"Report." Gamma-9's voice came through an encrypted channel to the Shinpon's bridge. "Personnel transfer complete. All units have arrived safely at the orbital dock."
"We are also ready to receive the ship."
Listening to the report, Andy's fingers drummed lightly on the armrest of his command chair. "Very well."
He stood up and walked to the main console. The holographic display showed the familiar geological map. Three red demolition points flickered deep underground, marking the location of thousands of tons of tri-base explosives.
The engine preheat bar reached 99%. Void shields: Fully charged.
Everything was ready.
Without hesitation, Andy reached out and gripped the red thrust lever representing the main engine ignition.
"Six countdown."
"Understood."
"Ignition countdown: 10, 9, 8—"
As the countdown began, Andy could feel the deck beneath his feet start to vibrate. The giant beast that had slept for centuries was waking up, roaring.
"3, 2, 1."
"Ignite."
Andy slammed the lever all the way to the floor.
"BOOM—!!!"
A terrifying force from the heart of the earth erupted instantly. The explosives planted at the bow and stern detonated simultaneously, pulverizing millions of tons of rock in an instant. The earth began to convulse, and the ground across the Ninth Sector of Hive Middle began to crack and heave upward.
The Shinpon's main engines spat out blinding blue plasma flames, propelling the three-kilometer-long steel beast into a death-defying charge toward the thick layers of earth above.