Holding the bracelet, Alexei immediately returned to his gang headquarters and summoned the management.
Sitting in his chair, he fell into silent contemplation. He hadn't expected the Tzeentchian presence in the Underhive to originate from the planet's ruling family. "Has the entire Upper Spire been corrupted by Tzeentch?" He had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
Alexei thought of Genestealer Cults. Long ago, he had learned through Lutheca that Genestealer uprisings had already begun in other Hives on this world. Most of the planet's Arbites and Planetary Defense Forces (PDF) had been deployed to suppress those rebellions.
"So the Genestealers are literally guarding the gates for me..." Alexei whispered.
The people in the room had gradually gathered—these were his most trusted high-level members, all integrated into the Hive psionic network. Kaider was among them; under Lutheca's subtle influence, he had become the Enforcer in charge of a large portion of the Underhive.
Once everyone arrived, Alexei tapped the table. "Ahem... I was ambushed on my way back from the factory district."
The crowd gasped in shock. "Boss, are you alright?" "Who dared to attack the Big Brother on our turf?"
"Silence!" Alexei roared, tossing the bracelet onto the table. "Take a look at this."
After passing it around, everyone's expression turned grave. Kaider frowned. "Isn't this the crest of the Hordem family? Are they finally moving against you?"
Alexei nodded. "That's not the point." He straightened his back, his gaze sharp. "The key is that this Hordem noble was corrupted by the Warp. He betrayed the Emperor!"
"What!" Kaider bolted upright. He understood exactly what this implied. Warp corruption was like a cockroach; if you saw one, there were already hundreds hiding. It meant the entire Hordem family was likely riddled with chaos worshippers.
"Damn those traitors! How dare they!" Kaider roared. While the Arbites were on the front lines bleeding to stop rebellions, these "fat pigs" had betrayed the Imperium.
"Stay calm. I called you here to tell you this: I intend to unify the Underhive immediately and overthrow the Hordem family's rule."
Alexei stood by the window, looking out at the dilapidated streets of the sunless Underhive. "These vermin are no longer fit to shepherd the Emperor's flock. We shall purge their souls."
"Clang!" The spire bells tolled. Countless members of the Sons of the Tide followed Alexei's orders. Low-level members, led by elite squads, fanned out across the district.
They launched a continuous offensive against rival territories. In the shadows of the ruins, countless xenos moved in perfect coordination with their advance. True to their name, they struck the enemy lines like a rising tide.
"Clang!" By the second tolling of the bells, Alexei stood in the heart of the last two rival headquarters. Behind him, countless gang members cheered. The chaotic Underhive was once again unified under a single leader.
Next, they began attacking major infrastructure guarded by Hive troops: power stations, water treatment plants, and the massive elevators leading to the Lower Hive.
Through intimidation, pressure, and direct assault, they seized these points. The Hive troops received no reinforcements or orders from above; they couldn't understand why the Arbites remained silent during this massive riot. Days later, they surrendered one by one. The Underhive was completely under Alexei's control.
But Alexei didn't care about the territory yet. He stood in the factory center, watching workers in SCVs dismantle old factories. Kaider and the gang leaders stood by, awaiting orders.
He checked his panel. The shadow over the "Barracks" building had completely vanished. With a thought, a 4mx4mx4m metal cube manifested and restructured itself into a gargantuan structure.
The crowd watched in awe. This unknown high technology was divine in their eyes.
"Finally, time to produce some '50-mineral' Good Ol' Boys," Alexei chuckled as he entered the Barracks.
Unlike the automated workshops of the Command Center, the Barracks featured independent stalls. Each stall had auxiliary mechanical arms to assist in the mounting of various power armor models. Alexei stood at the console, reviewing the specifications.
In the game, Terran Marines could unlock Stimpacks to increase movement and attack speed. In reality, Alexei could replace Stimpacks with neuro-toxins to control every person wearing the armor. However, he felt it unnecessary—he held the master override for every suit. If he wished, he could lock them all down instantly.
After tapping a few commands, Alexei stepped into a stall. An alloy door slid down, and a female voice synthesized within: "Please stand in the center ring, face forward, and remain still. Power armor mounting sequence initiated."
Mechanical arms retrieved components from the silver walls, fitting them onto Alexei. Half an hour later, the arms retracted, and a small platform descended from the ceiling carrying a C-14 Gauss Rifle. This heavy weapon fired 8mm "Spikes" capable of shredding light vehicle armor—its lethality was on par with any mainstream weapon in the Imperium.
Gripping the rifle, Alexei felt the surge of power provided by the suit and stepped out. His HUD displayed environmental data and suit integrity. Cold fusion reactor, life support, gravity accelerators, servo-arrays, auto-targeting systems—the CMC-300 was a marvel.
The armor could ignore small-arms fire, and its ceramic-composite plating could withstand sustained machine-gun fire, though heavy anti-tank weapons could still punch through.
"Tsk, tsk... while it might not match Astartes Power Armor, it's not far off," Alexei thought. If the Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus saw this, they'd lose their minds. The fact that this could be mass-produced for ordinary mortals meant every guardsman could potentially become a super-soldier.
Alexei walked out of the Barracks. Kaider and the gang leaders stared at his new form, speechless.
"Power armor? What mark is that? Where did it come from?!" Kaider stammered. The highest protection an Arbite could hope for was Carapace armor. Now, a gang leader was producing high-grade Power Armor?
"Is this... an STC from the Dark Age of Technology?" Kaider whispered.
"How does it look? Not bad, right? Come with me," Alexei said, leading them inside. "Let me introduce you to our future main-line armor."