Controlling an Ethereal is no simple feat.
It is truly remarkable that Dehaka achieved this. The Ethereal caste is perpetually surrounded by elite bodyguards and layers of security. While the T'au are a relatively young race and perhaps lack the raw, ancient power of the galaxy's established titans, they are far from weak. For a single entity to infiltrate their inner sanctum and subvert their leadership is a testament to Dehaka's evolution.
This success aligns perfectly with the Swarm's core philosophy. The Zerg strategy has always been [Assimilation], and total control is merely the most efficient form of it.
"Dehaka is proving his worth, but my Zehaka is no slouch either."
Whether it is Zehaka, now enhanced with Kroot genetic sequences, or Dehaka, the Primal Pack Leader, both have become indispensable pillars of the Overmind's authority.
"Give Dehaka more time; I want to see how deep his roots can grow into the T'au Empire. As for me, it is time to turn the Swarm's hunger eastward."
The Overmind began preparing a massive campaign to conquer the Ultima Segmentum.
"I want to see which is truly endless: the sea of Ultramarines or my Hive. Let us see if the sons of Guilliman can withstand a tide that never recedes."
The last time the Overmind clashed with the Ultramarines was years ago. He knew the "Smurfs" had likely adapted since then, but so had the Swarm. Furthermore, a march into the Ultima Segmentum would inevitably mean more collisions with the forces of Chaos. But he was fearless; until he saw something on the level of the Amon-corrupted hybrids from his original universe, he wouldn't be truly afraid.
"I'll leave the T'au to Dehaka. There's no need to play games with them personally anymore. My focus must shift..."
The Overmind's consciousness jumped to a Brood Queen positioned far from the Swarm's main territory. She had traveled through a Webway portal and reached a system nearing the galactic core. There, he saw something that demanded his attention.
A WAAAGH!
A regular Ork gathering wouldn't have interested him; he had ground Greenskins into biomass many times before. But the scale of this particular WAAAGH! was absurd. The Overmind spotted several "Attack Moons"—asteroids the size of natural satellites that had been hollowed out and converted into mobile battle stations. They weren't quite as massive as the world-crushing planets seen during the War of the Beast, but they were close.
Surrounding these moons was an Ork fleet numbering well into the five figures.
"Whose WAAAGH! is this?"
The sheer magnitude was enough to make the Overmind cautious. If a force this large hit multiple Zerg worlds simultaneously, even his rapid-response capabilities would be pushed to the breaking point.
Meanwhile, near the galactic fringe, the Overmind's scouts witnessed a different horror: a continuous stream of Tyranid Hive Fleets entering the Milky Way. The numbers were so vast they made previous incursions look like minor skirmishes.
Even more significant was the force pursuing them. A massive Necron fleet was harrying the Tyranid bio-ships, lashing out with cold, technological precision. The Necrons were systematically dividing the Hive Fleets, annihilating them piece by piece. The Tyranids, seemingly unwilling to engage a foe they could not consume for biomass, were fighting a desperate rearguard action as they retreated.
Unfortunately, the Tyranids' biological propulsion was no match for the Necrons' mastery of physics.
"They aren't even in the same league of travel speed. It's said the Necrons are the only ones holding the true Tyranid swarm at bay outside the galaxy; seeing it now, I believe it. I may have underestimated the Silent King's children."
The bulk of the Necron race was still asleep, but as long as their tomb worlds remained, their potential for expansion was limitless. The Overmind had no desire to clash with the Necrons in deep space yet. Like the Tyranids, he knew the Necrons offered no resources; a Tomb World was a graveyard of metal where even Creep found no purchase.
"We will wait. We will grow until we can encircle and dismantle their Tomb Worlds one by one."
For a moment, the Overmind felt content. Biomass was flowing from the Tiamat system, and mass production was at an all-time high. But reality in the 41st Millennium is rarely kind. The Warp Gods had finally decided to take notice of the Zerg.
On an ordinary day, without warning, a Zerg-occupied Imperial agricultural world was suddenly torn apart. A massive Subspace rift—a Warp storm—erupted out of nowhere, swallowing the planet and hundreds of millions of Zerg units in a matter of minutes. In their place remained only a swirling, kaleidoscopic void of ominous energy.
"...!"
The Overmind felt the sudden, violent severing of millions of psychic links. Even in this chaotic galaxy, such a sudden catastrophe was bizarre.
"Damn it. Have the Four finally targeted me?"
He still could not perceive his units once they entered the Warp. The barrier between the real universe and the Immaterium blocked his control. Without his guiding will, any Zerg trapped there would likely fall into feral infighting or be torn apart by Daemons.
But the rift wasn't an isolated incident. Through the eyes of multiple Queens, the Overmind watched as Warp storms began to flare up across the sector.
"A rift expansion... Cadia?"
He realized what was happening. If Cadia had fallen, the Eye of Terror would be tearing the galaxy in half. The effects he was seeing in the Ultima Segmentum were merely the ripples of the Great Rift's birth. Entire star clusters were being inhaled by the Warp.
However, the expansion didn't last as long as the Chaos Gods likely hoped. An invisible force began to exert pressure on the rifts, slowing their growth until they ground to a halt.
"The Necrons have unleashed their Pylons."
As expected, the Blackstone Obelisks were functioning, stabilizing reality and halting the Warp's spread.
"Hmm? Wait a minute..."
One of his Brood Queens, hovering near the orbit of a shattered planet on the edge of the rift, spotted something unusual. It was a rhomboid crystal, glowing with a steady, internal light and encased in a refined, gold-and-white housing.
The Overmind's ancient memories stirred. A touch of wit touched his thoughts as he recognized the elegant design.
"My dear Protoss brothers... I have finally found traces of you."
It was a Protoss Pylon.