"I know what you're thinking."
As the words left his mouth, Yaoen suddenly grasped the true reason why Chen Ye had sought him out and brought him to the Underhive. Chen Ye wasn't here for a friendly reunion, nor was he hoping to save some impoverished kin on a side mission for the Legion. No, his purpose was to persuade a Guardsman to support the appointment of someone he deemed more worthy to govern the Hive City.
Perhaps the individual Chen Ye spoke of truly was a remarkable leader. A superhuman warrior with over a century of experience would likely possess such discernment. Yet no matter who held the title of Governor or who served them loyally, the district was set to become a sector in Talon's Gate defenses, and the Star Sector saw no need to complicate matters.
"I agree with you—the role of governor belongs to the most capable," Yaoen replied evenly, "but as a Guardsman, I can't disrupt a smooth path to stability with extraneous complications."
Chen Ye shook his head, carefully choosing his next words, hoping to convince Yaoen. Yaoen continued, trying to dissuade him. "The governor and nobles here have shown a positive attitude toward integration, much like during the previous Talon Star Sector unification efforts. As long as they don't resist or secretly undermine the integration, they will retain their positions."
"No… no… you don't truly know the past of this Hive," Chen Ye insisted.
"I'll ask you two questions," Yaoen said, raising two fingers. "First, does the current governor legally hold the right to succeed as governor?"
"Yes," Chen Ye admitted reluctantly. If he were to answer truthfully, the governor's claim was lawful—at least in terms of legality alone.
"And second, has this governor committed any unforgivable atrocities against the people of the Hive? Is he too brutal and tyrannical to be redeemed?"
"Not that I know of."
"Then forgive me—I can't help you."
At Yaoen's response, Chen Ye lowered his head, overcome by a deep sense of helplessness. The Legion was unaware of what he was truly doing in the North Star system; they assumed their brother was merely delivering a parchment to the Talons. Chen Ye lacked both Legion and Empire support. His only hope was through a Guardsman, yet Yaoen refused to assist.
This despair was palpable even to Yaoen, though he attempted to console Chen Ye with an alternative. "Perhaps you could try convincing Anreda. He's the Guardsman overseeing Talon Gate's plan, and his opinion could significantly sway the Sector's stance on the North Star system."
"That guy is even more of a puppet to Talon's orders than you," Chen Ye replied with a wry smile.
"I'm powerless to help," Yaoen said softly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry."
Chen Ye fell silent for a while, then motioned for Yaoen to hop back onto the bike. Yaoen, puzzled by Chen Ye's insistence, asked why he should get on when he couldn't help him.
"I brought you here, didn't I? Least I can do is take you back to the Underhive," Chen Ye replied, patting the seat.
...
They returned to the same street as before. The acid rain still fell from the sky. Chen Ye left Yaoen there without another word, riding his bike back into the depths of the Underhive. The street's broadcast replayed the same advertisement:
"Framed by a bald-headed thug and denied justice because he's seen as a model citizen of the Empire? I'm Sol, and I'll fight for you."
Watching the advertisement again, Yaoen felt a shift within himself. He realized that the Hive had already been deeply infiltrated by Gene Stealers, and the residents were oblivious to the fact that the bald ones weren't even human…
But that raised questions: how did the residents of the Underhive's One Hundredth District know of the Gene Stealers? And what motivated them to fight against them?
As Yaoen pondered, a communication request from Anreda appeared on his visor.
"Enjoying yourself enough to chat with me in the meantime?" Yaoen quipped, rolling his eyes.
"Spare me, my friend. I've got business," Anreda replied, his figure no longer in a grand ballroom but in a dimly lit library. His electronic eye scanned the pages before him, instantly transmitting the content into his bio-processor, allowing him to absorb a book with a single glance.
"I've been researching North Star One's history," Anreda began, taking a moment from his scanning to speak with Yaoen. "The governorship here traces back millennia. For over three thousand years, they ruled the Hive, managing it so poorly it almost boiled my blood…"
"Then, about a century ago, a rebel from the Underhive toppled the dynasty. The new governor, Taan, found an ancient family surname and took it for himself. He was a decent ruler, even devising a rare process of conviction and defense."
Hearing this, Yaoen recalled how, the last time he had stood on this street watching the advertisement, Chen Ye had likened it to the last rays of a sunset.
And why was it a sunset? Clearly, Taan's descendants had since fallen short, plunging the Hive once more into ignorance and darkness. The advertisement on display, bearing Sol's image, was but a faded remnant of former glory, a relic the current governor hadn't yet had the time to suppress.
"A common tale—an illustrious ancestor, lackluster successors," Yaoen sighed. He'd read many such stories in his studies as a Guardsman, even about Talon's Hive, where a virtuous governor had once ruled only for things to fall apart after his death, much like North Star One.
"No, the current governor isn't Taan's descendant. The prior dynasty's bloodline reclaimed their title," Anreda corrected.
"It's all the same… But during that reclamation, the records mention the new governor died in an assassination attempt. Though he was guarded by a powerful psyker who could foresee the future and his elite guard, he still perished—mysteriously, at that."
Anreda cared little for the Hive's politics but was intrigued by the assassination itself. For a well-guarded governor, shielded by a psychic oracle, to be killed so easily seemed almost mythical.
"How was it recorded?" Yaoen asked.
"Not in detail. It was treated as divine retribution for the usurper, meant as a moral tale," Anreda replied, shaking his head.
Yaoen reflected, pondering the impossibility of the situation. Even a psyker foretelling future attacks might not save him against a masterful assassin—one skilled enough to render both the psyker and the guards helpless.
So, the question remained: where would one find such a master assassin?
"Tell me, my friend," Anreda asked, his eyes fixed intently on Yaoen's image, "what creature in your memory is particularly gifted in the art of assassination?"
"Gene Stealers, of course," Yaoen replied without hesitation. "I saw it firsthand in the Underhive; a Gene Stealer killed an officer right before my eyes. I looked away for barely half a second."
"Exactly," Anreda replied, "which leads me to suspect the governor's bloodline has ties to the Gene Stealers."
"It's merely a possibility. There are other explanations—perhaps a psyker launched a fatal blow from leagues away, or the governor died from poisoning…" Yaoen shook his head.
Anreda nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, one possibility among many, but one that needs investigation. The Talon army will handle the Gene Stealers, but if the governor is allied with them, he must die, not continue ruling under our protection, lurking as an unseen threat."
"I'll investigate this matter," Yaoen responded, recognizing the necessity. Whether the governor's bloodline used Gene Stealers or other dark arts to assassinate the usurper—whatever the truth—any hidden darkness in this Hive could jeopardize Talon's sector.
The Talon Gate defenses could not harbor such a risk.