[14 light years away from Zaraka] Planet Yasmir: Swarm Council Hive
Swarm Queens from the Twenty-One Largest Planets within the Hundreds Conquered by the Swarm gathered in the Council Hive. The Council was formed after a million years of Broodwars between Planets, resulting in centuries of humiliation from invasive foreign forces like Elves, Humans, and Orcs.
Despite losing multiple Planets, the Swarm remained resilient, particularly after the Twenty-One strongest planets united to establish a council. These Swarm Queens determined the fate of Quadrillions of Vessels and billions of Swarm Queens.
All members were present for this meeting, especially following a ceasefire in the recent full-scale war against the elves.
Xuviat broke the silence first, her mandibles flexing as she leaned forward. Her voice was low, gritty, still raw from the events. "We were winning. The Khara System was collapsing. Our swarm was near the third warp gate when it hit. The Orb... it cracked the damn Void."
Across from her, Threxil slammed her clawed fist into the council table, the vibration echoing. "Don't act like it betrayed us. We pushed it! All twenty-one of us linked at once. Full amplification. The Orb didn't crack on its own. We forced it too much! Who's going to explain to the others that we broke our most sacred relic?!"
In the corner, Ixa'Vel's tone was measured but cold, every word calculated like a scalpel. "There was no alternative. The elves activated psy arrays. Our psychic lattice was collapsing. Without the Orb's surge, we would have been cut off from the link, killing billions of our warriors."
A timid Krysh'ra was pale. Her dorsal fins trembled in rhythmic spasms, and her eyes avoided the others. "But I still lost my entire lattice. Seventeen million brood mothers. One moment, they were there. The next... nothing. It felt like my skull was peeled open from the inside."
Threxil's jaw tensed, and her voice dropped. "At least they are alive. What you feel is a side effect of the Orb's breaking; you should feel them again after a while."
"Thank Veqty they accepted the ceasefire. If they knew about our link situation… I don't even want to think about it," Xuviat said quietly, though even she lacked the strength to make it sound reassuring.
Krysh'ra turned her head sharply. "But we need to restore it quickly; they could attack us at any moment, and here we are, barely able to control a few thousand…"
Ixa'Vel's eyes narrowed. "This is unfortunate. We shouldn't have activated the core of the Queen's Orb; the power of the Goddess shouldn't have been used so carelessly. We are the first such sinners in history."
Threxil gave a bitter laugh, the sound dry.
"But we prepared it well. We fed it Aether from three planetary wells. And even with its age… it shouldn't have shattered."
The silence that followed was different. Heavy. Anticipatory.
Xuviat leaned back, the movement slow, as if underwater. "It didn't merely shatter. You all heard it; Heck 'All' Swarm Queens heard it. It screamed. And after we somewhat restored the link… we all felt it. A second wave. Different but similar."
The timid Krysh'ra finally looked up, her voice almost firm now, reverent even. "It pulled at us. It did not feel like a command, but rather, like... gravity."
Ixa'Vel whispered it first. "Type 12 Aether wave."
The room pulsed once. Dim. Almost like breath.
Xuviat's voice was nearly a growl. "What I can be sure of is, it wasn't the elves. It wasn't the Orb either. It came from elsewhere, far beyond… but conveniently in the direction of that Aether wave."
"Even a Type 12 Aether wave somewhere in the Human space system shouldn't reach here; the elves don't seem to react to it. I believe it was targeted specifically at us," Ixa'Vel said simply.
Threxil shook her head worriedly. "Could it be related to the war? We already know humans supply weapons and logistics to the Elves against us. Could this be a secret weapons program? Or an experiment gone wrong?"
"Could be it," Krysh'ra said, her voice trembling. "We are surrounded; Elves are merely swords wielded by Humans and Dragons to weaken us."
"Not to mention the Orcs, those mercenary maniacs sabotaging our key defenses, hoping the others will grant them slave women," Xuviat murmured.
Ixa'Vel's gaze fell to the centerpiece of the table, the Queen's Orb—once bright blue, now ensnared in obsidian tendrils, faintly glowing through the cracks.
"We sacrificed our absolute defense against orbital strikes for a fleeting victory," she said as despair crept up her spine. "The sacred relic of Queen Yasmi, the First Swarm Queen. Bestowed upon her by the Goddess Veqty herself."
Threxil turned away, jaw clenched.
"What if they decide to nuke us again? What will we do without the Orb?" Ixa'Vel asked.
No one answered.
Because deep down, they all already knew.
Just as they were continuing, a Link keeper entered and whispered in Ixa'Vel's ear. Ixa'Vel's youthful face became strikingly cute as her eyes widened, prompting the other women to turn and look at her.
All Queens matured quickly, reaching adulthood in weeks, maintaining a youthful appearance throughout their lives before dying. Queens were also the only fully humanoid-looking members of the Swarm, followed by Link keepers and Overseers, who possessed only a humanoid torso atop a spider-like body.
Queens bore the Swarm's signature carapace and claws, with distinctions in evolutionary paths regarding wings, toxins, and biological weapons.
"It seems we have an urgent issue on our agenda," Ixa'Vel said, looking at the others with a stern expression.
————
[Prometheus System Sector B], Planet: Zaraka
Looking around, I attempted to exercise my new ability on the drones, who obediently followed my commands. I ordered them to expand the underground lair, then began digging my way to the surface. I went to survey our location; understanding the biology of our surroundings is crucial for the new hive, especially in its early stages.
I have already severed the connection to the Swarm Collective, only drawing power from it to control the drones. I'm not yet ready to face the reality of my own existence. In a foreign Era, I will simply do what I know best—my whole life I have been a freedom fighter. And even if that Era is gone, I will not allow humans to settle on this land. I will make this planet a hell for them. And I need an army for that.
So, in pursuit of this, I'm trying to find any host for my warriors. Without expanding my Aether reserves enough to create a brood mother, all Swarm creatures will need a living host to be born.
After searching for two hours, I finally found a goat. It wasn't a normal-looking goat like on Earth; this one had four horns and a spiked tail. But bad luck for her—in real life, melee versus ranged combat is very different.
Picking up a spine from my back and activating overdrive, I aimed it perfectly at its legs. I don't want to kill it, and it may sound brutal, but I'm trying to shoot the spine so hard that it cleanly removes both its front digits, making it fall to the ground. My larva will close the wound after that.
Getting in position and feeling confident, I fired my shot [Spine]-[Overdrive]. The spine punched through the air and struck the creature; it screamed in pain as both thin front legs were cleanly speared off. Blood gushed from the wounds while the goat kept flailing its tail, trying to hit imaginary enemies with it. The scream soon turned into deep inhales as movement slowed down.
I quickly made my way to the creature and grabbed it by the mane, my claws unintentionally drawing blood and ripping a stuck patch. Formulating the Swarmling in my throat, I vomited the eggs into its stomach, 30 eggs in a single dose. Swarmlings come out in pairs of twins; 30 eggs are a lot, but thankfully, they are very small at birth and grow very quickly, maturing in a day or two.
After implanting the eggs, I grabbed both hind legs with one of my own and dragged the goat back to the lair. Its wounds were quickly healing, and it would survive until birth, but the more pressing issue was the blood. Zaraka was home to various deadly predators, and even if humans let an inch of that survive a blood trail, this damn goat was leading them right to us.
With no water source nearby to clean the animal, I simply clenched my teeth and hoped for the best. Swarmlings are strong hunters, and with 60 of them available, securing a regular Aether for the hive will be easy.
We quickly reached the base, with me dragging the goat underground as it had started to shout after being healed and possibly… probably in pain.
The screams continued for another hour before its stomach burst open and guts spilled out, followed by 60 yellow heads jumping over one another to get out. Swarmlings are quadrupeds with strong four legs, enabling them to run as fast as a cheetah and having two attacks available.
Swarmlings chase you with their speed, and upon reaching you, they extend blades on their sides like wings. They quickly snap them shut, hooking the blades into your flesh with truck-like force. Then, the blades bend at the joints, pulling you closer to their mouth and allowing them to bite you with their sharp teeth.
They are the simplest and most effective members of the swarm, with the lowest complexity possible, allowing them to be born faster and in pairs of two.
The children stumbled over themselves as they tried to make their way toward me, faltering at first but quickly getting used to walking. Sixty of them rubbed lovingly against my six carapace-covered, spider-like legs.
I couldn't help but bend down and scoop a handful into my palm; they were the size of chicks but already had small, sharp teeth visible. They nuzzled and made cute noises, trying to win me over. Cute rascals—I'm immune!
I slowly put them down, but not before patting their heads lovingly with the blunt backside of my hand. Petting was a human show of affection, a courtesy from my human life.
——
For the next two days, the drones worked constantly to expand the lair. I even ordered them to produce farms after I found fungus in the wild; it was a new version of the old fungus the swarm used to farm during the vegetarian era.
I evolved my brood to be omnivores, but it is a fact that meat is more effective—every kilogram carries more Aether than any vegetable could compare.
The Swarmlings had grown strong enough to hunt; thankfully, nothing had attacked us during that time. Now the children were gathered before me, all sixty ready for battle.
"Children, hunt for the Swarm. Kidnap, not kill. Cut off the legs, and try to bring them alive. However, if in danger, you may kill—but bring back the meat."
Karkkhhhhhhh!!!
They rushed out of the lair, each running through one of the small entrances.
The children seem happy with their first hunt; I feel like a proud mother, something I never experienced as a human.
Focusing elsewhere, I nudged the changeling.
"Little one, what have you found?" I asked the changeling who, by now, had entrenched itself in the human base, cleverly using a blind cat as its host.
I sense it is trying to give me vision. "I don't have the skill to see through you; describe it to me, little one," I replied.
"Mother, the humansss are doing something on the flashing screenssss (computer, got it). They are talking about finding you. They have discovered your tunnel (How? Did they find where it ends?), No mother, but Elvesss, they have sent engineerssss to check barrier failure, and they seemssss to be helping track you (Damn Elves! Traitorous scum!)"
"Don't be angry, mother. I found one more thing: this is a cattle planet; they breed 'meat cowssss' here. They were talking about how fat and tasty it issss. (Little one, can you find where those facilities are?) Mother, it is very easy; they keep them out in the open, guarded only by fence and turrets. One such facility should be east of your location. (I understand, keep me informed about their tracking progress.) Yes, Mother."
Their tracking me is a serious issue; I will move the hive after I gather more Aether. But more than that, such good news! So much Aether waiting to be collected.
While I feel the plight of those cows, being farmed as cattle, at least they are proper animals. Unlike us, who had a civilization but were still treated like one.
—
On the other side, a swarmling had chosen a bold target: a Mornox, a prehistoric creature and an herbivore apex predator.
Other predators would be too scared for survival to ever consider attacking such a beast; maybe this is why it had grown so arrogant. But swarmlings are part of the collective; they would never die as long as even a single Swarm Queen remains.
They fear nothing, and the Mornox is going to find that out soon.
They quickly crouched in the tall grass, six Swarmlings holding low to the ground. Their black shells blended into the shadows.
Ahead of them stood the target: a big beast, alone, slow-moving. A Mornox, taller than an elephant, thick with muscle, its back covered in hard plates. It moved like it didn't care about anything around it. A heavy mace-like tail dragged through the dirt behind it, leaving a deep groove.
The Swarmlings didn't rush. They watched.
One of them clicked its jaws twice.
Signal.
Flank.
Three moved left. Two went right. One stayed back, hidden, waiting.
They were quiet. Four legs. Low to the earth. Moving fast but smooth, like shadow crawling over stone.
The beast stopped to sniff the air. Its head turned, instinct of a prey pretending to be fearless.
One Swarmling broke cover, running full speed.
The ground shook under its steps. Fast. Almost too fast to see. Its side-blades stretched out wide, like wings made of bone.
And then-
CLACK.
The blades snapped shut, hooking deep into the Mornox's side. The beast let out a roar, a loud beastly cry, as it tried to get the ling of it, but it was already too late. The blades bent at the joint, pulling the Swarmling closer, dragging the prey in.
The mouth opened. Teeth sank in, but not to kill—the Mornox was too strong for that; they only meant to wound it, bleeding it to the ground.
Another Swarmling leapt from the grass, slashing the creature's leg with its side blade. It dropped hard, one knee bending the wrong way. The Mornox swung its tail, but a third Swarmling jumped over it and landed on the beast's back, stabbing down and clamping, making the beast spray thick blood with every bite.
It roared again, trying to swing its thick tail, hitting the air as it tried to run.
But now it couldn't; it was too weak for that.
Its legs were bleeding. Two Swarmlings had cut through the joints. Another was biting the softer belly. The last one, still waiting, ran forward and sank its jaws into the neck—not to finish it… just enough to make it stop moving.
The beast hit the ground with a heavy thud as blood pooled around its body.
Alive. Breathing. Weak.
Exactly what the Swarm wanted.
The Swarmlings clicked their jaws again, short and satisfied. Blood covered their faces. The pack leader sniffed the prey—Aether was strong in this one. Thick in the bones.
They began dragging it back, cutting off the heavy mace-like tail to make it lighter, leaving two to push dirt over the blood trail as they went.