I Am The Swarm

“Celia, notify the repair crew to perform a final check on the satellites, then deploy them,” Captain Reggie ordered once the ship stabilized.

“Understood.”

The Cat’s Ear Spaceship measured 360 meters in length but had a diameter of less than 10 meters. Since it relied primarily on a solar sail spanning tens of kilometers for propulsion, maneuvering was extremely challenging, necessitating a design that minimized its collision surface. As long as the ship itself avoided impacts, minor solar sail damage was acceptable, as those components were repairable.

About ten minutes later, a hatch on the Cat’s Ear Spaceship opened, releasing a small 20-meter-long craft. It deployed satellites, each approximately three meters in size, into their designated orbits.

With the satellites in place, the command center became a hub of activity. Dozens of crew members busied themselves at their stations, carefully analyzing the incoming data displayed on their monitors and reporting their findings to Captain Reggie, seated at the center of the hall.

“Strange,” Captain Reggie murmured to himself.

The Cat’s Ear Spaceship was coated in an advanced stealth material. Unlike the Swarm’s optical camouflage, its primary function was to absorb various electromagnetic waves, making radar detection ineffective. However, it offered little advantage against visual observation.

Reggie had expected Planet T853’s civilization to have reached a level of technological sophistication capable of utilizing radar systems, given its use of fusion reactors. Thus, the approach had kept him somewhat on edge.

Despite his confident demeanor earlier, he wasn’t entirely sure the Riken’s technological edge would completely overwhelm T853’s civilization. If the stealth coating failed and they were detected, a barrage of nuclear missiles might prove too much for the Cat’s Ear Spaceship’s limited evasive capabilities.

The eerie silence in orbit was unnerving—there wasn’t a single piece of space debris to be found.

Initially, his plan had been to approach slowly, observe at a safe distance, and maintain ample time to respond in case of an attack.

But as the ship drew closer, one cautious step after another was abandoned, and eventually, they boldly docked in planetary orbit without any resistance.

Even now, after safely aligning their orbit, Reggie struggled to believe how easily it had been accomplished.

Could it be that this civilization was uninterested in the skies above them? Was such a thing even possible?

As data from the satellites began streaming back to the ship, Captain Reggie’s confusion deepened.

“Captain, Satellites 1 and 5 report no signs of civilization on the surface of Planet T853.”

“Captain, Satellites 2 and 3 also report no traces of civilization.”

“Captain, Satellites 4 and 7 confirm the same.”

“Captain, the same…”

Reggie’s forehead creased, question marks practically flashing above his head. Had they arrived at the wrong place? That couldn’t be possible—they weren’t navigating by sight! 𐍂₳ℕȏβΕȘ

“Celia, are our navigation systems functioning correctly?”

Seconds later, the mechanical voice responded, “Captain, the deviation between the actual and planned course is less than 0.01%. Navigation data is normal, and we have not veered off course.”

Then what was happening? If there were no signs of civilization on the planet, where had the fusion reactions come from? Reggie’s head filled with even more questions.

“Captain, radiation remnants detected in two locations on Continent 3,” a crew member suddenly reported, breaking the tense atmosphere.

Everyone in the room stiffened. The unsettling silence earlier had confused not just Reggie but the rest of the crew as well.

Finally, a clue had surfaced, corroborating their earlier observations of fusion reactions on the planet. The atmospheric interference had obscured the specifics, leaving them with incomplete data. The reality, however, seemed to diverge from their expectations.

“Send the security team along with the research group to investigate,” Reggie ordered.

The ship was equipped not only with its standard crew and research team but also with a 500-strong rapid-response military unit for protection.

The Cat’s Ear Spaceship, with its unconventional design, was incapable of atmospheric entry. However, it carried smaller escort ships and transport vessels suited for such tasks.

Soon, a side hatch opened, releasing an escort vessel and a transport craft toward the anomalous radiation sites.

“They’re here.”

The Swarm had been monitoring the Cat’s Ear Spaceship all along. However, due to limited observational units in the neighboring star system, their surveillance was restricted to tracking the ship’s general location without precise detail.

While the Genesis Planet’s Brood Queens had the capability to produce orbital slings and Swarm Meteors, using such devices within the atmosphere was a self-destructive endeavor. The immense kinetic energy generated during deployment turned the surrounding air into an impenetrable barrier, leading to catastrophic failure.

The Swarm’s strategic position at planets A5, A6, and A7 had allowed them to station Swarm Meteors capable of descending, spreading fungal carpets, and launching further meteors toward Planet A3’s orbit. Yet, uncertainties about the enemy’s technology and time constraints had led Luo Wen and the intelligent entities to veto such actions, fearing unnecessary complications.

Nevertheless, while the Swarm had sparse reconnaissance units in space, the Great Dawn Planet was their stronghold.

Despite withdrawing many conspicuous combat units earlier, they had retained scout bugs, worker ants, and drones, which had woven an intricate three-dimensional surveillance network in non-radiation zones.

Now, the prey had arrived.

Two 20-meter-long mechanical ships descended with a roar, flattening the two-meter-high grass beneath their energy streams.

One ship featured visible weaponry, marking it as an armed escort vessel, while the other carried only two mounted machine-gun-like weapons, indicating it was a transport craft.

Once they landed, the transport ship’s hatch opened, and a group of humanoids cautiously disembarked.

Under the bright daylight, scout bugs concealed among the flora advanced stealthily, providing Luo Wen and the others with a clearer view.

The team comprised over 50 individuals, with about 20 carrying various instruments and dressed in fully sealed yet lightweight protective suits. The light-diffusing visors on their helmets obscured their faces.

The rest of the team bore rifle-like weapons and wore visibly thicker protective suits, suggesting superior defensive capabilities. These individuals were noticeably taller, ranging from 2.3 to 2.7 meters.

Luo Wen, familiar with countless “blockbusters,” easily identified them as a research team under the guard of a military escort.

Unfortunately, the radiation levels in the area were too high for typical creatures to approach. Otherwise, Luo Wen could have driven some beasts to attack and test their weaponry to understand their combat capabilities.

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