I Am The Swarm

General Masai had been troubled for the past few days. The rescue operations for the missing patrol teams across various bases had been remarkably successful. A total of over a thousand missing personnel were retrieved from eleven battle zones, delivering a significant blow to the Swarm.

But none of this brought him any joy. One of the Riken bases had been overrun by the Swarm. Though the support troops quickly reclaimed the base, the issue was that its commander had gone missing.

Worse still, the missing person was a young captain with significant backing.

If this person were to die here, it would spell considerable trouble even for someone of his rank and influence.

“Your Excellency, Major General Porter is calling.” Just as General Masai was massaging his temples, trying to sort things out, the mechanical voice of the ship’s AI rang out. The message only worsened his headache, causing him to rub his temples even harder.

“Don’t answer. Tell him I’m resting.”

“Understood. Reply sent. Your Excellency, I must remind you that you have been resting for 32 hours. However, based on the readings, your body hasn’t shown signs of recovery. It seems your rest quality has been poor. Would you like me to schedule a doctor’s appointment?”

“Shut up!”

“Understood. Beginning shutdown protocol.”

Half an hour later, a meeting was convened.

“Still no progress?” General Masai got straight to the point.

Several officers in charge of the matter shook their heads.

“The gunboat crash site is far from the base. We didn’t have any surveillance in that area at the time.”

“When we reviewed satellite footage, the images were unclear due to nighttime conditions.”

“…”

General Masai was getting increasingly frustrated. These people were usually so capable, yet they were dropping the ball at this critical moment.

“Then, are they still alive?”

The officers exchanged glances before one of them hesitantly spoke: “Based on the gunboat’s flight data—its altitude at the time of the crash, the impact force, and the angle of descent—the likelihood is high that the crew survived.”

Seeing the general’s displeased expression, another officer quickly added, “The gunboat hadn’t completely lost power upon crashing. Thanks to the pilot’s competent response, the impact wasn’t severe. Most of the crew likely only experienced brief unconsciousness without sustaining fatal injuries.”

“I’m asking if they’re still alive now, not whether they were alive then!” General Masai finally lost his temper, unleashing a torrent of curses. The frustrations of the past few days poured out in that moment.

“Damn, that felt good!” After venting, he felt a bit more relaxed. General Masai understood that they didn’t have any more information. If Porter, who had dispatched a large search team to the area, was still pestering him, it meant they hadn’t found the missing crew.

Looking at his subordinates, who remained silent with their heads bowed, General Masai sighed and changed the topic: “What about the investigation into how the base was breached? Are the results out yet?”

Compared to the fate of Lieutenant Colonel Cross, he was more concerned about how the Swarm managed to overrun an entire base in just twenty minutes, forcing its commander to flee.

“That investigation has yielded results. By analyzing all the surveillance records from inside and outside the base, and combining them with survivor accounts, we’ve roughly reconstructed the events.”

The officers exchanged glances before selecting a representative to step forward and report.

Delivering such news while the general was in a bad mood was no enviable task.

“The Swarm first climbed to the top of a giant tree five kilometers from the base and glided down to evade most of the outer defenses. Their gliding range far exceeded our expectations. In the footage we retrieved, we observed some attackers flapping their extended limbs like wings to gain lift. This might explain how they managed to glide five kilometers.”

General Masai frowned. “I don’t care about that. What I care about is how they knew how to avoid our external defenses.”

The reporting officer glanced at the general nervously and replied in a low voice, “The exact reason is still unclear.”

Noticing the general’s rising anger, he quickly added, “However, we did find some new, small Swarm organisms within the base. Dr. Balt’s dissections revealed that they possess the ability to emit and receive ultrasonic waves. He suspects these organisms are reconnaissance units. They likely used these capabilities to identify the base’s defenses and later to track Lieutenant Colonel Cross’s location during the attack.”

“Why would they target Cross? Were they trying to abduct her?” General Masai asked.

“We consulted several experts on this matter. Judging by how they killed every base member they encountered and didn’t take anyone alive, it’s unlikely to have been a kidnapping. It was more like an act of revenge. They attacked the most populated area of the base. Since most personnel were gathered in the command room, the Swarm concentrated their assault there. When Lieutenant Colonel Cross and her team attempted to evacuate, the Swarm tracked and adjusted their attack routes accordingly.”

“Moreover, the Swarm has never shown intelligence sufficient for communication. Without that capability, Lieutenant Colonel Cross’s identity would be meaningless to them. From this, it seems the incident was purely coincidental.”

Coincidental? If it was a coincidence, it was too much of one. General Masai found it hard to believe in such extraordinary luck. But if it wasn’t a coincidence, what was the Swarm’s objective?

He couldn’t figure it out. Every action must have a purpose. Kidnappers, for example, take hostages either for safety or for ransom. But if the Swarm had abducted Cross, they hadn’t made any demands. This didn’t seem like a kidnapping.

Could it truly have been a coincidence?

Half an hour later, a captain’s meeting commenced. General Masai shared all the information he had gathered with the other captains and said, “Even if this appears coincidental, we must remain vigilant. Ensure that no trees taller than a hundred meters exist within ten kilometers of any base. Also, strengthen base defenses. Add external monitoring devices and outposts. I don’t want any more surveillance blind spots.”

“But this will require at least ten times more monitoring equipment and several times more personnel,” one captain pointed out.

“The equipment isn’t an issue. We brought plenty and can replenish it once the ground factories are operational. As for personnel, figure it out yourselves. Why are so many people staying aboard the ships? Send them to the ground bases!”

T853 hadn’t been fully pacified yet, and every faction’s captains were hoping to let others take the risks on the surface while keeping their own forces intact. This way, they could maintain an advantage when it came time to divvy up the spoils.

However, the ground forces deployed so far had mostly been under General Masai’s command, aside from a few contributions from factions holding key base positions. This had clearly irked the fleet’s overall commander. Continuing the status quo was no longer an option.

After issuing his orders, General Masai noticed Major General Porter’s face on the screen. The man’s resentful gaze bore into him. Remembering his own “rest” of over thirty hours, General Masai’s earlier assertiveness waned.

Clearing his throat, he softened his tone: “Porter, don’t worry too much. According to the experts, although we’ve deeply angered the Swarm near Cross’s base, the swarm near her crash site likely belongs to a different group. There’s a good chance Cross is still alive.”

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