I Am The Swarm

“This isn’t Lieutenant Colonel Cross!” Clirey ran over at full speed upon receiving the report, but the sight of the female Riken inside the silk cocoon quickly dampened his excitement.

Unlike the ordinary soldiers who had only seen photos, Clirey had met Cross in person multiple times as a confidant of Major General Porter.

As such, he could immediately tell that the person before him was not Cross.

Although this female Riken wasn’t Cross, Clirey recognized her—it was her adjutant, either named Rita or Risha, if he remembered correctly.

The adjutant had already regained consciousness and was visibly elated. Clirey didn’t question her condition, knowing from past experience that rescued Rikens usually required at least two days to recover their ability to speak. Asking now would be futile.

While this wasn’t exactly finding Cross, it was still a positive development. The adjutant’s presence here meant they were on the right track.

If Cross was still alive, she was likely somewhere nearby.

Looking at the cocoon that was only a third of the way opened, hope was still strong.

Clirey ordered the troops to speed up. A promotion and a raise were within reach, and the previously sluggish team, now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, accelerated their efforts.

At the same time, Clirey redistributed Cross’s portrait to the team. Considering the circumstances—an entire gunship full of personnel, including dozens of young female medical staff, had gone missing—if every find stirred such dramatic highs and lows, it would take a toll on their morale.

Good news often came suddenly. Within just half an hour, in the same chamber and not far from where the adjutant’s cocoon had been found, a soldier had another breakthrough.

This time, it wasn’t a false alarm. It was genuinely Cross.

Upon confirming her identity, Clirey was overjoyed. He immediately halted further search operations and personally led a special operations team to escort Cross back to the surface.

The team did not rest. Shortly after leaving the cave, a large transport craft dispatched by Major General Porter arrived to pick them up, flying them directly to a warship stationed in outer space.

Due to Cross’s prolonged disappearance and uncertain fate, her former base had not remained leaderless. Having suffered significant damage, the base urgently required someone to take charge and stabilize the situation.

Under such circumstances, the base had naturally been reassigned, and not even Major General Porter could prevent it. Fortunately, the new commander was from their faction, so he had no reason to object.

Now that Cross was alive, there was hope. Porter offered some comforting words to the still-paralyzed and speechless Cross, expressing his hope that this experience would help her grow stronger as a leader.

A few days later, after a preliminary recovery, Cross visited and thanked General Masai, Major General Porter, and other superiors. She then returned to her warship without showing much interest in the base’s affairs.

During a meeting of senior officers, they sighed privately. It seemed the ordeal had traumatized her. Whether she could overcome it would determine her future. If she could process it, she would grow stronger; if not, she might be finished.

Several psychologists were dispatched to Cross’s ship to aid in her recovery. The doctors advised that finding ways to vent her emotions and release her pent-up frustration would help significantly.

The nest that had captured Cross was undoubtedly unique. After losing over a million bugs, it had retreated into hiding for a few days. However, the moment the Riken forces withdrew from the food store, it resumed its hunting activities that very night.

Somehow, this news reached Cross. It was said that upon hearing it, the previously withdrawn Cross was so enraged that she vented her fury in a frenzy, smashing numerous items.

“General, there’s a nuclear reaction in Area 34! Wait… another one! Two reactions with similar energy levels. Judging by the yield, they must be our tactical nukes!”

General Masai was sipping a hot drink. The past few days had been uneventful. As the Rikens gained more combat experience against the Swarm, their troops had adapted quickly. Those damn bugs were no longer a significant threat.

Base defenses had been strengthened across the board, with surveillance systems and sentries multiplied tenfold. Although the Rikens had taken the food stores of twelve nests, apart from Cross’s former base, the retaliatory attacks on other bases had caused no major incidents.

The Swarm’s raiding parties couldn’t even approach the base perimeters before being detected and wiped out.

General Masai had even begun to consider transforming T853 into the Rikens’ second naturally habitable planet. Yet amidst these peaceful musings, the sudden report from his subordinate disrupted everything.

What?! Two nuclear detonations? Who was stirring up trouble? Couldn’t they let him have some peace?

Ordinary Riken squads weren’t equipped with tactical nukes. Only special operations teams carried two as standard. With both detonating simultaneously, the answer was clear.

“Check which special operations team is in the area.”

Every Riken soldier carried a personal terminal. Without magnetic interference on the surface, it was easy to locate their positions.

A data report was projected onto the general’s screen.

The image displayed the face of Kaida.

Kaida, a former patrol team leader and seasoned veteran, had been the first to sound the alarm during a Swarm attack. He was also the first Riken rescued from the food store.

While recuperating at Cross’s base, Kaida had distinguished himself during a Swarm assault. He had taken charge of injured personnel, organizing a stubborn defense. Although his actions in sending away Cross during the incident remained debatable, his courageous cover of his superior’s retreat had earned widespread respect.

When the rescue team finally arrived, Kaida’s squad had held off the Swarm for nearly five minutes, allowing for successful extraction.

After Cross’s rescue, rather than being punished, Kaida was promoted to captain of the TZ131 team, directly under her command.

“What a lucky guy,” General Masai muttered, reviewing Kaida’s record. Based on reports from Cross’s ship, the general quickly pieced together what had happened.

Area 34, adjacent to Cross’s former base, was where the nest that had captured her was located. Those two nukes had to have been dropped on her orders for revenge.

As the general considered how to handle the situation, Major General Porter’s communication came through.

As expected, the conversation confirmed Masai’s suspicions. The nukes had indeed been launched at Cross’s direction. Porter brushed it off as a young officer venting her frustrations, suggesting they let the matter slide as a favor to him.

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