I Am The Swarm

“Drip… drip…”

Water trickled down through cracks in the rock ceiling, dripping off stalactites to the cave floor below. A team of around 30 individuals cautiously advanced through the underground cave passage. Tactical flashlights mounted on their helmets illuminated the dark tunnel, casting flickering beams of light. Shadows from the numerous stalagmites created an eerie and unsettling atmosphere.

However, this team consisted of elites among elites; they were unfazed by such surroundings.

“Captain, do you know what we’re really looking for?” asked a heavily armored guard.

The squad leader was none other than Staff Sergeant Hasmu, who had been ordered to lead his team in investigating a suspicious underground cavity.

“Search all potential targets,” replied Hasmu tersely. It wasn’t that he was inherently cold; this was simply his nature. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have answered such questions from his subordinates at all.

“Come on, Captain, you must know more than us. We’ve been searching on land for seven or eight years without finding anything. We thought we’d get a break, but now we’re down here searching underground.”

“Yeah, Captain, how long are we going to keep at this?”

“When do we get to go home?”

Voices chimed in over the comms as the team members peppered Hasmu with their questions.

Feeling a headache coming on, Hasmu cut them off with irritation. “It’s not about confidentiality. After all, we’re so far from home. Even if one of you were a spy, without the captain’s authorization to use the star system communication device, no message could be sent back anyway.”

Hasmu himself had been holding back frustration; otherwise, he wouldn’t have said so much.

“As for what exactly we’re looking for, I honestly don’t know. Even the captain doesn’t seem certain. Maybe it’s some underground civilization, or perhaps… a monster.”

“A monster?”

“I get the civilization part—that’s why we’re here. But why is it about a monster now?”

“Could those nuclear radiation levels have been caused by a monster?” a sharp guard ventured a guess.

“Wow, monsters like that only exist in movies, don’t they?”

“Come on, Captain, even as a guard, I’ve had a higher education. Don’t joke about this,” another chimed in.

Hasmu finally had enough of the noisy chatter over the comms and bellowed, “Enough! Quiet! Don’t let your guard down just because things have gone smoothly so far. This planet hides dangers stranger than we can imagine.”

Though they couldn’t see Hasmu’s expression through his helmet, his tone conveyed enough to make the team fall silent. The earlier lax attitude was replaced by renewed caution, and their movements as they advanced became more deliberate.

Hasmu silently nodded in approval. After years of continuous searching, the initial vigilance of the team had waned when it became clear the planet was mostly primitive. The local wildlife posed no threat to them, leading to some complacency. His warning served as much for himself as for his team. In a crisis, the only things he could rely on were these soldiers and their weapons.

“Captain, we’ve found a downward passage ahead. Should we proceed?” one member operating a piece of equipment in the middle of the team suddenly reported.

Hasmu hurried over and examined the instrument. It was a device that mapped enclosed spaces based on sound waves, similar to echolocation. The readings showed a passage leading deeper underground, extending several hundred meters. ȐâΝＯ𐌱ƐŞ

He gestured for a teammate to step forward. The soldier unpacked a large backpack, which unfolded into a makeshift workstation complete with joysticks and screens.

Under the operator’s control, several mechanical spiders emerged from the platform. After stretching their legs, they quickly scuttled into the passage ahead.

Given the uncertainty of the underground terrain, drones were less practical, while mechanical spiders proved ideal for these conditions.

Although significantly more advanced than drones, the Riken had managed to develop and miniaturize these spider robots. Equipped with cameras, the spiders transmitted real-time footage back to the workstation. The passage ahead was about five to six meters in diameter, its walls slick with moisture from constant water flow over the years.

Thankfully, Riken technology was up to the challenge. The mechanical spiders crawled steadily along the slippery stone walls, descending further and further.

After traveling over 500 meters down, the vertical shaft transitioned into a sloped tunnel. The spiders continued for another hundred meters before their transmissions began breaking up into static.

“What’s going on?” Hasmu demanded.

“Captain, the terrain is too complex. There’s too much interference. This is as far as the spiders can transmit. Beyond this, they’ll lose contact,” the operator explained.

“Captain, what now? Do we go down?” another team member asked.

Hasmu’s face clouded. Descending would require using ropes to lower the team one by one—a time-consuming process. Moreover, with the unknown dangers below, a quick retreat would be nearly impossible, making the operation highly risky.

After much deliberation, Hasmu couldn’t decide and opted to consult his superiors.

“Conis, can you reach the spaceship?” he asked.

“No, Captain. We’re already 300 meters underground, and our equipment isn’t powerful enough to penetrate this far,” the communications officer, Conis, replied.

Out of options, Hasmu ordered the team to maintain their position while he, the communications officer, and two other members headed back toward the surface.

Half an hour later, Hasmu returned, and the team replenished their rations. After nearly two more hours, the remaining 20 members of their squad stationed outside joined them, forming a reinforced unit of 50.

The team silently checked their weapons and ammo before logistics personnel unraveled two ropes down the pit.

Each rope, cobbled together from multiple lengths, stretched 500 meters but had limited load-bearing capacity. With each soldier and their gear weighing about 150 kilograms, each rope could only support two soldiers at a time.

Thankfully, the descent proceeded without incident. After nearly two hours of rappelling, the entire squad finally reached the bottom of the pit.

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