I Am The Swarm

“Captain, there are no signs of a struggle nearby. It seems the patrol squad was subdued in an instant,” reported a team member.

Another soldier inspecting the operations platform looked up. “Found it, Captain. I’ve identified the location where the patrol squad’s signals last disappeared.”

“Where?”

“One kilometer northwest.”

“Send the coordinates to the gunboats. Gunboats, provide cover. All units, stay alert and proceed in groups of three to rendezvous at the coordinates,” the captain ordered.

The patrol squads’ combat suits not only incorporated life sign monitoring systems but also featured built-in locators. Using the historical data from the equipment left behind, the special ops team easily pinpointed the location where the signals vanished.

“Captain, there are some fresh indentations here—these don’t look like tracks left by the patrol squad,” a soldier said, observing a faint path cutting through the grass. The shape of the trail differed slightly from what Riken footprints typically left behind.

“It seems we’re heading in the right direction. Stay sharp and be ready for combat. Gunboats, keep watch around us,” the captain instructed, glancing at the marks.

With the gunboats providing overhead protection, the kilometer-long journey passed without incident.

Nodding, the captain signaled the team to spread out and search the area.

“Captain, our scanner indicates a hollow chamber beneath us—there’s a subterranean cave below,” a soldier called out, holding a detection device.

“Look around for an entrance nearby.”

“Captain, over here! There’s a hole hidden under the grass,” a soldier shouted after his foot slipped into an unseen cavity.

The team cleared away the thick grass, revealing an opening less than two meters in diameter. Covered by a dense mat of vegetation, the hole was nearly invisible, feeling only slightly soft underfoot unless pressed heavily. If not for the weight of the soldier’s heavy weaponry, it might have gone unnoticed.

“Proceed with caution. Recon soldier, deploy mechanical spiders to scout the area,” the captain ordered.

From a container, the recon soldier removed a box holding several compact metallic devices. These quickly unfolded into mechanical spiders, each roughly 20 centimeters in size. After conducting a brief system check, the soldier linked the spiders’ cameras to his monitor and sent them scuttling into the hole.

The cave below was dark and forbidding, but the mechanical spiders’ infrared lights and sensors provided some visibility. Moving carefully, the spiders scanned their surroundings, their cameras swiveling to capture as much information as possible.

As the cave expanded deeper in, the team watched intently. Suddenly, the video feed flickered and turned to static.

“What happened?” the captain demanded, frowning.

“Signal lost. Two possibilities: either strong magnetic interference or the mechanical spiders were destroyed in a single strike,” the recon soldier explained.

“What’s the plan, Captain?”

The captain, well-versed in the Great Dawn Planet’s reports, knew how perilous underground environments could be. He recalled the mission report from Hasmu’s elite guard, a similar unit to his own. Hasmu’s squad of 50 soldiers had been completely wiped out in a subterranean cavern, possibly triggering a tactical nuclear device in a final act.

Given this precedent, the captain wasn’t willing to take unnecessary risks. If Hasmu’s full-strength squad had been annihilated, there was little chance his smaller unit would fare better. Even though this cave might not be as dangerous, there was no guarantee. And lives were irreplaceable.

After deliberating, the captain decided to escalate the matter, reporting the situation to his superiors and outlining his concerns.

“General, reports from all deployed special ops teams are similar. They’ve followed tracks to underground cave entrances, but their reconnaissance devices lose contact shortly after entry. Based on prior mission experience, they’re awaiting further instructions,” an officer briefed General Masai.

Masai frowned, recalling the extensive reconnaissance records sent back by the Cat’s Ear Spaceship. Although the ship had operated on the planet for years before its final encounter, their forces seemed to be facing attacks far more frequently.

Seeking strength in numbers, Masai called an emergency strategy meeting. Fleet captains and staff officers gathered to debate the situation intensely.

“Could there be a hidden underground civilization?” one captain proposed.

“Unlikely. If so, why haven’t they reacted to our orbital satellites?” another countered.

“Good point. The Cat’s Ear Spaceship was attacked in T855’s outer orbit, suggesting the attackers had spacefaring capabilities.”

“Could this star system have developed two civilizations—one on T855 and another on T853?”

“I doubt it. If there were a civilization on T853, they wouldn’t tolerate satellites or even the fusion-based monsters we’ve observed.”

“Maybe that monster is a creation of such a civilization!” another suggested.

“Speaking of which, where is that monster now?”

“Perhaps it’s hibernating. Our satellites have marked a few suspicious locations, but we haven’t had the chance to investigate.”

“Experts speculated that monster might be a relic of an ancient era. Could there be other similar species still alive but dormant? Maybe the Cat’s Ear Spaceship’s battle awakened them,” a captain posited.

The room fell silent as the participants considered this theory.

“That’s not impossible,” someone finally said.

“In fact, it’s quite plausible and makes sense.”

“If that’s the case, then whatever woke up must be a rapidly reproducing species. Our bases span five continents, yet the attacks seem nearly simultaneous.”

“Are you suggesting they also have long-range coordination capabilities?”

“Why not? If a fusion-powered creature can exist, why not one with advanced coordination? Our own history has records of such creatures on Riken. They were eusocial but limited to a few kilometers.”

“Such creatures would be even harder to deal with than that mobile nuke monster.”

“What’s the use of guessing? I propose concentrating our forces to storm one of the cave entrances and see what’s inside.”

“Agreed! I second that!”

“…”

“But our forces can’t fully deploy underground. Numbers won’t provide an advantage there.”

“We’ll still need elite teams for the actual descent.”

“If that’s the case, why not excavate the area? We brought plenty of heavy machinery for terraforming the planet.”

“That’s a solid idea. I second it.”

“Seconded.”

“Seconded.”

“…”

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