I Am The Swarm

“There aren’t many asteroids left. Most of them are now concentrated at the outskirts of the star system and in Planet Izumo’s orbit, both areas currently occupied by the Swarm. Even though we hauled away a significant number of asteroids when we evacuated from Planet Izumo, it hasn’t been enough to sustain such heavy consumption. Additionally, producing those components is straining the capacity of our space factories. Just the recent round of base replacements severely slowed down our warship production,” a Riken officer reported gravely.

“This won’t work. At this rate, the Swarm won’t even need to attack us—we’ll wear ourselves out first!”

“And this is only the current situation. Their firepower output points are increasing rapidly. In Planet Izumo’s orbit, we’ve identified two Swarm constructs that are growing daily. We don’t know what they’re for, but it’s safe to assume they’re bad news for us.”

“Is there any good news?” someone asked.

“Well, we’ve confirmed that the Swarm’s Space Octopuses grow over time. They can evolve from 10-meter-class to 100-meter-class, and from there to 500-meter-class. Although we noticed signs of this growth back in the asteroid belt, it wasn’t as apparent then. Now, we can finally confirm it.”

“…”

“I don’t think that’s good news.”

“Agreed.”

“So, are you saying that if we let time drag on, we’ll end up facing an endless tide of 500-meter-class Space Octopuses?”

“Oh? What’s incorrect?”

“Five-hundred meters isn’t their limit. To be precise, we may eventually face Space Octopuses exceeding 1,000 meters.”

“Hah, what a delightful surprise. If this news gets out and the Swarm opens up a surrender hotline, the phones would undoubtedly explode with calls.”

“Shut up! Don’t let me hear such morale-damaging nonsense again!”

“Hmph.”

The Rikens bickered noisily. The overwhelming pressure brought by the Swarm had kept them on edge for so long that it was taking a toll on their mental stability.

“Is there any way we can cause them some trouble?” Hamis finally brought the discussion back to a constructive track.

“It’s difficult. Our energy weapons may have a fast firing rate, but their range has always been a weakness. We can’t hit Planet Izumo from here. Missiles are an option, but they’re costly, easy to intercept, and not cost-effective,” a Riken weapons officer answered after some thought.

“Can’t we build electromagnetic railguns too?”

“President Antonio has already assigned the research department to look into it. While we have the theoretical foundation, building railguns is a significant departure from our existing technology. It requires extensive testing. The earliest we could field usable prototypes would be next year.”

“I propose sending out the fleets to harass the enemy. This might draw away some of their firepower,” suggested a Riken major general.

“That’s too dangerous. If their maneuvers fail, the losses could be catastrophic. We can’t afford to lose any more warships,” another officer objected.

“I think it’s a feasible plan. We’ve gained considerable experience in dodging electromagnetic projectiles. As long as we maintain a safe distance, the warships should be relatively secure. If the Swarm splits its firepower to attack our fleets, even partially, it would relieve pressure on the laser defense array.”

After deliberation, the three incomplete fleets began to deploy.

Following nearly two years of recovery and reorganization, the three fleets had received reinforcements from newly built warships, bringing their total to over 2,200 vessels. However, more than 500 ships were still undergoing repairs and unable to participate in operations.

The remaining 1,700 warships split into three formations and advanced towards Planet Izumo in an aggressive posture, hoping to draw the Swarm’s fire.

However, not only were the Riken internal discussions virtually transparent to the Blades, but the Swarm had also gained considerable experience countering such harassment tactics from their numerous encounters.

In the early stages of the war, such a bold move by the Rikens would have prompted an immediate response from the Primordial bodies. Now, however, the Swarm remained unperturbed in the face of this feigned assault.

When it came to a direct confrontation between electromagnetic railguns and energy cannons, if both sides had equal numbers and were within each other’s range, energy cannons held a distinct advantage. In a head-to-head battle, the Rikens’ fleets were likely to come out on top—but only just.

Thus, when the Swarm forces were numerically inferior, they relied on the range advantage of their electromagnetic railguns to continuously fire and prevent the Riken fleets from closing in.

However, Swarm combat units were significantly cheaper to produce compared to mechanical warships, making it easy for the Swarm to achieve numerical superiority. Once they gained the upper hand in numbers, such aggressive tactics from the Rikens ceased to pose a significant threat.

When the Riken fleets entered the Swarm’s firing range, the flight time of electromagnetic projectiles was greatly reduced. In a scenario where the Swarm enjoyed numerical superiority, mutual bombardment could have unpredictable outcomes. Furthermore, under such circumstances, if the Riken fleets suffered defeat, retreating would become nearly impossible.

The Swarm could afford to absorb losses, whereas the Rikens could not. Consequently, after the Primordial bodies reached a critical mass, the best strategy for countering the Riken’s feigned assaults was to simply ignore them.

“Come closer if you dare; stop posturing at a distance.” This was the attitude of the Swarm’s Blades.

Currently, the Swarm occupied Planet Izumo and its dozen moons, with numerous ground-based cannons and thousands of Primordial bodies in orbit. They held an overwhelming numerical advantage. If the Riken fleets truly dared to engage, it would be akin to feeding dumplings to a dog—they would never get them back.

In such a scenario, even if the Swarm traded two units for every one Riken ship—or even three for one—it would still come out ahead.

“Does it seem like our tactics have failed?”

The Riken fleets flirted repeatedly with disaster, skirting the edge of recklessness. Yet the Swarm responded to their maneuvers with utter indifference. No matter how aggressive the Rikens acted, the Swarm didn’t bother firing a single electromagnetic projectile in response.

In the end, the Riken fleets wasted a vast amount of energy only to return to their starports empty-handed and humiliated.

“For now, we can only wait for our electromagnetic railguns to be ready. This powerless, one-sided beating will have to continue for a while.”

“It seems that’s our only choice. This is infuriating.”

Time passed quickly as both sides fell into a temporary stalemate. Apart from the daily routine of electromagnetic bombardments and laser intercepts, there was little action from either side.

Finally, the long-awaited Riken electromagnetic railguns were completed and began mass production. Supported by a robust industrial base, over 2,000 railguns were erected on the Twin Star System’s planets and moons within a few months.

The Riken railguns operated on principles similar to the Swarm’s, but the Rikens leveraged specially formulated metals and precision-engineered mechanical structures, granting their railguns superior performance in several key areas.

The most noticeable improvement was their firing speed, which was nearly double that of the Swarm’s railguns. In essence, the Riken’s 2,000 railguns could produce the firepower of 4,000 Swarm railguns.

“Finally, the time has come for our counterattack!”

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