I Am The Swarm

The vast army of the Troi Empire appeared to be bearing down on the Genesis System, but in reality, they were still nearly eight light-years away.

However, their warp drives were indeed impressive. These drives were based on the main engine technology found aboard the “Treasure Starship” unearthed years ago by the Rikens, a ship originally planted by the Ji Race. It was a system they had never fully understood.

Warp drives represented an advanced application of gravitational technology. By converting energy into gravity, the drives distorted space, compressing it ahead of the spacecraft and expanding it behind.

The axis of this distortion determined the ship’s direction of travel. Within this configuration, the ship traveled along a stable zone of flat spacetime called a “warp bubble,” effectively riding a wave of spatial distortion.

From the perspective of the warp bubble, the spacecraft was stationary relative to its local flat spacetime. It was the bubble itself that moved, circumventing the conventional limitation that an object cannot exceed the speed of light within its local frame.

Years ago, the Troi Empire had also unearthed a Ji Race ship, but the experience had been akin to a calculated ploy. Like a tantalizing bait-and-switch, the Troi were allowed to “toy with” the ship for a few days, enough to spark their curiosity, only for it to be taken back. If they truly wanted to unlock the secrets of the warp drive, they’d need to pay a steep price.

For the Ji Race, this price was measured in points—astronomical sums accumulated through massive contributions of scientific manpower and resources.

In the early days after being “invited” to join the Confederation and suffering their first major losses, the Troi civilization retained a great deal of vigor. Fueled by resentment, they believed they could crack warp drive technology on their own, using the data they had collected from studying the Treasure Starship.

However, warp drives represented a critical technological watershed, defining whether a civilization could expand across multiple star systems while maintaining stability. Even the inherently gifted Ji Race had struggled with this technology for tens of thousands of years, plunging their civilization into a “Dark Age” that severely weakened them.

Moreover, the so-called “Treasure Starship” was nothing more than a seductive trap. The original Ji Race would never so easily give away their technology for free. While the drives were designed to be nearly impossible to reverse-engineer, there was always a slim chance—so the bait was poisoned.

The warp drive on the ship was a high-quality imitation, representing one of the many dead ends the Ji Race had encountered during their development process. Any civilization attempting to reverse-engineer it would only stray further from the true path.

Almost every external civilization had fallen into this trap—not just the Troi. Each one believed they were uniquely brilliant, determined to solve the mystery on their own. But after wasting years of time and enormous resources, they ultimately had to face reality. Only after paying a colossal price to purchase the genuine technology did they realize they’d been duped.

The Troi were no exception to this pattern.

At this moment, the Troi Empire’s greatest desire was to crush the Ji Race. However, the vast disparity in strength left them with no choice but to endure, silently nursing their hatred. The Ji Race, of course, had no intention of directly drawing this hostility toward themselves.

As more civilizations fell victim to the Ji Race’s schemes, attitudes among those who had already been deceived began to shift under the Ji Race’s subtle manipulation. Each time a new civilization got caught in the trap, the older victims found themselves taking a certain malicious pleasure in their suffering.

A twisted dynamic emerged—having paid the price themselves, these older civilizations felt compelled to ensure that others also bore the same cost. Over time, the Ji Race no longer needed to intervene. These early victims would actively maintain the cycle of exploitation.

After the original Ji Race disappeared, the successor New Ji Race naturally continued this “fine tradition” in its entirety.

The impact of this trap on civilizations was enormous. Even a long-established power like the Troi Empire, with a history spanning nearly 100,000 years, had only managed to exchange for the warp drive technology about 10,000 years ago. This alone illustrated how ruinous the scheme truly was.

What the Troi acquired was merely the basic warp drive technology. Meanwhile, with the contributions of hundreds of alien researchers over millennia, the Ji Race had refined the technology to incredibly advanced levels. However, they would never offer the complete solution up front. Instead, they divided it into multiple tiers, each requiring astronomical investments to obtain. It was an insatiable sinkhole of resources.

Civilizations tens of thousands or even over 100,000 years older than the Troi found themselves at similar levels of technological advancement in this area, which made the difficulty of further exchanges all the more apparent.

Even so, obtaining even the basic warp drive technology represented a massive leap forward. It was a critical breakthrough that elevated the entire civilization’s technological level.

With it, the Troi could increase their warship speeds from sub-light levels to twice the speed of light. For comparison, while the Daqi Empire needed more than a decade to travel from the outer regions of the Golden Horn and White Grub Systems to the Genesis System, the Troi fleet’s detachment achieved the journey in just four years.

This was the difference warp drives made.

In the detachment of 100 warships traveling faster than light, personnel emerging from cryosleep began to awaken. Two muscular Troi stood on the bridge—one in front and one slightly behind. ȑâ𐌽οBƐS

“Major General Bular, do you think this mission will go smoothly?” The latter, a female Troi with a concerned expression, suddenly spoke in a soft, incongruous voice that didn’t match her imposing physique.

“Don’t worry, Kayi. The fact that we’ve traveled this far unimpeded already reflects the Swarm’s intentions,” Bular replied firmly, turning to pat the slightly shorter female officer behind him.

She was his adjutant, and while she too was a towering figure with prominent muscles and a well-developed chest, she was considered a stunning beauty by Troi standards.

Hearing his words, Kayi’s chiseled face betrayed her surprise. “Major General, we’re traveling at faster-than-light speeds. While the basic warp drive technology still has some flaws, aren’t the Swarm just a primitive civilization? They probably can’t even detect us, can they?”

Bular nodded. “You’re correct, Kayi. Based on the data, that should indeed be the case. While they’re numerous, they haven’t demonstrated higher-level technological capabilities, so logically, they’re not a threat. Yet, for some reason, I have a feeling they can detect and intercept us. You know how accurate my instincts are—they’ve saved us multiple times.”

Kayi furrowed her brow. “While I find it hard to believe a primitive civilization could achieve this, I trust your instincts, Major General. However, if your hunch is correct, it means our opponent is even more formidable, and this mission will be even more dangerous.”

“Kayi,” Bular said with a faint smile, “as I mentioned earlier, if my instincts are right, they indeed have the capability to intercept us. But the fact that they haven’t acted means they’re willing to talk. I suspect they’ve received information about the Confederation from the Daqi, but those fools likely mixed truth with lies. The Swarm probably wants to learn more through us, which is why we’ll remain safe.”

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