The fleet launched with strict formation. The officials high in rank understood that the plan Kaerin had presented served only as a mask to throw off the inevitable spies. The true goal was to delay. Slow advance. Controlled loss. Never reveal intent. Never give the spies a clean pattern to relay.
The insects were not playing along; however, they moved even faster than originally, as if actively improving and adapting themselves. They filled the outer rings of the Hive like shifting clusters. They pressed against each other with raw instinct. Every drone pulsed with the same dull glow. The Hive swelled as if it were preparing for some unseen turn.
Kaerin's instincts burned at the sight.
He stood on the ship's bridge. The glass stretched in front of him. The view showed the first wave of Psi and Omega closing in. Their ships glided through the dark. The lights on the hulls stayed low to hide in the shadows of broken satellites and dust belts.
Verrik continued to control their ship with skill as Kaerin detachedly shot the insects with ease.
Instead, he focused on the map. The insects clustered near the minor openings. The larger tunnels hid deeper swarms. His fingers moved over the map. Path markers shifted. The projected pressure points lit in red.
Verrik spoke from behind him. His voice held steady caution. "The insects are gathering faster than yesterday. Numbers rise each hour."
Kaerin kept his eyes on the map. "I know. Their queen is not low level. She is hiding her presence."
From the communication channels, the officers exchanged looks. None spoke the thought aloud. A high-level queen in a mining galaxy meant the death of a galaxy if not contained. The generals really wanted them to take the fault for this huh.
Kaerin cut into the silence giving an order. "Focus on the outskirts. Psi and Omega will target the smallest openings. They must not push into inner chambers yet."
Ships opened fire on the far clusters. The first wave of insects broke apart. Bodies drifted in the dark. The soldiers fired again and again. Ammunition burned bright in the shadows. Some insects reached the hulls. Soldiers stepped out in sealed armour and cut them down with melee blades. Sparks lit the outer decks.
At first, the soldiers moved with ease. The insects looked slow. Predictable. Their attacks lacked form.
******
Then the second wave arrived.
The insects pushed forward with sorted lines. They fastened their claws into hull panels. They moved with new unity. The pattern in their attacks shifted. The soldiers felt the pressure rise.
Kaerin saw the swarm adjust from the bridge. He held the rail. His pulse sharpened. This adaptation rate did not belong to the normal Hive structure.
He spoke to the officers. "They are learning."
Verrik frowned. Learning from one day of combat is impossible especially if survival was the top priority. Even for them. Leave it to Kaerin to give such comments.
As quick as that thought came, it left as he noticed something. The insects looked awfully small now, didn't they? Wait…
"It's the younger zergs doing it!"
Verrik exclaimed in realisation.
Kaerin narrowed his eyes as he thought for a while, and realisation came to him. "They are adapting in each new wave. Their queen breeds them fast. Faster than we have recorded before. Good work"
Static crackled across one of the screens. A pilot cursed and tried to stabilise the connection. The signal jam lasted five seconds. Then ten. Then cleared.
The room fell silent.
Kaerin breathed out. A low-level newly hatched insect should not jam signals. This is a sign of a high queen. She is hiding in the inner chambers. She is changing her spawn patterns.
He straightened. "We need the egg chamber destroyed ASAP."
Verrik stiffened. "Do we know the location?"
Kaerin nodded. "Kinsley confirmed it a while ago."
He sent the command through the ship. The orders repeated across the fleet. New movement paths lit on every monitor.
Segmented infiltration. Layered fire corridors. Zero deep entry until the front lines cut space for the infiltration teams.
He turned back to the starmap. "Mantis and Kinsley will lead the strike. They will take the higher-level Zergs. They clear a path for the rest."
A newer officer raised a concern. "Sir. If the insects increase at this rate, our soldiers will fall within a month."
Kaerin did not blink, it wasn't the first nor would it be the last time to face such situations. "That is why we remove the source."
The attack stretched across the first day. Then the second. Four days passed under constant pressure. The soldiers rested in shifts. Ammunition moved from ship to ship. The smell of melted armour filled the maintenance decks. The breach teams patched hulls without pause.
Kaerin fought at the front during the heavy pushes. He fired until his gun grew hot, his heartbeat slightly elevated, and his muscles got that sting of working out, just how he liked it. He cut down insects that clung to the ship windows. His blade cracked shells with each hit. The swarm pressed on and on.
He felt a pulse behind his eyes. A dull pressure crawled from the base of his skull. A telltale sign of slight mental deterioration. He ignored it. He steadied his stance and moved back into the fight.
Verrik pulled him aside after the seventh breach. "Your eyes are bloodshot."
Kaerin answered with a calm voice. "I am fine."
Verrik gave him a long look. He couldn't mother him the often while on the mission. He thus settled for the minimum, "Take it easy, we're still a long way to go."
Kaerin stepped past him and returned to the fight.
The migraine settled beneath his skull like slow poison. He kept his movements sharp. He stayed ahead of each soldier. He refused to fall behind. His mind thinned at the edges, but he held the line.
********
Two days ago
On the fifth day, the infiltration path neared completion.
Mantis and Kinsley led the advance team through the exposed tunnels. Their ship moved with slow caution. The lights stayed dim. Mantis sat near the front back. His expression stayed cold. His posture held no tension, which only made the situation feel worse.
Kinsley sat at the front for visibility. His fingers drummed once against the steering wheel before he stopped himself. He did not speak. He scanned the shadows outside the window. His face remained calm on the surface, but his shoulder rose once when a cluster of insects drifted near the hull.
Mantis glanced at him. "How are you even uneasy than before?"
Kinsley gave a short shrug. "If you can call this uneasy. I see the way they move. I do not like it."
Mantis nodded. "You should not like it."
Kinsley looked at him again. "You sound more worried than usual, too you know…more vocal for some reason too. That's enough for me to worry."
Mantis returned his focus to the window. "Just have a bad feeling about this, I don't know why,"
His tone held no emotion. That alone made it harsher.
Kinsley blinked. Suddenly, he regretted his promise to Kaerin to work more on his direct combat abilities. He remembered Kaerin then his gaze shifted to Mantis. Kinsley felt a shift inside his chest. A brief sting. He pushed it down behind a composed mask.
Mantis turned to him. "You seem worse now."
Kinsley forced his face steady. "I am? Must have been the vision of the tunnels."
Mantis accepted this answer without question.
Kinsley's fingers tapped the crate again. He stopped the motion before Mantis could comment.
They moved deeper into the Hive. The passage walls pulsed with faint light. Webs of resin stretched over broken stones. The air felt alive with pressure. Kinsley set a drone to hover near the ceiling. It sent back a soft signal.
"Egg chamber is far," Kinsley said as he adjusted the small device. "But close enough to reach before the next swarm cycle if we stay sharp."
Mantis watched the drone feed. The chamber contained clusters of eggs that glowed in a steady albeit odd rhythm. New insects crawled across the floor. Their legs moved with practised precision for mindless beasts. Their bodies straightened in unison and gradually improved their movement.
Kinsley exhaled. "They learn by the minute, it seems."
Mantis tightened his grip on his weapon. "Then we must be faster."
They advanced in segmented squads. Zerg soldiers formed three layers. The first layer cleared the direct threats. The second controlled the flanks. The third watched the ceiling. Fire corridors lit the tunnels. The sound of gunfire echoed.
Kaerin coordinated from the front lines outside. He shifted orders each minute. His voice came through the comm with steady precision. His breathing stayed even. Kinsley noticed the faint static under his tone. The static came from Kaerin's mental strain, not the insects. Kinsley recognised it. He felt his chest twist.
The infiltration pushed through another cavern. A wall of insects blocked their path. Mantis moved first. He cut through the front line. His blade tore through shells. Kinsley shot those who leapt from the ceiling. The soldiers behind them fired in steady bursts.
The insects adapted again. They shifted their bodies to avoid the shots. They crawled across walls with new speed. Their coordination grew more exact with each minute.
Kinsley scanned the swarm. "They learn fast. Too fast."
Mantis struck down another insect. "Hn"
******
The team pushed again. The hours passed in a blur of fighting. Sleep came in short cycles. Every hour felt the same. Noise. Heat. Pressure. Insects that grew smarter with each battle.
Kaerin tore open the path for them on the next morning. His armour dripped with insect resin. His shoulders rose with slow breaths. His eyes burned with faint red lines. He did not stop.
He cleared three tunnels alone. Then he stepped aside to let the infiltration team advance. The soldiers stared at him with silent fear and respect.
Verrik moved to Kaerin's side. "Did I ever tell you I hate Crown-sanctioned missions?"
Kaerin flexed his fingers.
"Every time."
He walked forward; the ships had to be abandoned once the chambers got narrower on the inside.
******
The other team pushed to the final chamber door and stepped in. Heat rolled out from within. Egg clusters pulsed with life. Young insects crawled in tight lines. Their movements synced in perfect rhythm.
Mantis stepped forward. He took one slow breath. His voice held its usual cold tone. "We are here."
Kinsley lifted a device. He recorded the chamber patterns. His face remained calm. Only a slight shift of his eyes revealed unease. He sent the data to Kaerin.
Kaerin responded at once. "Destroy it."
The Zerg soldiers set charges around the chamber edges. They cleared the insects that broke through the side tunnels. Kinsley shot clean lines down the passage. Mantis cut down anything that reached them. The team moved with brutal precision.
They retreated once the charges were placed. The chamber shook behind them.
Something odd happened; however, the explosives did not take root, nor did the chamber collapse. Something wasn't right.