I Am The Swarm

The adjutant curled his lips. What kind of nonsense reason was that? Even he found it hard to believe. However, Viller held the highest rank on this ship, and he couldn’t defy his orders.

But it was just an excuse. Even if the other races didn’t believe it, would they dare to stop them? Besides, they were heading to the command center, not deserting the battlefield.

Soon, Viller’s flagship turned around and flew toward the rear of the formation. Although the rear forces commander was furious, he was too preoccupied with the critical battle to deal with this.

Moreover, Viller was only leaving by himself. His escort ships remained to continue fighting. Perhaps there really was some system malfunction, as they claimed.

He wasn’t an expert on Troi technology and didn’t understand these things well. However, he had heard that the coalition commander and Viller didn’t get along. Maybe this was some internal conflict? Had the coalition commander remotely tampered with Viller’s flagship, and now Viller was flying over to confront him?

Very likely!

The rear forces commander’s curiosity was piqued. If it weren’t for the urgent battle situation, he would have followed to see what was going on.

The coalition command center was located over ten million kilometers behind the front lines. From a distance, Viller could see that a large number of foreign ships had already gathered there.

These were the forces that had withdrawn from the flanks for various reasons. Among them, Viller spotted the ships of the Troi nobles.

However, these didn’t hold his attention for long. His mind was racing, piecing together all the clues. Now, he just needed a few key pieces of data to draw some conclusions.

The command center, far from the main battlefield, was unaffected by the energy explosions and nuclear EMPs. All radar systems were operating normally. Thus, the arrival of a Troi flagship quickly caught the attention of the command center.

On this battlefield, there were no more than five of these Troi disc-shaped flagships, each representing a high-ranking Troi officer.

Therefore, Viller’s identity was quickly verified. After stating his purpose, he was promptly connected to the coalition commander.

Although Viller had left his sector without authorization and bypassed the chain of command during wartime, the coalition commander didn’t make an issue of it.

While he and Viller belonged to different factions within their race and didn’t get along, he trusted Viller’s professionalism and didn’t believe he would cause trouble at such a critical moment.

“Viller, do you realize what you’re doing? If you don’t have a good reason, you’ll be court-martialed,” the coalition commander said, though he believed Viller had a valid reason.

“Cut the crap, Difeck. I need some data access,” Viller replied bluntly. The two were old acquaintances, and while they usually engaged in political maneuvering and mutual criticism, this was a time-sensitive matter. Viller had no patience for formalities.

Hearing the urgency in Viller’s voice, Difeck switched the communication to a secure channel.

“What have you found?”

“A few things.”

Difeck nodded. “I’ll add you to my intelligence team. Ask whatever you need.”

“What’s the situation in LKDW263?”

“It’s similar to ours, though with some differences. The situation isn’t optimistic.”

“What about LKDW265 and 267? Have the Swarm been spotted there?”

“Yes, they have.”

“Have they invaded those two star systems yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Then where are they? How many are there?”

“One moment, sir,” an intelligence officer quickly swiped through the screens in front of him, searching for the information Viller needed. “Sir, the Swarm are currently gathering 0.1 light-years outside the two star systems. The exact numbers are unknown. They’ve driven away our reconnaissance ships and deployed interference fields.”

“This is bad, Difeck. I suspect the Swarm forces originally headed for those two star systems have redirected and are coming toward us,” Viller said gravely.

“Are you sure?!” Difeck was startled and asked in a low voice, while his own mind began reviewing the relevant intelligence.

“It’s just a hypothesis based on the available data, but I believe the probability is very high,” Viller replied, then sent Difeck some selected materials, including his own annotations.

After quickly reviewing the received data, Difeck let out a soft sigh: “You’re right. The Swarm may indeed have redirected the forces sent to LKDW265 and 267 toward us. But I don’t think this is a crisis for us at this stage.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we formulated the plan, we considered the possibility of the Swarm sending reinforcements from LKDW265 and 267. However, you were in hibernation at the time, so you weren’t aware of this,” Difeck explained. “We deployed a lot of decoy devices in those two star systems to confuse the Swarm about where our main forces were. According to the reports from our reconnaissance units at the Swarm’s borders, our plan was successful.”

“When the Swarm dispatched their forces, they divided them into four groups, heading in different directions with roughly equal numbers. They didn’t specifically target any particular objective. Before we launched this operation, there were no signs of anything unusual. The Swarm couldn’t have discovered our strategic intentions.”

“And it’s been less than two months since the war began. Even if the Swarm reacted, redirecting their forces would take time. They should still be on their way or just setting out, and it would take them years to reach us. After all, this involves the warp travel of a large number of combat units, which requires precise coordination of routes, rally points, and unit synchronization. So, it won’t affect our current operation. However, I should warn our colleagues in LKDW263. They’re closer to LKDW265 and 267, and the Swarm could reach them faster.”

Viller frowned as he listened to this lengthy explanation. Although Difeck’s reasoning was sound, he still felt something was off. “Do you think it’s possible they foresaw our plan? That the forces sent to LKDW265 and 267 were also decoys, and their main force is already heading here, possibly even about to arrive?”

“Hah, how is that possible? Viller, have you been in hibernation too long? If the Swarm wanted to use the forces sent to LKDW265 and 267 to block us, they would have had to redirect them toward us years ago, shortly after they set out.”

Difeck scoffed. “But you have to understand, back then, this plan was just a proposal. Whether it would be executed was still uncertain. If even we weren’t sure, how could the Swarm have predicted it? Viller, the Swarm are strong, but don’t deify them.”

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