[Multiversal Empire] 9 – Voyage into the Stars

It took less than a year, but the Leviathan and my Proto-Brood Mothers were ready. 

A fourth of the Proto-Brood Mothers were loaded onto the Leviathan and placed into a kind of hibernation to preserve energy on the Leviathan, along with what I decided to call a Swarm ‘Legion’ being placed aboard as well. 

A single Swarm Legion would contain ten thousand Zerg Strains, mostly in the form of close-quarter combatants, long-range combatants, fliers, diggers, and several Overminds to provide more precise control over the Legion during battle. 

On board, I also included more than a dozen small ‘spears’ to use as drop pods on suitable worlds for Colonization that would be loaded with over a dozen drones and one of the Proto-Brood Mothers. Not to mention the dozen Spawning Pools, thousands of creep nodes, and thousands of Drones aboard to maintain the Leviathan or allow it to be a moving Hive if need be. 

I was hoping that under the control of these Brood Mothers, these small spears would expand and eventually spread to cover the planet, turning it into another Zerg World under my control. 

Once everything was prepared and ready, a second Leviathan was placed under construction while the first Leviathan and a dozen Probes were sent on their voyage to find Earth. 

The Probes would lead the way, jumping from system to system before the Leviathan to ensure no detectable anomalies and ensuring safe passage, or at the very least, providing the Leviathan with an early warning system to avoid danger or to locate suitable worlds for colonization. 

Such a tactic did have its dangers, as it could lead any potential hostiles back to Crèche, which is why I’ve begun construction of massive bile launchers which would act as a planetary defense system for all three planets under my control. I estimated that the Voyage, at its current speed, would reach the Sol system within the next thousand years, if not somewhat over that amount of time. 

To pilot and manage the Leviathan, I created a special Zerg Strain I decided to call the Stellar Navigator strain, modeled after Izsha, the Advisor to the Queen of the Blades. 

These Stellar Navigators would essentially be a twisted form of Overminds and Brain Computers, allowing them to store vast amounts of data, information, and knowledge in their minds and Genetics, allowing for them to pass this knowledge to other Stellar Navigators or share the knowledge directly with nearby Brood Mothers or Overminds on the field. 

While Brood Mothers would work as managers of their sections of the swarm, the Stellar Navigators would act as Advisors and Strategists to assist the Brood Mothers in command. 

Speaking of which, when I sent out the Leviathan, I awoke one of the Brood Mothers to oversee the Leviathan and to guide the Drones where they are needed if the Leviathan suffers damage or needs to be changed. 

“My Queen, what shall this one do when no task is currently available or needing oversight?” My first sentient Zerg asked through the Psionic Connection shared between all Zerg in the Swarm.

“You may do as you wish, Selvi, so long as you fulfill your duties and obligations,” I answered, my voice sounding distinctly feminine and powerful. 

Noting its continued confusion, I expanded, “There are many things you can do in your downtime, such as experiment with strains through one of the dozen Spawning Pools aboard or observe the Stars around you through one of the ocular nerves on the Leviathan,” I suggested.

…

Four years passed, and in that time, the Swarm only continued to grow exponentially faster. The Magma World has fully be transformed into a world of both life and death, the world has cooled from the sheer amount of water brought down onto the surface and storms have begun forming, the Factory’s surface has completely transformed and turned into a tropical paradise, of which a massive sprawling Hive had begun to emerge from under the surface. 

Spears, probes, and Leviathans alike were being produced in the Hives under the surface, and with the assistance of the Proto-Brood Mothers, the efficiency was at an all-time high as everything was streamlined. At its current rate of growth, the Factory would produce four independent Leviathans across the under-hives while Crèche was in the process of producing three. 

Hundreds of Probes were launched into space or alongside the first Leviathans, and every nearby system was being mapped and scanned for potential colonies. However, amidst all that progress, there were two things that were even more important being worked on.

The first, was what I called the Hammer, a Zerg Bio-metal atmospheric station that would be the home and repair station of the future leviathans and other Zerg ships that had a round base facing Crèche’s surface and a long spire that aligned with the the sun, covered in specially made flesh that absorbed the radiation and sunlight emitted from the star. 

It was around 26% completion, and designed to be modular, with many ‘arms’ that could hold and attach to Leviathans. It was to be the first ‘Mega-structure’ to be built by the Swarm, the first of many, as I planned on taking full control over the system, turning it into a living fortress to defend the ‘core’ of my Swarm from any possible dangers. 

…

[Selvi’s POV]

Four years have passed since the Queen awoke me on the Leviathan to fulfill my duties as the caretaker of the massive Zerg Construct. 

In this time, the Leviathan has made eight jumps in total, with the ninth half a year away. The Probes sent ahead of the Leviathan have located six potential planets for Colonization with one planet being noted to have primitive life on its surface, as it was in the path of the Leviathan, I directed the Leviathan to the planet where a Spear was dropped down to the planet, on board was enough Zerg Strains, Biomass, and Drones for the Brood Mother on board the spear to begin colonization efforts, this…sister of mine was more…aggressive than I, but it was inexperienced. It has only been awake for hours before it was sent down to the planet, so in that short time, the Navigator and I saw fit to give the Queen as much information as we had to help make the Hive as successful as possible before the Leviathan had to leave six months later to the next solar system in the path. 

I wished the best for my Sister and the hive she was the caretaker of, the Queen assuring me that they would be alright and guided by her will. 

[A/N: The next chapter will be the introduction of Humanity and its official meeting with the Zerg.]