[Multiversal Empire] 8 – Research Bears Fruit

Twenty Years, that is how long it took to refine the instant transportation and make it viable for larger organic structures like the Leviathan, but I would likely need another decade to refine the organ further so that it could jump to another system. At its current level, the instant transportation was only good for interplanetary jumps, though even then, it currently only reached the Magma World. 

Of course I didn’t test or experiment with this special organ on the Leviathan, instead I used it on my Probes, as I was producing dozens ever year and sending them out into space, each generation more improved then the last. 

My furthest probe was nearing the edge of this solar system, but even then, this specific probe was on the brink of critical failure as its creep tumor was damaged by a small asteroid field. Luckily, my newer Probes were already gaining on it and boasted thicker armor and better propulsion capabilities. 

With my probes, I was planning on sending a few dozen to the closest solar systems to my own to scout them out for danger and potential colonization while also seeking out signs of intelligent life and Protheans Ruins, but that wasn’t very important right now.

My tests with the instant transportation have led to my discovery that at its base, the organ allowed for travel that was somewhat slower than the speed of light, but if the organ was supercharged, it reached FTL speeds, though that particular probe did end up disintegrating due to the sheer power needed to fuel such transportation. 

I was currently, attempting to refine this process but was currently facing issues with size constraints. 

The further the travel, the larger, more complex, and more energy the organ needed to make such a travel, while it may work in an organism as big as the Leviathan, it utterly consumed vessels as small as the Probe. 

However, if I could get the large amount of Psionic energy needed, something as small as a Drone could theoretically make a jump from one system to another. 

Such a problem was currently being looked over by the Central Hatchery’s Brain Computers with the support of many of the secondary Hatcheries across Crèche to solve the problem faster and come up with solutions while I focused on managing the rest of the Hive as they had completed the previous assignment I had them researching. 

The topic? Queens. Using a combination of Primal Zerg Pack Leaders, Drones, and Overminds, I learned how to recreate the Zerg Queens to overlook the expansion and maintenance of Hatcheries while assisting in Larvae Production. 

I was already on my way to produce my first batch of Zerg Queens, and before the end of this cycle, I’d have around 200 Zerg Queens to allocate to various Hatcheries, with half of them remaining in the Central Hatchery to assist in Larvae Production and maintaining the Brain Computers. 

Once they are ready, I’d begin production of Porto-Brood Mothers, extensions of myself and the Swarm and superior versions of the Queens, capable of ruling entire sectors of Zerg Hives. 

I realized that once the Swarm expanded to another Solar System, I’d be unable to retain my efficiency with micro management if I had to split my focus between so many different hives, as I did not want to allocate the resources to develop a Zerg structure capable of expanding my mental capabilities. 

Outside of the morphing of the first group of Queens, the Swarm experienced great progress in other areas as well.

For one, with the thousands of Probes I have sent out at this point, I’ve gotten a good look into the surrounding systems and a good look at the position of Crèche on the galactic scale. We were located on the outer rim, closer to the void of space between galaxies than we were to the galactic core. I was also clearly in the Milky Way galaxy, and if memory served, the Swarm was around 1,500 Light Years from the Earth and Sol System, with thousands of Solar Systems in between. 

Luckily, the Zerg Swarm started on the same ‘arm’ as Sol, so it was a relatively straight shot to reach their home system. 

Depending upon the state and stage of Humanity, I could get a representation of how much time I had to prepare for the Old Machines, the Reapers. If Humanity was already space faring, I’d have less than a century or two, if they were already a part of the Galactic Community…I could very well not have enough time to fight back against the Old Machines. I’d struggle against just one of the Old Machines, when there are likely Tens of Thousands of them…

With that alarming thought in mind, I decided to kick off production on the two colonies and start sending even more spears to the planets to help them grow exponentially faster to match the speed of growth on Crèche. 

I began to focus more of the resources on Crèche into this endeavor at the cost of slower development with the Primal Zerg on the surface, a cost I was willing to pay. 

If I was unlucky, I may already be too late to make any difference.

…

Ten more years passed in the blink of an eye, and in this time, the Swarm had grown exponentially stronger, using a copious amount of gasses from the local gas giants, I was able to induce and force an atmosphere into place on both colonies to allow for growth into the surface. 

My Foundry was still being developed on the third colony, while my army on the Magma world was developing at tremendous pace. 

I had access to all of the previous strains known to me used by the Swarm ruled by the Queen of Blades, and was working on making many more strains of Zerg for any and all possible purposes in combat, even going as far as to make strains that were Mutualistic in design, strains that were designed to assist, help, or form beneficial parasitic relationships with their hosts. 

Such as the Zerg Medic Strain, a strain designed to be a microscopic virus that was designed to help their host survive and heal from grievous injuries at the cost of metabolic efficiency, causing the host to need a lot more food intake. 

This virus can spread to other organisms via fluids, allowing for my entire army to become far tougher than they already were but needing far more food to sustain their forms. 

As well as the strengthening of my armies, the first Leviathan had finished morphing and was now in orbit above Crèche. All that awaited was the morphing of the gigantic organ I’ve decided to simply name Slipstream Core. I had refined the process of the jumps and now my Probes could make stable jumps at the length of a single light year, at the cost of needing to recharge and heal for half a year. 

Once the Leviathan was ready and loaded with Zerg and supplies, I’d send it on its Journey to find Earth. 

I only hoped that It would not end in a bloody meeting.