[Multiversal Empire] 7 – Multiplanetary Swarm

Years continued to pass, Creche as more organic ships and biometalic asteroids piloted by more complex and specially designed Overminds were created and launched at the other plants in the system. These vessels carried thousands and thousands of Zerg organisms and creep tumors within them. They comprised layers and chitinous material with an outer 'hull' made of bio-metal that was as tough as steel.

As these vessels had nothing to help slow them down, most of the Zerg on board the ship would die in the collision on whatever terrestrial planet the vessel targeted. Those who survived would feed off the dead and either focus on morphing a new Overmind if the previous one died in the collision, or begin burrowing deep into the planet and spreading creep within the tunnel systems they would dig.

Unfortunately for the Zerg on this particular 'Carrier' would find that the planet they landed on, was the harshest of the options, as they had crashed into the magma world, where they had already begun struggling against the elements and vast lava-filled networks that tunneled throughout the entire planet from the surface to the core, leading to quite a few deaths from sudden erruptions, lava flooding the tunnels, or the sheer heat the planet exuded.

However, the Zerg on the planet adapted, one by one, evolving into forms more adapted to the climate in which they tried to survive. They were not the only ones, as the creep evolved just the same, along with the Overmind connected to me and the Swarm. However, I did little to guide the evolution of the Zerg on the planet; instead, I took a step back and let things happen naturally. At the same time, the vanguard terraformed the world to suit the Zerg better. Once they were done, the Primal Zerg contained at the center of the vessel would be released to begin evolving and fighting one another once again.

 Another spear was sent towards the other terrestrial world, though it took multiple ‘spears’ before a good number of Zerg survived to tunnel through the celestial body and start an underground hive. 

I had no name for either of my new Zerg colonies, but I already had a purpose for the two planets. 

The Magma world would be terraformed and changed to better suit the Zerg, and it’s where I planned on gaining a good amount of minerals and metals while also being a testing ground for much larger Zerg specimens. I’d allow for the Primal Zerg to evolve further, but still keep their growth limited, to keep control.

The barren moon-like world I’d transform into a living factory. There, I’d focus on making any future Arks and Spears as well as the future Zerg Leviathans, but first, I’d have to make the world more hospitable and somehow form an atmosphere so life could survive on the surface. 

I’d send a few more spears stuffed full of resources like water, chemicals, and harmless gases, which would be released over time to force an atmosphere into place. This artificial atmosphere would offer little to no protection against the harsh radiation.

While I worked on those, it would take a few more years to produce the spears and launch them, since a good portion of the biomass produced by Crèche would go towards the production of my first Leviathan-class organism. 

Leviathans would be my mobile carriers and hives for my future fleet. I was already developing organic fliers to act as fighters for the Leviathan.

The fighters were made of multiple components, a propulsion system using compacted gas, two wings that could fold or act like legs, sixteen optic nerves along its entire hull, a single creep tumor to act as a passive fuel source to keep the flesh alive, and multiple layers of both chitinous and bio metallic armor. As for weapons, I chose simple acid and quill launchers, though I was working towards improving these weapons so that they’d be viable in actual combat with hostile ships, as while they melted and pierce steel, I doubted they’d be very effective against space-grade materials that the aliens use to make their ships. 

The Leviathan itself would also have its own weapons, in the form of tendrils that it could grab and crush fighters, numerous divets for future acid launchers, and other biological weapons I create or discover. 

The Leviathan was by far the most complex organism I had made. It would be around 30 miles long and should be capable of holding a dozen spawning pools and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Zerg organisms. It would be filled with creep tumors, and its exterior hull should be capable of absorbing sunlight for a small to significant amount of energy, depending on how far it is from a nearby sun. 

Inside the Leviathan, I was also making nearly a dozen Overminds, and a central Overmind I’d use to control every facet of the Leviathan, but how did I plan on getting the Leviathan off planet with its massive size? 

The answer would be simple and complex: I would morph a unique and specific Psionic organ, the size of a building, with its center. This organ, much like a drone’s, would allow it to float above ground, though it was designed to do a lot more than that, letting the Leviathan fly. 

The hard part was making such an organ and ensuring it was stable and would not suddenly deteriorate, disintegrate, or suddenly explode. After all, getting such a thing right and implanted into all of my drones took a lot of testing and prodding. It ended with several drones disappearing into a cloud of red mist before I got it right, but while I was focused on that organ, there was another I was working on that would be just as important, if not more so. 

You see, one of my Primal Zerg had taken a different path with its Psionic abilities, and despite its size and strength, it was one of the up-and-comers for the strongest Primal Zerg. 

It was also the youngest of the Primal Zerg Pack Leaders, not even a year old yet, possessing such Psionic might that it wielded with such finesse that it was nearly unstoppable.

It developed multiple Psionic abilities that drew my attention, such as Psionic-attuned strength, agility, and reflexes, but its main Psionic ability, the ability to ‘blink’ a short distance away from where it lay in wait, drew my attention most.

I did not yet know how it worked, but from my observations, its body seemed to collapse into a sort of mist that flowed to a spot of its choosing, where it reformed unchanged. 

If I could replicate and supercharge this organ, I may have found my own form of FTL travel. Whether I could make it reach such speeds would need to be determined, as while the Primal Zerg ‘blinking’ seemed near instantaneous, it could only blink short distances before needing hours, if not days, to ‘recharge’ before it gained the Psionic energy it needed to try again.