Those Who Gather (1)
The data stored aboard the drone consisted of records analyzed and organized by the Star Union ship's computer, along with footage captured inside the vessel itself.
Unfortunately, its passage through the fine particles of the asteroid clouds had corrupted and erased a portion of the stored files.
It was difficult material to work with — incomplete and encrypted on top of that — but for Sihyeon and Lyla, none of that posed much of an obstacle.
Sihyeon, who had served as a Shadow of the Yujin family and honed her espionage skills along the way. Lyla, trained as the family's most promising protégé and equipped with an advanced tactical suit. Neither of them was remotely ordinary, and together they had little trouble extracting the data's contents.
“A military garrison wiped out aboard an X2-class destroyer by four unidentified lifeforms. How is that even possible?”
"The information comes from the Star Union ship's own computer. The odds of it being falsified are low."
"True, there's video footage as well, so it must be real."
Star Union's AI capability far outclassed MegaCorp's. When it came to routine ship operations — course plotting, energy output calculations — the gap between the two was negligible. But when it came to analysis, to drawing conclusions from raw data, the Union's AI was simply superior.
It spoke volumes that even Sihyeon Yujin's flagship ran on Star Union AI.
Lyla knew that fact perfectly well; she'd only voiced it because the reality was so hard to believe.
Now the two of them were watching the drone's video records with their own eyes.
The cyborgs and androids aboard the destroyer had been utterly incapable of responding to the assault of the four creatures. They'd died helplessly, one after another.
“That Type-D lifeform — could it be a Bubble Amoeba? The size difference is enormous, but it looks remarkably similar.”
"I couldn't say. I've never heard of a Bubble Amoeba wielding psychic power like that."
"It may well be an experimental subject from Edgerton or Zhao. They told us they had a keen interest in Bubble Amoeba research."
At that passing remark from Lyla, a memory stirred unbidden in Sihyeon's mind.
Bubble Amoeba. Psychic power. Research.
The very first thing Sihyeon had recalled upon waking in the clone production facility was the memory of her own death. She had been laying plans to eliminate Kisaragi Yujin, Akira Yujin's granddaughter.
Kisaragi Yujin had shown extraordinary results in research on Psionium and Hulk Mutants. Vital to Akira Yujin, who had seized power through the Hulk Mutant enterprise, she was a target that had to be eliminated at any cost.
Sihyeon Yujin had intended to kill Kisaragi and disguise the deed as the work of other families' schemes.
Just as she'd planned, Kisaragi Yujin died. All that remained was for Sihyeon to manipulate the circumstances of the death herself.
It was there that everything had twisted irrevocably sideways.
The monster riding aboard the ship where Kisaragi died had interfered with her.
She had seen through to the truth at once — that this creature stood on an entirely different plane from even the Shadows, the very pinnacle of gene-modification technology.
And so she had tried to capture it alive. But the monster proved far more powerful than she'd anticipated. She fought it tooth and nail, and in the end an unforeseen variable cost her the fight.
The Bubble Amoeba on the research vessel.
She had dismissed it as harmless and paid it no further attention — and that harmless little thing had ruined everything at the critical moment.
Using psychic power, just as she had seen in the footage moments ago.
Kisaragi's final research subject was psychic potential in the Bubble Amoeba, wasn't it.
She had gathered intelligence to kill the woman, so Sihyeon remembered exactly what she had studied.
What are the odds that a psychic-using Bubble Amoeba would happen to be on that spaceship?
Leaving Lyla to keep watching the footage, Sihyeon went back over the information stored in the drone.
Of the four lifeforms, data on Types A and B was by far the thinnest. Both apparently possessed concealment abilities; neither had even appeared in the recordings.
It was the Type-A creature that drew her interest. She pulled up the data the computer had left behind.
To summarize the record: the creature possessed outstanding physical capabilities and could secrete an acidic fluid capable of melting through a ship's hull. It also displayed extremely high intelligence and appeared to favor ambush tactics.
As she read, Sihyeon pictured the monster that had killed her. A creature that kept a Bubble Amoeba at its side, shed acidic blood, and possessed remarkable intelligence.
Looked at that way, it bore a striking number of similarities to the Type-A lifeform that had annihilated Star Union's soldiers.
Though it seemed to have grown considerably since the day she'd faced it.
Monster! So you were alive all along!
She had sensed its presence at the T&C Special Trade Hub. At the time, she'd been transporting a bomb and hadn't been able to confront it directly.
The city had collapsed afterward, but she had never doubted the monster survived.
Something with that level of intelligence would have found some way out of the city. It was hiding somewhere out there in space.
In truth, it was a judgment with solid grounds behind it.
After the city's collapse, Sihyeon had rescued Lyla's medical vessel as it drifted through the void, and from her she'd heard everything about the monster in exhaustive detail.
The events inside the city — and Lyla's own ambition, to study the creature and develop a new breed of Hulk Mutant. All of it.
Sihyeon glanced sidelong at Lyla.
No need to bring that up just yet.
Lyla, a member of Noble Capital, obeyed Sihyeon for two reasons: vengeance and ambition.
Revenge on the monster that had destroyed her, and using its corpse to make herself head of the T&C family. Those two goals were the only reason she was still alive at all, half of her body long since lost.
…In that respect, she and I may not be so different.
Having thought as much, Sihyeon checked the date recorded on the data. It was exactly ten days old.
Given how much time had passed, the ship that had launched this drone would be nearly impossible to track down now.
For the moment, I'll study this information.
There was no telling when she might cross paths with the creature again. Until then, she needed to know everything she could about it.
If only I can obtain that weapon…!
The ancient relic they were heading out to find. If she could get her hands on that as well, she could hunt down that clever monster no matter how smart it thought it was.
Her eyes, fixed on the creature in the footage, grew colder and sharper still.
"We've located Ship 98!"
Sanada-F, acting fleet commander of the Nemea Fleet, shouted at the top of his lungs, every nerve drawn taut.
The man who normally steered the flagship in rumpled civilian clothes was dressed now in a jet-black military uniform, a red insignia affixed to his chest.
The emblem — a fist at its center, ringed by twelve stars — was the symbol of the Star Union.
"Search complete! The captain is confirmed alive inside the ship!"
The reason he'd donned a uniform he never even wore to combat, insignia and all, was the pair of presences watching him.
｢Query. Sanada-F. Do other cyborgs still survive?｣
"Ah— ahem! Nine more survivors confirmed!"
The one who had questioned him was Nemea Five, a hyper-advanced android — one of only twelve Supreme Councilors in the Star Union, and Sanada-F's direct superior.
To Sanada-F, Nemea Five was a demanding superior, certainly. But what truly tightened his nerves was not the android.
｢Nemea Five reporting. Chairman, shall we commence the operation?｣
｢Proceed.｣
Jubaka — Chairman of the Machine Committee and Great Leader of the Star Union — was observing Sanada-F from the capital planet of Jax-01.
Merely hearing the voice of the Union's mythic figure, its Highest Dignity, was enough to bring Sanada-F to the verge of fainting.
"Order confirmed! Begin docking operations! Combat units standing by to enter!"
｢Order. All other ships, prepare.｣
｢Arrow Fleet acting commander! Ship order confirmed! Target locked!｣
｢Redtail Fleet acting commander! Ship order confirmed! Target locked!｣
He issued his commands while barely holding back tears. The captains of the other ships were apparently in much the same state, forcing out their acknowledgments into their comms through gritted teeth.
Their mission: a search operation for Ship 98, which had gone silent ten days ago.
Having jumped to the AD-100 Star System to repair its faster-than-light engine, Ship 98 had begun acting erratically ever since communications were cut. It had even been observed making a string of FTL jumps to other star systems — using the very engine it had reported as broken.
Under normal circumstances, the matter would have ended with Nemea Five, the Nemea Fleet's commander-in-chief. This time was different.
Because Great Leader Jubaka had taken a personal interest in Ship 98, no fewer than three elite fleets had been dispatched to chase it down.
And in ten days, they had found it — in a star system located in neutral space. Ship 98 hung all alone in the heart of a corridor thronged with trade ships.
Known to be infested by a bio-ship, Ship 98 looked identical to the original X2-class destroyer, save for its color. Dyed pitch-black, nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding void, it looked to any observer like a vessel in a state of catastrophic contamination.
"Docking complete! We're going in!"
｢Order. Granted.｣
The flagship carrying Sanada-F had attached itself directly alongside Ship 98. As punishment for failing to keep proper custody of the vessel under his command, his ship had been assigned to search the destroyer's interior personally.
The rest of the fleets held their distance, weapons trained on Ship 98. Should anything so much as flicker out of the ordinary, their cannons would open fire without hesitation.
"All signals detected in the situation room. Biological readings normal across the board. No unusual fluctuations."
｢Comb the ship thoroughly. There's no telling what we'll find.｣
"Y-yes, Great Lea— ahem! Understood, sir!"
Footage from the androids and Workers aboard Ship 98 was streamed in real time to every ship in the fleet — and to the Great Leader himself. Through the cable jacked into his neck, Sanada-F likewise monitored his subordinates' movements.
Inside the ship, a toxic chemical vapor hung thick as fog throughout the corridors. When his subordinates adjusted their cameras, pulsing, living tissue became visible everywhere they looked.
Watching, Jubaka murmured to himself.
｢…Nemea Five. Save every single frame of this. All of it.｣
｢Nemea Five responding. Saving now. Have no fear, Chairman.｣
The subordinates on-site, hearing none of this exchange, swept the ship's interior at speed. Before long, they reached the situation room.
"Wh-what is that?!"
Sanada-F cried out in horror at the scene his subordinate's camera was recording inside the situation room.
The hard, utilitarian design of a warship's command center was gone entirely. In its place spread tentacles like veins, spores that swelled endlessly before bursting, and revolting biological pipes venting toxic mist.
It was less a situation room than a nest. A grotesque, horrifying creature's nest.
And within that den of corruption lay exactly what they had been searching for: Keynes-Q, captain of Ship 98, along with eight cyborgs. They hung bound fast in hardened tentacles, tethered to the walls and ceiling like specimens.
"C-Captain Keynes-Q and eight crew members! All accounted for! No casualties to report!"
｢Order. Verify.｣
One of the Workers approached to detach Keynes-Q from the wall. But the moment it drew near, the captain began to thrash wildly.
"Huh? Wh-why is he suddenly—?"
｢What's happening?｣
"H-his heart rate is climbing, sir."
His face wrapped in tentacles, Keynes-Q forced his mouth open and shouted with everything he had.
｢Everyone out of here, now! This ship is— kuhagh!｣
Mid-sentence, he vomited a great mouthful of blood and his head dropped forward. At the same instant, the biometric readout Sanada-F had been watching for Keynes-Q flickered and went dark.
"Captain of Ship 98 confirmed dead!"
｢Dead? Why suddenly— wait. Surely not—｣
At the sight of Keynes-Q's death, something seemed to snap into place in Jubaka's mind, and he shouted urgently.
｢All units, fall back! Break away from Ship 98, immediat—｣
Before the Great Leader could finish, a massive eruption of light burst from Ship 98's engine room.
Sanada-F would never know that the explosion came from a bomb planted in the engine compartment.
Hm?
｢Big Baby, what's wrong?｣
When I suddenly shifted my head, Number 26, who was perched atop it, asked me.
[Zzzzzz zzzz zzzzzzz (It's nothing. Don't worry.)]
｢Okay.｣
[Zzzzzz zzzzzz (Cramped in here, isn't it? Uncomfortable, right?)]
｢No! Big Baby and Middle Baby and Little Baby all squished together — I love it!｣
[Zzzzzz (Good to hear.)]
Just as Number 26 said, Adhai and Mother of the Sky were pressed tightly against my enormous body.
It really is cramped, though.
It had been an unavoidable choice, given the need to escape Star Union's pursuit.
Three days ago, I had abandoned Ship 98 and transferred to a new vessel.
The reason: while sifting through the computer records after eroding the ship, I'd discovered that Captain Keynes-Q had fired off a rescue drone.
That fool and his useless antics have made my life so much harder.
To shake the Union's pursuit, I'd had no choice but to switch ships the instant Nightmare Horizon's cooldown ended.
Finding a ship in the middle of this vast expanse of space was no easy feat, so I'd been forced to revise my plan: head to a star system dense with trade traffic and acquire a new vessel there.
Thanks to that, everything's a week behind schedule.
I'd wanted to kill Keynes-Q on the spot for wasting a solid week of my time, but I'd barely restrained myself. Instead, I'd pondered what kind of punishment would make the best story — the sort of retribution that would have everyone whispering about how thoroughly that man had been made to pay. A penalty fitting for Keynes-Q himself.
A booby-trap operation using parasites.
After ordering the cyborgs to manufacture the bomb, I implanted sensors in their bodies — sensors rigged to detonate it automatically the moment their hearts stopped.
Then, on the day I abandoned the ship, I bound all nine cyborgs in the situation room and installed the bomb in the engine room.
If the Star Union comes looking for me…
The parasitized cyborgs would scream at their rescuers to run, to get out however they could. But that would be an act against my will — and my enhanced parasites would punish them for it at once.
And what happens when a cyborg dies? Boom, that's what.
Thanks to the Infection Enhancement Type, the parasites could hold out roughly five to six days without my having to rotate them. Swapping the parasites themselves was no problem, but just in case the hosts starved to death first, I'd attached Symbiote Spores to them as well.
Only after every step was complete could I leave Ship 98 with peace of mind.
And now, three days later, I finally felt the parasites within my body regenerating — all nine of them dying at once meant only one thing. The bomb had gone off.
My plan had worked.
They found it later than I expected. If I'd known, I'd have gotten myself a better ship.
The vessel I'd eroded now was a cargo freighter I'd purchased in a neutral star system — unclaimed territory that belonged to no faction.
Mother of the Sky, transformed into her Wolf form, had gone out and bought it herself. The funds had come from selling the drones and androids still aboard Ship 98.
The reason I hadn't simply grabbed some passing ship and eroded it instead was simple.
They think I'm a bio-ship. Nobody imagines a creature like that would go out and buy its own ship.
Even if players had joined the hunt for me, it wouldn't matter. If anything, players would be the ones least likely to find me.
Because they know I'm Amorph.
Amorph — a species incapable of dialogue or negotiation. Not one of them would ever dream that I was traveling with three companions.
Everything's gone according to plan, but this ship really is a letdown.
Not knowing when the pursuit fleet might arrive, I'd had to grab the first ship available. As a result, the vessel we were riding measured barely over sixty meters.
My body alone exceeds twenty-five meters. Sixty meters total, and…
On top of that, we needed food for the voyage. The cargo hold was crammed to bursting with cyborg combat rations and energy drinks scrounged from the neutral system.
With virtually no room left over, the four of us had no choice but to travel pressed together, exactly as we were now.
Thank goodness Number 26 can shrink herself, I suppose.
The girl had reduced herself to about fifty centimeters and was dozing off atop my head, her eyes drooping.
｢Big Adult. Me. Hungry.｣
[Zzzz zzzz (Just a moment.)]
Adhai, this ship's Galagon navigator, was curled up on my tail. I generated an erosion tentacle, scooped up a fistful of energy drinks, and passed them to her.
｢Thanks.｣
After that brief word of thanks, she plunged the tentacle into the drinks and drained them one after another. Unlike the calorie bars and cyborg rations, the energy drinks had an apple-cider taste that made them surprisingly palatable.
"We really should have gotten a bigger ship."
And finally, Mother of the Sky. Back in her Wolf form, she was tucked flush against my flank. Her body kept shifting restlessly, the claws and spines along my carapace evidently digging into her.
I should do something about that.
I subtly reshaped the ship's structure, carving out a space where she could lie down in comfort.
[Zzz (Better?)]
"I'm grateful, but aren't you making things hard on yourself?"
[Zz zzz zzzz zzzz zzzz zzzzzz zz (I'm fused with the ship itself. I barely feel any discomfort.)]
"Must be nice."
[Zzzzzz zz zzzz (I know it's uncomfortable. Bear with it for just a month and a half.)]
She let out a small sigh, and with that our conversation came to an end.
I was about to return my full attention to the FTL voyage when she spoke again, quietly.
"Thanks for going out of your way for me."
[Zz (Sure.)]
Having said her thanks, she seemed to grow a little embarrassed, and quickly shut her eyes. Before long, her breathing settled into a slow, even rhythm.
Leaving the sleeping Mother of the Sky to her rest, I carried on through the void at faster-than-light speed.