The Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire was newly founded.
Everywhere there was a thriving and flourishing look to things.
The smoke of war seemed in this moment to have dispersed utterly.
Ordinary people even took it in error that a long-awaited time of peace was fully come.
A star system under military control, within the Fifteen Owl Dragon Star Regions of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire.
Since a certain day last year this place had been sealed off by order of the Emperor, then still the Owl Dragon's lord; no interstellar warship might sail in here without leave.
Within the system's edge space a great many warp interceptors had been set, and watch-posts for surveillance besides.
The one way in was that Star Gate, which had scarcely ever been used.
But today that Star Gate was lit.
A fleet passed slowly through the Star Gate and sailed in.
Upon the hulls of these warships there was not only the Owl Dragon crest but a golden dragon-pattern livery, to be seen from very far off.
And within this universe there is only one fleet that may carry that golden dragon-pattern livery upon its hulls.
That is the Emperor's Guard Fleet, which stands outside the five military grades.
Uniformly T5-grade interstellar warships.
Foremost of all was the Emperor's own ship, the Dragon Emperor.
Zhao Chen sat upon the throne, looking at this somewhat dim star system.
And everywhere there was an air about it unlike any other.
Every planet was brown.
No other color at all was to be seen.
"Brother!"
A video window sprang open, and a little girl upon the other side cried out in delight.
Seeing this little girl, Zhao Chen wore a helpless look.
Hive Princess.
The hive-race girl Zhao Chen had brought back from the space upon the far side of the Gate of Gaia; from some time or other she had fallen into the way of calling him brother.
"I hear you have built up this place well, so I have come to see it," Zhao Chen said, setting out his purpose in coming.
After learning before that Hive Princess could rebuild a hive-race fleet, Zhao Chen had formed the notion of building one for her.
As for the Hive Mothership carcasses this needed, of those there was no lack whatever.
And with the two permanent cosmic bug-nests standing there still, the carcasses of Hive Motherships could be carried here without cease.
At intervals this Star Gate would light for a while.
That was a transport fleet, bringing the Hive Mothership carcasses that were wanted.
Zhao Chen looked out through the porthole at the system beyond.
He could see Hive Motherships drifting far off; and they had nothing of the slaughtering violence of those Hive Motherships he had seen before, but drifted there at their ease, in high leisure.
"Hee hee hee. Brother, come down and look at my planet." Hive Princess waved within the picture, inviting Zhao Chen.
And Zhao Chen accepted the invitation.
For his purpose in coming this time was to inspect what Hive Princess had achieved.
Taking a shuttle, Zhao Chen came down upon a hive-race planet.
Upon this planet no ocean was to be seen any longer; the ocean was covered over with a brown algal matter, and even the color of the soil had turned black.
The whole planet seemed painted in blacks and greys.
The ground beneath Zhao Chen's feet was soft, and at first he was not quite used to it.
"Brother!"
The next second a figure darted straight into Zhao Chen's arms.
"How many years have you lived, and still you call me brother." Zhao Chen looked helplessly at this hive-race girl in his arms.
"Hee hee. I like calling you brother." Hive Princess put out her tongue.
Zhao Chen set Hive Princess down, and saw behind her two creatures gliding as serpents do: the lower half like a snake, but the upper half after the manner of a mantis, with something of the octopus about the face.
"These are my guards," Hive Princess explained.
The two hive-race guards bowed their heads to Zhao Chen with all reverence, and there was no breath of slaughter about them at all.
"What grade of hive-race unit do they belong to?" Zhao Chen asked in his curiosity.
"About… tier five, I suppose," Hive Princess explained.
"Tier five?" Zhao Chen was somewhat astonished.
Looking at these two hive-race creatures, three meters tall at the most.
It was hard to believe they were T5 hive-race units.
"Brother, do not think that a hive-race unit must be one of those great bulky things. Though in most cases it is true that the greater the bulk, the greater the fighting power. But there are a very few exceptions. As I am!" Hive Princess set her hands upon her hips, with an air of great pride.
In this posture there was nothing to be seen of how timid and small-hearted she had been when he first met her.
"I know you are very strong," Zhao Chen said, laughing despite himself.
"They are the highest in standing here, after myself. They are not clever as I am, but they can do a little commanding. And hereafter, if there be need, they can develop in two directions. Either they become hive-race sages, or T6-grade Hive Motherships, as Granny Bug is. Ah yes, did I not speak of it to you before? They are in fact Hive-Mothers," said Hive Princess.
Hive-Mothers?
Zhao Chen was greatly astonished; he could hardly set the word Hive-Mother upon these two creatures before him.
"You said before that a Hive-Mother can control the hive-race life upon a whole planet, and it looks… like this?"
Hive Princess guessed the cause of Zhao Chen's puzzlement, and explained: "We of the hive-race can change our shape; we are not fixed in one single form. These two, for instance, may take different shapes according to the race's need. They are my guards now, so they hold this shape, in which their fighting power is highest. If they were needed to govern and control a planet, then they would take the Hive-Mother form."
Complicated indeed.
Thereafter Zhao Chen went about this planet a while with Hive Princess.
In the course of it he even rode upon a flying insect, and circled the whole planet, looking down upon everything below.
He saw small hive-race creatures going to and fro tilling the brown fields, much like farmers.
He saw great bugs of vast bulk besides, and even a swarm of flying bugs that rose into the high air, gathered outright into a rain-cloud, and let fall rain upon the land beneath.
It was past all believing.
The living order of this planet had gone beyond anything Zhao Chen had imagined.
And Zhao Chen believed what Hive Princess had said before: that their hive-race could be wholly self-sufficient, and could even keep a planet developing soundly and without end.
There was no need whatever to invade other planets and other civilizations.
"Little Bug, how many Hive Motherships do you control now?" Zhao Chen asked the chief question of this visit.
Hive Princess said outright: "At present there are only 1,000,000 Hive Motherships, and of those cultivated to the T5 grade there are fewer than ten."
1,000,000?
Zhao Chen was greatly astonished.
In less than half a year, and she had cultivated so many?
"In truth I am astonished at the speed of it myself. I remember that when my mother and Granny Bug cultivated them, the speed was never so great as this," Hive Princess said in her own puzzlement.
Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes. Perhaps this was the very reason they had guarded Hive Princess so.
While Zhao Chen was turning the matter over, Hive Princess nestled against him.
Hive Princess had always been fond of Zhao Chen, but today she clung rather more than was usual.
"Little Bug, why do you keep clinging to me so today?" Zhao Chen said helplessly.
Hive Princess blinked and said: "I do not know either. But I smell something upon Brother that smells good."