The Morton System.
Though it had suffered an interstellar-hive-race attack, under timely handling this place had already recovered its former order. Only a small few planets had suffered the interstellar hive-race's invasion, but happily the handling had been proper; the ground-crawling interstellar hive-race had not spread out, and were still within a controllable range.
The Count was leading a small-scale patrol fleet, touring his own domain.
"My lord Count, as of now, all the Hive ships in our Morton System have been destroyed, every one. All the mining zones are in a state of normal production." A subordinate stood before the Morton Count, reporting the intelligence.
The Morton Count let out a long breath of relief. "It's well that our mining zones weren't affected; were the mining zones to suffer destruction by the interstellar hive-race, that would be, for our Morton System and for the North Wind Star Region both, an enormous threat."
"Indeed. Who could have thought that this time, in the North Wind Star Region, so very many cosmic bug-nests would appear all at once. I hear the number even broke past 300 and more; the count of tier-2 cosmic bug-nests alone exceeded 10! One's scalp goes numb at the mere thought," the subordinate said.
The Morton Count said, "Though the hive-race disaster has passed, on no account may we grow careless. The ground-crawling interstellar hive-race on those planets, too, must be cleaned out as fast as possible. And at the same time, have the patrol ships patrol each region within the system at a high frequency; on no account let a single fish slip the net!"
"Understood!"
Zzt, zzt, zzt, zzt.
And it was just then that, aboard the flagship where the Morton Count was, the electronic equipment of the whole bridge developed problems.
"What's going on?" the Morton Count asked, knitting his brows.
"We seem to have met with a high-intensity spatial-magnetic-field fluctuation… which has caused our warship's equipment to be affected as well. But it can recover very soon!" the crew reported.
"Report! We've detected an unknown energy reaction!" A somewhat blurred video window popped up — sent by the captain of another ship.
"An unknown energy reaction? Share the coordinates over!" the Morton Count at once asked. Soon obtaining the coordinates, and the ship's performance having recovered, the Morton Count at once brought the deep-space telescope to bear to view the situation at that coordinate.
A picture presented itself before the Morton Count's eyes. It was a very ordinary interstellar scene; one could see the distant stars, one after another, and beyond that nothing out of the ordinary…
And just as the Morton Count was thinking so, his pupils dilated and his breathing stopped. He saw the cosmos in the picture — as though, of all things, a rift had been torn open in it from nothing; and that rift, for all the world like a black hole, was only a stretch of pitch-black! This rift kept expanding without cease, and at the same time sucked in all the surrounding matter. Right beside it there happened to be a small asteroid. The Morton Count watched, with his own eyes, this asteroid dragged by that rift, torn to shreds, then absorbed… and at the last vanish, clean and utterly.
"Report! By spatial-magnetic-field identification, this is a cosmic bug-nest!" the crew reported urgently.
Another cosmic bug-nest had appeared!
The Morton Count showed not the least panic — perhaps because he'd faced the interstellar hive-race before; he decisively gave the order. "Whole fleet to combat readiness, and at the same time withdraw to a safe area. And request support from all interstellar warships within the system." If it were merely a tier-1 or tier-2 cosmic bug-nest, they could handle it.
The rift began to expand without cease.
"The spatial-magnetic-field fluctuation has already reached the level of a tier-2 cosmic bug-nest! And it's still rising without cease!" The crew gulped.
The Morton Count at once said, "Contact the North Wind Governor; report to him that a tier-3 cosmic bug-nest has appeared here, and request support!"
Just as the Morton Count was speaking, the rift expanded again by close to double.
"The spatial-magnetic-field fluctuation has reached the level of a tier-3 cosmic bug-nest! And it's still rising!" The crew's eyes were filled with terror.
At this point, a kind of dread filled their hearts. A tier-3 cosmic bug-nest already… and still rising? Could it be… impossible! Absolutely impossible! Throughout the whole bridge, it was silent enough that one could all but hear each person's heartbeat. Even the Morton Count had risen from the captain's chair, both hands clenched into fists, his two eyes fixed unblinking on the cosmic rift in the picture. For all the world as though gazing into an abyss.
At the last, this cosmic rift reached a size never seen before!
"Report — this cosmic bug-nest's intensity… is… is tier-4!" the crew said, trembling.
"Is the detection equipment in error?!" the adjutant-subordinate couldn't help asking once again.
The crew shook their heads and said, "The data is not wrong… it is indeed… a tier-4 cosmic bug-nest."
"Report! We've detected a great number of energy units surging out from within the tier-4 cosmic bug-nest!" the crew warned.
In truth there was no longer any need for the crew to say it; the Morton Count had already seen a great, dense, teeming mass of Hive Motherships surging out from within the cosmic rift. Several hundred… over 1,000… T1 Hive Motherships… T2 Hive Motherships… T3 Hive Motherships…
"Retreat! Retreat! Retreat at once!" The Morton Count gave the order to retreat in terror. Just now, of the T3 Hive Motherships that had appeared, the number he'd seen alone had already broken past 10!
"Report the situation here to the North Wind Governor at once! Request support! Request support! No — seek support directly from the Empire's side! We need the support of Empire corps fleets; a tier-4 cosmic bug-nest has appeared here!"
The Morton Count's interstellar fleet, while sending distress signals out to the wider world, began to withdraw at full speed. But, as all the world knew — at the same tier, an interstellar warship could not outrun the hive-race's Hive Motherships! These Hive Motherships, at the very first moment they appeared, spotted the prey delivered to their very lips, and naturally there was no chance they'd let it go. At once they came sweeping in like a sandstorm, at a speed far, far surpassing that of the Morton Count's interstellar fleet's withdrawal.
Before long, the slower T2 warships already began to have their hulls covered by the hive-race units chasing up from behind; and though they opened up with full firepower, there was nothing to be done — these hive-race units were simply far too many in number. From the picture, the Morton Count could see his T2 warships, one after another, for all the world as though entangled and devoured by giant monsters of "black tentacles." Before long, they lost all trace and all contact. The end that awaited these warships swallowed up by the swarm could well be imagined.
And little by little, of the hundred interstellar warships the Morton Count had led out on his tour, there remained a bare few dozen! Even the hull of the Morton Count's own flagship began to be entangled by hive-race units. Though he was within the bridge, the Morton Count could still hear the crackling, popping sound coming through the hull armor… for all the world as though something were gnawing away at the hull armor.
"No! No! Don't—" The Morton Count felt a terror he'd never known before.
In his last moment, he saw, appearing within that cosmic rift in the distance, a terrifying figure. A giant biological interstellar warship, a full 50 kilometers in length!
A T4… Hive Mothership!
In this moment, in the Morton Count's mind there was only a single thought.
The Morton System… was finished.