Interstellar Age

Chapter 284 Terminus Reborn

Contrary to what the galaxy believed, the Naraku weren't a bunch of mindless bugs whose sole existence was to devour and expand. There was, in fact, a very sophisticated and intelligent hive mind behind each hive fleet, which the Queen was in charge of. 

Years ago, the Naraku had lost one of their splinter fleets. It was by no means the largest of the Naraku Hive Fleets, but its power alone was enough to go virtually unimpeded across the Milky Way as a whole. Yet Terminus was defeated, and the other Naraku Hive Fleets had learned of this only recently. 

Thus, in a distant part of the galaxy, located within Svartalfheim Space, a young insectoid princess knelt before her mother. She had been born for a single purpose, and now her mother was informing her of that purpose. 

"My daughter... It has taken years, but you have grown into a proper queen, one who is capable of giving birth to a new hive fleet. Your Hive shall replace Terminus and bear its name so as to honor the memory of your sister." 

Like all Hive Queens, as well as the royal class of Naraku, this young insectoid bore a remarkable resemblance to a humanoid being. However, her body was covered in chitin, and unlike a mammal, she did not have a proper skeleton. Rather like an insect, she had an exoskeleton, one that was virtually indestructible, or at least by means of common handheld weapons. 

Still, she was remarkably anthropomorphic for an insectoid that also bore a close resemblance to a tarantula hawk. This young Hive Queen continued to kneel before her mother, who controlled a hive that was among the most powerful in the galaxy. Her voice was filled with obedience as she responded to the woman who had sired her. 

"I understand, Queen Mother. I will do my best to find a proper mate and spawn a hive fleet worthy of the name that my elder sister once bore...." 

The mature Hive Queen nodded her head, before giving her daughter once last piece of advice as she sent her on her way. 

"To properly honor your sister's memory, it would be best if you found a mate among the population which is responsible for her death. You alone bear the name Terminus now that your sister has passed, and it is up to you to avenge your fallen kinsmen.

Remember, your first mate will dictate the strength of your hive fleet based upon the genes of your mate. So the stronger the warrior you choose, the more powerful your soldier drones will be. Now go Terminus and avenge the trillions of our fallen."

The young Hive Queen who had just been granted the name Terminus immediately departed from her mother's hive ship and flew in the direction of Imperial Space, where her sister and all of her children had perished over a decade ago. 

Few, if any, outsiders knew that royalty of the Naraku assumed anthropormorphic forms with the intention of seducing alien creatures into giving them their genetic material so that they could form a hive fleet. 

After the first mate had been selected and gave the Hive Queen his seed, she would devour him, to best make use of his genetic material in order to spawn the first of her brood. It was because of this that there were no surviving examples of men across the galaxy who could spin their tales of bedding a Naraku Hive Queen. 

After all, Insectoids were not uncommon, and were, in fact, arguably the most common intelligent species across the universe. They came in all shapes and sizes, and some of the less hostile ones were fully welcomed into the galactic community. There were many examples of anthropomorphic insectoids and some were even considered attractive enough by certain humanoid life forms to sleep with. 

But all anybody knew about the Naraku were the mindless drones who were often the size of tanks. The denizens of the galaxy had no idea what the Naraku royalty looked like. Because nobody had actually ever entered a Naraku Hive Ship and lived to tell the tale. While at the same time, nobody would even guess that some of the attractive anthropomorphic insectoids that were travelling across the galaxy were actually Naraku Hive Queens searching for their first mate. 

It was truly an insidious way to spawn an army that was capable of devouring entire sections of space. An army that the rest of the galaxy considered having simply spawned out of nothing.

---

Erich had no idea yet, but the Naraku Hive Fleet that he had given his life to destroy, a hive fleet that devoured half of his homeland and its residents. Was about to be restored. All that was needed was for this new young Hive Queen to select a mate from among the Germanic population, and she would be able to spawn a Hive Fleet capable of ravaging the Germanic Star-Empire in the next five to ten years. 

After all, the Germanic population was already considered genetically strong by the galaxy's many biologists. Or at least by those few outsiders who had the rare gift of studying the Germanic genetic structure.

Because of this, any drunk and horny star marine could hook up with this young Hive Queen while feeling the need to be particularly kinky, and the next thing he knew he would be devoured, and she would be spawning a brood of elite warriors. Who once raised to maturity would be her new mates, that would help her spawn an army that the entire galaxy, even the great galactic powers, would fear. 

If Erich had known about this plot, he would have immediately tried to find the bug and squash her beneath his boot. But Tia was always monitoring the galaxy for signs of threats to her master. And she noticed that all the Naraku Hive Fleets across the galaxy were acting strange. 

Because of this, she began trying to monitor their activity to the best of her ability, but every time she sent a drone near the hive fleet, it would get torn apart. No matter how advanced of stealth technology she developed, the Naraku would still be able to detect it. 

Tia could only breathe heavily in an attempt to calm her nerves. And when Erich walked in on her acting this way, he was quick to ask just what had gotten her upset. 

"Tia, what's wrong?" 

Tia was not afraid to let her thoughts be heard, and thus she instantly cursed out the Hive Fleet, who she was trying to monitor. 

"It's these damned fucking bugs. Their senses are too fucking good. Tia can't get close to them. And it's driving her crazy!"

Erich took one look at the screen of one of the drones that Tia was keeping at a safe distance and immediately had flashbacks of the Terminus War. Though what surprised him was that the hive ships in this fleet were not only significantly bigger than the ones he had faced, but far more numerous too. 

It was enough to chill a man's bones, but Erich had dealt with the Naraku before, and even overcome them. Thus, his dread of those bugs was far less intense than it once had been. With a deep breath, he calmed himself, much in the same way Tia had, before asking her why she was spying on the Naraku. 

"The closest Naraku Hive fleet is half a galaxy away. Why are you bothering with these stupid fucking bugs?" 

Tia was quick to rebuke Erich for his foolishness, as she responded to him with a reminder about what happened the last time the Naraku came knocking. 

"It was the Alfheim Dominion's failure to monitor these stupid fucking bugs, as Master prefers to call them, that directly led to the annihilation of the Rylonian Imperium, and the Terminus War that nearly destroyed Master's people. 

Something is off about these bugs. Not a single hive fleet has invaded or attacked another civilization in over one hundred days. And there are dozens of them spread across the galaxy. They have all suddenly come to a stop. It is almost as if they are waiting for something, but Tia just can't figure out what it is....

Perhaps if Tia knew more about the Naraku and how their civilization functions, then maybe Tia would be able to find out what they are planning. But there is so little information about them. Since they first appeared in the galaxy over 500,000 years ago, there are virtually no records on them, aside from the usual nonsense about the Naraku being mindless bugs who are relying purely on instinct to kill, and devour all biological material. 

But this clearly isn't accurate. Or else how would they manage to build their ships, which are perfectly suited to both housing the Naraku and engaging in battle against their enemies? Only an intelligent lifeform could design such marvels of bio-technology."

Erich, however, was suffering from his own biases. After all, he had engaged in battle with Terminus more times than he could count, and there was nothing intelligent about their tactics and strategies.

They simply sent out an overwhelming swarm of bugs that devoured all the life they made contact with. In fact, he truly believed that Tia was over thinking things, and thus he told her not to worry about it, even if she herself would not listen to such a command. 

"Tia, you're overthinking things. I can assure you there is nothing intelligent about the Naraku. I've fought them before. They are genuinely nothing more than mindless bugs relying on animalistic instinct to survive and reproduce. You shouldn't waste your time on such pointless thoughts. As long as you monitor them, and ensure they are not encroaching on our territory, that is enough." 

After saying this, Erich did not bother furthering the discussion, and instead left Tia alone to continue her study of the Naraku. She, of course, sighed and shook her head at her master's own ignorance. 

"This is why Tia really hates meat bags... So arrogant, to the point where they will ignore the obvious, even if it leads to their own destruction...."