Interstellar Age

Chapter 317 Uncovering A Chilling Secret

The journey to the Terminus have was neither a difficult nor long one. In years passed Erich would wander into the wilderness in an attempt to enter a secluded entrance where he could secretly join Terminus and her hive beneath Midgard's surface. But those days were long behind him.

The development of Midgard into a world with a population in the billions, and vibrant cities across its utopia like landscape was a process that took a fraction of the time it normally would have had Erich's labor force been composed of his own people.

Nowadays, Erich simple took a secret tunnel which was built beneath his desk to a hidden elevator that descended directly into the Terminus hive. Nobody but him and Tia knew of this tunnel, and by odd chance someone discovered it, there was no way to live to tell the tale.

After descending into the lair, Erich found Terminus waiting for him. The society of Naraku that was built beneath Midgard's surface was an extensive one. Unlike previous iterations of the Naraku, every member of the Terminus hive was both Bidepal and anthropomorphic. Perhaps this was because they all shared Erich's genes, but they were far less monstrous than their cousins in the nomadic hive fleets.

Terminus was seated upon a throne, built from a rare material that her people had found in bountiful quantities beneath the surface of Midgard. Perhaps it was due to Tia's terra formation efforts. But Midgard quite literally had a natural supply of just about everything that was needed to maintain itself. One that seemed to be never ending.

After all, this was once a barren world, that through advanced technology, Tia had turned into a thriving utopia. One that was designed to defend itself against a galaxy of enemies. The metallic throne had a silver like sheen to it, but a slightly bluish hue. It went well with Terminus's black and blue carapace.

Once the "King" of the Hive had entered the throne room, all the present Naraku knelt before the man to show the respect they owed him as the father of their Hive. If Erich was being honest, whenever he entered what he liked to the call the "catacombs" beneath his Palace, he always felt slightly disgusted.

Insects were naturally unnerving to most human beings, and the fact that he had fathered a subspecies of them was not exactly something that Erich was proud of. Still he had no sense of malice towards the hive, thanks to his "joining" he was physically and mentally incapable of having such intentions.

When Terminus saw her king arrive, she stepped off her throne to greet him. She acted as if it had been years since they seen each other, which was something she always did whenever he returned every week to visit her.

"My King... You have returned at last. You have kept me waiting too long... Tell me, are you ready to breed the next generation?"

Now that he was in proximity with Terminus, every fibre of his being wanted to pin her down and do as she had said. But Erich's will was strong, strong enough to resist such a thing. And thus he kept the insectoid queen at length, while asking her the questions she had.

"You have contact with the others, right? The other hives, that is?"

Terminus' brow raised slightly as she nodded her head. Though each hive had its own hive mind, each queen was connected to each other in a similar state. Thus, she knew at all times what her sisters, cousins, aunts, and mother were up to. The look on her face was a curious one when she confirmed this to be true.

"You know I do. Why would you ask such a thing? What's bothering you?"

Erich was slightly nervous. If Terminus wanted to, she could read his mind and communicate with him at all times like Tia was also able to. But like Tia, Erich forced the insectoid queen to respect the privacy of his thoughts, and thus for his sake she bothered wasting time with pointless questions and speech, when she could otherwise tell in an instant what was bothering the man.

Still, despite the curious look on the insectoid Queen's face, she did not force herself into his mind. And thus she patiently waited for an answer, which Erich spoke of.

"My scouts report to me that the Naraku Fleets are behaving strangely. The last time something like this happened, you came to me and tried to murder me and annihilate my species. What's going on?"

Terminus sighed heavily and shook her head... She looked at Erich with disappointment as she expressed her lament aloud.

"Ten years... Ten long years you have been my king, and yet you still can't bring yourself to accept that you are one of the hive... Unbelievable... You know you have the ability to gain these answers yourself. One look into the hive mind and you will see what we are preparing for. Yet you don't do it.

This could be critical information that could affect your entire civilization, and yet out of a sense of pride, or perhaps hatred of yourself, you refuse to take advantage of your connection to us! Well. I won't tell you... You will have to look into the hive mind yourself if you're that curious..."

Erich was stunned by the woman's sudden refusal to help him. Never before had she forced him to endure that side of him... He had stubbornly refused to open up that part of his brain which could be connected with the Hive Mind.

And she was right. As King of the Terminus Hive, Erich could communicate with all the Queens in the Galaxy. If he did so, he might discover something shocking about the Naraku, a secret that nobody in the Galaxy themselves knew. But until now, he had refused to do so, and as Terminus said, it was explicit because he hated that part of himself.

Thus, Erich stepped forward and tried to convince Terminus to help him like she always had before.

"Please... Terminus.... I don't want to go down that road... Can't you tell me? Or at least give me a hint?"

The insectoid Queen, however, was just as stubborn as Erich as she sat down on her throne, and crossed her legs. She rested her human like chin on the palm of her hand with a pretty smirk on her face. Which was the only answer Erich needed to know that she would not be helping him this time around under any circumstances.

A voice spoke in Erich's head, but it was not hers. Instead, it belonged to Tia, who quickly scolded the man for his stubborn refusal to make use of a very valuable strategic asset.

"Master! You must stop fighting yourself! Open yourself to the Hive Mind! This is extremely important! If my understanding of this situation is correct, this could affect the entire galaxy! Master, I am begging you, stop being so stubborn and do as Terminus says!"

Every aspect of Erich's character wanted to force himself to keep the gate in his mind between himself and the hive closed. But he had denied Tia's warnings before, and it resulted in his joining of the Terminus Hive. If he rejected her now, what other tragedy would befall him? With a heavy sigh, Erich admitted defeat, and embraced the monstrous side of himself that he had been denying for over a decade.

The wall between his mind and the Hive Mind came crashing down around him. Instantly the thoughts of countless lifeforms flooded his own. It was enough to completely drive a man crazy. Terminus was surprised that Erich had actually done it, and quickly approached him, where she connected his forehead with her own. In doing so, she helped guide his thoughts to the answer he sought.

A vision appeared in Erich's mind. Perhaps it was the use of his foresight ability, in combination with the Hive Mind. But he felt like he was personally observing the scene in front of him. Which was a horde of Naraku ships larger than anything Erich had ever seen before.

On the deck of one of these ships was a crimson female insectoid. In many ways, she resembled Terminus and the other Hive Queens. But she was far more refined and regal. She gazed towards Erich, as if she were speaking to him personally, and asked a question in a voice that was so seductive and smooth, Erich almost lost control of his mind on the spot.

"Have our scouts reported yet? How many years has it been now? A million? Three? What is the strength of the Galaxy they have infiltrated? What did the locals call it again?"

Erich spoke, but it was not actually his voice that echoed in the halls of the massive hive ship. Instead, it was a far more jittery voice, one that belonged to a male Naraku Royal, the one whose mind he was gazing in from.

"I believe the locals call it the Milky Way, my Empress... And yes, the Scouts have reported. For the first time since the arrival of our scouts in the Galaxy, the Milky Way is in a state of chaos and disorder that has weakened the galactic order. It may not even be another century before a state of total anarchy emerges... And it is all thanks to a fledgling little Hive called Terminus..."

The Naraku Empress raised her brow, before questioning this term.

"Terminus... That is a name I have heard before. They were a splinter fleet of one of our scout fleets, were they not? I thought they were wiped out decades ago?"

Once more the body which Erich was viewing this scene from spoke, but it cackled in a maniacal way as it spoke of recent events in the Milky Way Galaxy.

"That is correct, but your daughter, Behemoth, has spawned another princess. One who has grown into a powerful queen in her own right... It is curious though... Her initial attempts to fulfill her obligations were met with failure... And only by joining with a local ruler of the galaxy she resides in was she was able to achieve her goals.

This joiner is her King... and the hive they have produced has settled on one of his worlds. The branch of our species they have spawned is immensely powerful. I doubt the entirety of our scouts in the Milky Way could defeat this new Terminus Hive, even if they banded together. And that is without the support of her king's forces, who are for all intents and purposes a galactic power in their own right. At least militarily.

Terminus has promised an Alliance with this civilization, one that allows them to remain independent so long as their King remains a part of the Hive.... It is an interesting circumstance.... It appears that this king is the one responsible for destabilizing the Galaxy... If things like this continue, then the Milky Way will be ripe for harvesting in at most fifty years..."

The Naraku Empress then shifted her gaze, in a slight way which was barely noticeable to Erich at first. That is until she began to speak with him directly.

"Idiot! The Joiner is watching us as we speak, through your own thoughts! You.... Joiner! You have seen something that you shouldn't have.... It is a pity, up until you have been very helpful for our cause. Terminus! Terminate your so-called king immediately!"

After hearing this, Erich was ripped out of the hive mind rather forcefully. As he saw Terminus hunched over in an unnatural way. Like the monster Erich had always thought she was. While she lurched in place, the surrounding Naraku, who Erich had spawned, began to approach their father in a menacing way.

Erich had stumbled upon a secret he was better off not knowing... The Naraku weren't a galactic menace whose homeworld was destroyed eons ago in a long forgotten era... They were an extra galactic race, one which invaded every galaxy they came across and harvested its resources for their own benefit.

Worse yet... The nigh unstoppable Naraku Hive Fleets, which had plagued the Milky Way Galaxy since recorded history, were nothing more than scouts. Erich had destabilized the Galaxy in pursuit of his own power, but by doing so, he had made it weak enough for the countless other Naraku waiting outside the Galaxy to begin their invasion.

Of course, none of that really mattered. Because at that moment Erich was alone, far beneath the surface of Midgard, surrounded by a massive army of unimaginably powerful insects, all of which intended to claim his life so that they could maintain their secret.

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