[ WATCH PERIMETER ]
- OUTSIDE THE CONTESTEDGALAXY 3635-B
"Commander, we got FTL signatures system inbaund. The readouts suggest a dozen assimilated plague fleet ships, disproportionate to the rest of the data we have. The scanners looking for bioenergy spikes did not register an increase on the Plague planet aktivity inside the system, but that has to be wrong every new ship has to link with the nearest Plague planet to change operational status. Why are there zero readings ! This dont make sense, Comander!"
The Commander on duty looks grimm at his officer and subordinates
" That means this part of the Shroom Plague has a sliver of conciseness, which would mask the bioenergy readings, which is very bad. The shroom plague is a complete Hive mind, and oure sience devision has put up a warning based on gatherd data, on wich we can g The warning was a indication list with checkboxes that each station and ship AI's run in the backraund, to identify how far thats progress AI put the list on the screen!".
After the AI put the checklist on screen, all eyes were drawn over.
□1. Behaving against instincts. [Pending]
□2. Bio reading spikes across all observed planets. [Pending]
■3. Massive Vessel movement. [Checked]
■4. Multiple Galaxy spanning, interconnected, aktiv logistics.
[Checked]
□5. Coordinate colour changes across Enemy lines.
[Pending]
[Warning: 46.8999% chance that the Schroom Plague has grown a Hive Queen or King Conciseness. Please continue to verify the databases! Last updated 12s ago!]
Every one of the soldiers inside the command deck froze after they finished reading, cold sweat gathering on their backs.
"Commander ... did the colours on the plague ships just seem to blur ?" The ships sensor officer asked not only the Captain but everyone inside the room. Everyone's attention snapped to the nearest display to see for themselves.
The sensors captured the changing colour of the arriving Plague ships. From the more common seen green and brownish hues to some rarer ones like red ,yellow, and black. Most of ,from the small to the medium-sized ones , slowly turning into a matt gold colour as they began to fall on the plague planet below. All old variations with everything, like a 3XX year history lesson, from military ships over research and even civil ships are among them.
They are crewed by the remnants of its former crews now permanently fused into mixed beings. No longer able to regain their conciseness but still feeling the pain from the abhorrent fusion that turned them from an accomplished crew to living a live worse than dead, with the Shrooms replacing every last organ except the brain and the eyes. Forcing you to look at your own body being taken over while you slowly lose control of it.
"Check if the change comes from the planet fall or if they just changing colors! And give me an update on the other watch stations, Fast!" While the personnel dispersed the first infected ships touched the ground, and while most get heavily damaged from the impact the vessels had while landing, nearly all of them began spewing out infected after touchdown.
"Commander ! We have incoming reports about the same phenomenon happening on all planets of the Plague territorys! We.... Look ! They seem to march together somewhere, but that seems impossible..."
At that moment, the AI 'helpfully' displayed the updated chart.
□1. Behaving against instincts. [Pending]
□2. Bio reading spikes across all observed planets. [Pending]
■3. Massive Vessel movement. [Checked]
■4. Multiple Galaxy spanning, interconnected, aktiv logistics.
[Checked]
■5. Coordinate colour changes across Enemy lines.
[Checked]
[Warning: 66.8999% chance that the Schroom Plague has grown a Hive Queen or King Conciseness. Please continue to verify the Databases! Warning!
The 50% line is crossed, and automatic updated reports will be sent to HQ.
Last updated 3s ago!]
Bevore anyone could react to that, the AI shocked them again.
[WARNING]
[Bio aktivity is increasing steadily breaking previous assumed limitations. Conclusion... the presence of a leading entity can now be confirmed with a possibility of up to 95%. Priority reports send to HQ.
Please wait for instructions.]
While they nervously waited the procession, the infected on the planet continued to the nearest Shroom forest, then they lay between the Shrooms and the ground swallowed them all whole.
"RECORD this at ONCE, and then send it as a report to the science division and tell them to explain this!"
The officers sheepishly looked at each other than the Communication Officer sighed. "Commander the science department already send a report in wich they say that at best they can give you an educated guess at best. Would you like to hear it ?"
After a short sight the Comander gestures him to proceed while rubbing his nose bridge, fighting an incoming headache.
" They guess it as follows: The massive Bioenergy spikes we detected are most likely in conclusion to the landing Plague ships. As the energy signatures steadily rise as more of them touched the planet side, it can be determined that it is very likely that this Shroom Plague Hivemind now has a leading entity controlling the Hive. We recommend that we behave defensively and do not attack it or them first bevore we can accurately juge what is happening."
The Commander rubs his nose bridge again, fighting the urge to hit something or someone "OK were using the emergency channel for a message to HQ, and while we're waiting, we're gonna stay defensive."
Meanwhile, the infected people's that still have their sanity intact, got a little hope that they maybe got the dead they deserved and be freed from this awful limbo. After even they got swallowed by the ground, they witnessed a truly gruesome sight. These shamber resemblance the one where the Progenitor has done his body works only that this one's floor is a processing pool and all the infected hold up over the pools. As something got removed from the bodies that felt down and got repurposed. They could only watch as the roots stripped the body's layer by layer Hair, Nails, skin, muscles, infected tissue, all organs except the eyes and the brain as well the skeleton. The brain and eyes were preserved by a nutrition bubble around their head while the stripped frames got moved beyond another wall.
Their surroundings changed, and one could spot massive chambers housing nutrition roots complimented with brain eyes and skeletons, new stuff slowly growing up on the skeleton, giving the frame a new shell.