Book 10: Chapter 18: The Bug Planet

“I hope they have smooth sailing!” Captain Marx whispered under his breath as he watched the Advancing disappear into the superluminal launch track.

This catapult rail used by the independent warship Advancing was standard aboard the colossal Faith-class cosmic warship. It could launch both auxiliary small vessels and mecha landing craft.

As a super cosmic warship, the Faith’s firing-control range extended over 500 light-seconds, while its main optical computer radar’s detection range was roughly ten times that of its main cannon’s reach.

If the Faith ever encountered enemies in space, arriving slowly by subsidiary vessels would come far too late. Therefore, they relied on superluminal catapults to surge ships and mechs to the front lines swiftly.

After battle, small vessels could return autonomously at superluminal speeds powered by their robust reactors. Bingren pilots, however, needed retrieval by designated mech landing craft; returning solely under their own power would take at least several stellar days.

Qin Lun’s assessment of Captain Marx was astute. This captain, experienced in void combat, wasn’t new to Descendant Apostles. When younger, he too had encountered them once. Ever since this group’s arrival, Marx had been meticulously observing the Apostles’ conduct to gauge their partnership level.

Marx understood Apostles clearly, unlike people like Fuyutsuki or Vera, who only worshipped blindly. He knew each side received comparable support during Descendant appearances.

Understandably, he hadn’t grasped this initially. But now, he accepted it. The Gith weren’t the universe’s core; Descendant Apostles, or the powers behind them (Star Void), wouldn’t give the Gith special treatment.

An Apostle had once plainly told Marx: they cared solely for their mission. Apostles from different factions could be allies, rivals, or mortal enemies – perpetually bound by their core objectives.

Therefore, as a native of this world, Marx’s focus remained on cooperating with his Apostles, not fretting over the enemy’s.

Most Apostles came to aid native factions. Their loyalty wasn’t in doubt; unwavering, surpassing even xenophobes – differing only in combat strength.

After their arrival, Marx observed Qin Lun’s group for days before meeting them. He needed to gauge their strength. The Faith would arm these valuable free Star Void reinforcements, but the level of support depended entirely on the Apostles’ own capabilities.

Robin and Qin Lun, recalling training shortcomings, mistakenly believed Marx considered them poor performers. However, the captain’s sharp eyes spotted excellence in the Patroller Team and even intuited group dynamics.

The Apostles’ feeling of restraint? It stemmed directly from Marx, despite his understated presence. He skillfully exerted control, curbing their usual Quest World freedom.

Yet, recognizing their strength, Marx invested generously, demonstrating considerable resolve.

Robin and Qin Lun’s worries proved needless. When Robin first requested Jannamer bioship parts, Captain Marx had implicitly agreed. His delayed response was merely to instill appreciation for Gith resource allocation.

The Patroller Team remained unaware of the immense effort to prepare the Advancing: five stellar days of labor by the entire Faith crew. Not only modifying their newest small warship, but completely using up all stored Angel Clone samples and Jannamer biomaterials.

…

“Sherlock? What’s THIS?” Inside the Advancing, already en route, Bobby excitedly touched everything aboard. For a child’s mental age, the allure of a cosmic warship was irresistible.

“Don’t touch—that’s the fire button! And THAT? Inside alarm turret! Hey! Hey! SOMEONE get this kid away! PLEASE!” Sherlock watched frantically as a gaping hole appeared in the armory after Bobby triggered the weapon. He chased the boy, his blows ineffective tickles against an Apostle’s physique.

Initially, they’d hit it off. But Sherlock soon realized his mistake. Bobby, childlike and a Wind Element, was a mechanical nightmare. His boundless enthusiasm about everything on the Advancing clashed disastrously with mechanics. Things he touched tended to go awry.

“Giggle!” A group of young Gith women aboard the Advancing giggled charmingly, watching the two teenage boys. The laughter eased the melancholy of leaving the Faith, bound now for a solo mission.

“Good thing you got a Full-Bio-Mechanism. Give you some BBC (Metal Mecha), and you’d tear it apart instantly!” Sherlock leaned on his knees, catching his breath. He glared at Bobby. “Do not touch ANYTHING else in this armory!”

Once aboard the Advancing, the Apostles saw how generous Marx truly was. The warship stretched over 500 meters, shaped like a cylinder, clad in Jannamer bio-armor. Its core incorporated Robin, Bobby, and Sawa’s clone genetic samples, letting their displacement abilities imbue it with Apostle-like offensive, defensive, and support functions.

The Advancing boasted a single powerful Shaar-class particle rail cannon, capable of devastating a mature Jannamer’s surface in a single shot. Hitting a planet, its impact equalled a meteorite over a kilometer wide.

Sherlock explained it was salvaged from an actual Shaar-class main warship – essentially a tiny ship wielding a massive gun. Impossible without the custom Jannamer biolock in the turret. Only Apostles, wielding mental power, could control such a gun.

For crew, the contingent of Gith beauties originally tasked with supporting the Apostles now served aboard. Additionally, there was an Ordnance Officer specializing in crafting and repairing their Bingren Mecha gear.

Though possessing their own ship, its operation remained the domain of crew transferred from the Faith, led by the captain’s gorgeous adjutant, Fuyutsuki.

Further, Marx granted Robin’s request: auxiliary Bingren Mecha and Gith Flight Officers. Training revealed letting Apostles fight solo wasted combat efficiency tremendously.

Apostles found mastering Gith void tactics impractical so quickly. But if three or four Gith Flight Officers in Bingrens supported one Apostle in combat, the squad’s effectiveness surged multiple times.

Seeing these simulation results, Marx immediately assigned four subordinate Flight Officers to each Apostle, forming ten five-member units. Robin’s, Bobby’s, and Sawa’s units, however, were primarily reserves; their value remained higher aboard the Advancing unless urgent need arose.

…

Meanwhile, unnoticed changes stirred on a small planet roughly a dozen light-years from the Advancing.

From orbit, the planet glowed purple-red within its atmosphere. Its surface lay densely carpeted with dark-brown mosses. The climate seemed hot and humid; moisture from vegetation oozed fluids, veiling the land in thick, likely toxic, purple mist.

Not everywhere was moss-carpeted, though. Patches showed crystalline, transparent thorns, and towering, mushroom-like plants soaring into the sky.

These “mushrooms” favored water sources. Often a kilometer tall, their caps shielded several square kilometers of ground below. Oddly, their undersides teemed with holes, clustered densely as gopher burrows.

Near these holes, strange organic spores nested—seemingly not purely plant-like, their surfaces occasionally pulsing like membranes, releasing bubble-like blobs.

Fluttering-winged insects cruised nearby, circling protectively, warding off planetary predators from the spores.

Spores varied wildly: some rivaled hundred-story skyscrapers, others mere car-sized pods. Upon maturation, they unfurled like buds, revealing wet, newly-born creatures. Most resembled hard-shelled, pincer-limbed crawlers, some even bearing shimmering insect wings.

Were Qin Lun’s group here, amid the planet-covering insect horde, they’d recognize the giant spider—Black Crab—from drills. Unmistakably, these were the Gigius Insectoid Captain Marx had described.

“Gurgle…” An obscure ripple echoed. Flying bugs patrolling nearby spores instantly scattered away from a certain cluster beneath them.

CRACK! Before one spore opened fully, a scaly arm smashed out, bursting forcefully from within. Following this chaos, a dozen nearby spores ruptured simultaneously, revealing their inhabitants.

Though bearing insectoid traits like chitinous shells and antennae, and clearly humanoid in form, these beings emerged cautiously, scanning their surroundings with sharp intelligence.

“Honoured Descendant Apostles! The Gigius Insectoid welcomes you!” Just as the insect-beings surveyed the area, a distinctly ancient thought-voice resonated directly within their minds.