Star Citizen Online: Isekai Edition

Outside of the Arachnid Nest, Frostearth Valley, One Hour Later

Arcturus, Zehal, and Jenaiel managed to get out of the Arachnid Nest alive, well, and without any severe injuries. At the same time, they returned with the splendid achievement of capturing not only the Pseudo Queen Bug but also the Brain Bug.

Originally, they were going in for the Pseudo Queen Bug, and from the Brain Bug, they had plans to bring back its brain, but now the situation has changed a bit. They also managed to capture the Brain Bug.

Even though the Brain Bug was barely alive and it was effectively crippled, fortunately enough for them, it was still living. If it could be called such, but Arcturus didn't really care about that, as the only thing that he cared about was if the dammed bug lived.

If it was still alive by the time they passed it to the Directorate, it would be worth more Universal Credits as they could negotiate more money for the bug that was alive than the bug that was dead.

Right now, the agreement between them and the Directorate was that after the mission, they would receive 100,000 Academy Points in the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy each, 3,000,000 Universal Credits each for him and Jeniael, and technological blueprints for Zehal, aside from that. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

The mission was just to scout the area of the Arachnid Nest and capture the Brain Bug alive, which they over-completed as they not only managed to capture the Brain Bug alive but they also destroyed the Arachnid Nest entirely and killed all the bugs deep within it.

Aside from that, they also had the Pseudo Queen Bug, whose existence was the deepest kind of secret.

They also destroyed the Gene Banks of the Arachnids on the Ziras IV separately as Arcturus used the Empyrean Power in its strongest form to obliterate the Gene Banks from existence, and now, they were standing on the cliff near the Arachnid Nest and observed how the Empyrean Power was devouring and destroying the entire Nest.

Or what has remained from it.

The Empyrean Power had already devoured and disintegrated the entire upper levels of the Arachnid Nest, and now it was seething deeper and deeper into the Arachnid Nest, devouring everything that remained in there.

The various native beasts, led by the Silver-Horned Tattooed Bears, have completely eradicated the bugs that escaped the Nest, and now they were searching for the remaining bugs that escaped, though there were not many of them.

Silver-Horned Tattooed Bears led the charge towards the bugs, and then it was the Silver-Horned Tattooed Bears that led the other beasts in the search for the bugs that survived the onslaught in the Frostearth Valley and destruction of the Arachnid Nest.

"Well... that dammed ability of yours almost killed us in there... and also, it almost cost us our mission."

Zehal stated that she observed the Empyrean Power from a distance because it seemed like a burning flame of the Empyren Power burning the Arachnid Nest. Even though Zehal had a rather stern tone of voice, she was fascinated by the power of the Super-High Risk Primal Psyker Ability, Dimension Empyrean.

The fact that the Empire Power managed to bring down the entire Arachnid Nest was nothing short of spectacular because it was a huge achievement. Zehal, as someone who was the most educated in the aspect of the Psyker Abilities and Psionics, understood the principles behind the Empyrean Power.

And how exactly it worked.

It belonged to the kind of abilities that were really problematic to deal with.

"Well... who would have known that the idiotic bug would use all of the ambient Psionic Energy within the Arachnid Nest to combat the spread of the Empyrean Power. If they didn't use the ambient Psionic Energy to stop the Empyrean Power, then the situation wouldn't escalate into this."

Arcturus and Zehal new that if not for the Bug's usage of the ambient Psionic Energy, then the situation wouldn't escalate into such a huge mess. Fortunately enough, they managed to complete their objection, and with the bugs being dead, everything was alright.

"We could call the lift... there is no way we can transport the Brain Bug on our own. And the cocoon with the Pseudo Queen Bug would be too hard to transport with the armored vehicle, and now, with the destruction of the Arachnid Nest, the Colonial Armed Forces could send us some jets."

Zehal said as she typed something on the holographic screens created by the Neural Extranet Terminal Gene Implants as she sent the message to Agent Mercury from the Directorate, who was their contact on this mission.

They were informing their superiors that they had completed their mission, and due to the problems with the transportation of the Brain Bug and the Pseudo Queen Bug that was still encased in their protective cocoon, they needed to send them some VTOL artifacts to pick them up.

VTOL is short for vertical take-off and landing. It is an aircraft that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway.

"I have already submitted the report to the Directorate and required the evacuation through the VTOL to pick us up and bring us to the Ziria together with the bugs."

Zehal took care of everything; the only thing they needed to do was wait for the VTOL from the Colonial Armed Forces. Now that the Arachnid Nest had been destroyed, aircraft and starships could freely fly over the area, as the bugs could not shoot them down.

Which would be the case otherwise.

That was also the main reason why the Imperial Defense Colony Forces didn't dare to send their aircraft to bombard the Arachnid Nest into oblivion, as it was very well protected against possible aerial attacks and aerial raids.

If there was one thing that the Arachnids knew, it was how to be an impregnable fortress that couldn't be easily conquered without tremendous losses. And yet, even that fell to the Empyrean Power that literarily ate it like nothing.

"What do you think? How much can we ask for the Pseudo Queen Bug that is still alive and undergoing the change?"

Arcturus asked as he strode in front of the cocoon where the Pseudo Queen Bug was encased while he looked at the object with mild fascination combined with a great degree of satisfaction.

"I don't really know... this isn't something on which you can put a price tag that easily... Did you even know that for the past ten thousand years, the cases when someone captured a young Arachnid Queen Bug could be counted on one hand? The cases with the Arachnid Empress are zero; the Pseudo Arachnid Empress is also zero."

It was Zehal who answered him because she was the one who understood the value of the bug the best among all of them. She knew that the capture of the Pseudo Queen Bug was nothing short of a miracle...

A real miracle.

The Pseudo-part, in the name of the bug, meant that the concrete bug was undergoing Evolution towards the higher form of the Bug.

In fact, one could say that the research value of the Pseudo Queen Bug was invaluable, because one could observe how the Queen Bug were created. The creation process of the bugs was invaluable and very rare, as it was their closest guarded secret.

Even among the High-Level Civilizations and High-Level Star Nations, only a small fraction managed to get hands-on something like that. Anything related to the Arachnids was considered as priceless research materials.

Even the number of the ones that managed to research the Arachnid Queens or similar bugs was no more significant than ten in the current state of the Cosmos. The Eternal Empire of the Asurya would be the youngest of the High-Level Civilizations and High-Level Star Nations that got their hands on such prime research material.

Such a thing would elevate the Eternal Empire of the Asurya into a greater position, and they would have the upper hand in the negotiations with other High-Level Civilizations and High-Level Star Nations.

This was crucial for the Empire because they were a very young nation and did not really have a stable foundation in the grand cosmos politics. They needed such a trump card very much...

"Technically speaking, we can ask for a lot... like, really, really lot... for example, it would be enough to complete the Obscurus as the complete Capital Mothership."

Zehal said as she herself wasn't sure how much, but she knew that the Empire would pay a lot for the Pseudo Queen Bug, which made Arcturus grin. If Zehal had said that this was true, then he would have been able to complete the Obscurus and would even have been left with a good amount of Universal Credits.

***

Around one hour later, a huge manta ray-like shaped aircraft was flying toward the location of the Arachnid Nest. It had a wide, curved wing structure that blended seamlessly into its fuselage, giving it a sleek and imposing appearance.

There were multiple turret-like weapons that were visible on the surface, as this was one of the primary aircraft used by the Imperial Airforce.

Imperial Manta.

This one's coloring was something grayish-blue with shading that was adjusted to the environment of the Ziras IV and designed for optimized stealth and blending with the skies and mountain ranges covered by snow and rocks of the alpine planet.

"It seems that our taxi is here."

The Imperial Manta VTOL landed down not far from their location, as several tens of heavily armored soldiers rushed out of the Imperial Manta to secure the location. All of them were part of the Colony Defenses Forces of the Marine Branch.

They were all clad in heavy-power armor with reinforced plating. Their helmets featured an orange visor, and all of them wore something that was reminiscent of the gas masks, which gave them a rather menacing appearance.

On their left shoulder pad, there was an insignia with the emblem of the colon Ziras IV, together with some numbers and smaller symbols that were the insignia of their concrete units, signifying their precise place in the hierarchy of the Colonial Defense Forces of the Ziras IV.

All of the soldiers of the Colonial Defense Forces carried large, very advanced firearms with the most tactical and practical design, featuring a boxy shape, a mounted flashlight, and a bayonet-like attachment at the front.

Various cables ran along their armor, connecting to their weapon and backpack, which was equipped with a radio antenna, suggesting battlefield communication capabilities. Their stance was dominant, with one foot placed on the chest of a fallen enemy soldier dressed in orange armor with a reflective helmet.

"This is Colonel Vetol of the 1st Special Battalion of the Imperial Colonial Defense Forces of the Ziras Colony."

One of the armored soldiers, who was apparently the leader of the Marines, came to the three of them and saluted them.

"The Brain Bug and something else is there... put it into the containment and inject the Brain Bug with further sedatives and some medicine to start the regeneration process; that dammed thing is dying or something."

Zehal immediately started issuing one command after another, as they needed to stabilize the Brain Bug, which could die at any given moment. The Marines immediately went to carry over the Brain Bug, which was in critical condition, and with the usage of the heavy machinery, they loaded the Brain Bug on the deck of the Imperial Manta.

The Brain Bug was immediately taken into the containment area on the aircraft together with the encased Pseudo Queen Bug. Everything was done with the most careful standards, as the bugs were still alive, and even though they were rather crippled, anything could happen.

With the Eternal Empire of the Asruya, there was nothing more important than precaution and carefulness. The last thing that they needed was for the was for the Pseudo Queen Bug to awaken and wreak havoc in the aircraft.

Seeing how the Imperial Marines from the Imperial Colony Defenses Forces secured the area and started lading the bugs filled Arcturus with an unnatural amount of satisfaction. Some of them also gathered samples or took with them the corpses of random bugs.

Some of the Imperial Marines even went down to the battlefield in front of the Arachnid Nest, where they were taking the other samples from the killed Arachnids. Primarily, the organs and brains of the different bugs, mainly that of the Titan Bug, was another precious breed of the bug.

Once everything was gathered, the Imperial Marines started retreating back to the Imperial Manta when they drove the armored vehicle that Arcturus and company used to arrive at this place from the capital, Ziria.

"We should get going..."

Jenaiel was already getting pretty bored as there was nothing happening in this place...

***

Capital of the Ziras IV, Ziria, Headquarters of the Imperial Colony Defense Forces

The capital of the Ziras IV, the Ziria, was bustling with people as usual, as nothing was out of the average imperial day in the Imperial Colony World. The complete purges within the colony hadn't started yet, as Agent Mercury and the Directorate were waiting for the Brain Bug to be delivered.

Without the Brain Bug, the plan cannot start.

The Imperial Manta flew above the Ziria as usually, the city had a no-flight zone due to security reasons, but the Imperial Manta that was carrying the special permit to arrive at the new Headquarters of the Imperial Colony Defense Forces.

Arcururs stood together with Zehal and Jenaiel in front of the containment room where they had stored the Brain Bug and also the Pseudo Queen Bug. Fortunately enough, they had an Xenobiologist on the Imperial Manta because the higher-ups were anticipating that the Brain Bug could be severely injured.

So, to prevent the creature from dying, they sent an expert in Arachnid biology, and fortunately, it paid off.

Within one hour, the Xenobiologists on the deck of the Imperial Manta managed to significantly heal the Brain Bug while also keeping the creature in a stabilized condition and still unconscious.

"We would be landing down soon! Everyone prepare for the landing!"

Colonel Vetol shouted at his men as everyone started scrambling and preparing for the landing and the transportation of the bugs from point A to point B.