I Am The Swarm

In Segal’s view, the incident on the B5 Deck was far more likely to be an accident than an invasion by the Swarm. Segal had never had close contact with the Swarm, and due to his rank, he didn’t have access to certain classified information. However, in his opinion, the simultaneous loss of contact with multiple monitoring zones and several mechanical repair robots, without leaving any trace, seemed too clean and precise even for the Swarm to pull off.

Therefore, he didn’t believe the Swarm was responsible. There were other possibilities that could explain the situation on the B5 Deck. One that came to his mind was the malfunction of a high-magnetic device, which could leak energy and emit an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) in a localized area, producing effects similar to an EMP attack.

Although their ship’s exterior was equipped with EMP-resistant coating and other defensive measures, the monitoring equipment and the simplest engineering robots clearly lacked such protection.

Coincidentally, Segal knew that a high-magnetic instrument in that area had previously malfunctioned. He had discovered this while browsing through the area’s logs earlier, but he hadn’t mentioned it. After all, the truth only holds value when revealed at the right moment.

Moreover, those instruments weren’t under his management. While the instrument in question had malfunctioned before, there had been no energy leakage. In his opinion, this was likely due to improper handling by the crew responsible for it.

He also knew which crew member was in charge of that instrument. Although that crew member was also a low-ranking sailor, they had served much longer than Segal, at least several times longer, and were well-connected with a large circle of friends and relatives. If Segal were to reveal this information prematurely, it could lead to unnecessary trouble.

Thus, to maximize the benefits of this situation, he needed to wait until others were at a loss for answers. However, there was also the possibility that someone else might uncover the truth. If that happened, then the credit wouldn’t go to him.

But at least he would avoid making enemies, which wasn’t a bad outcome. As long as he played his cards right, he couldn’t lose. However, the way his colleagues, including his team leader, had been boasting earlier but were now visibly anxious and fearful, was rather disappointing.

Time passed slowly. To ensure that any clues could be spotted immediately, Team Leader Alexon had Segal share the video feeds from all ten engineering robots.

These engineering robots resembled discs, with a diameter of just over thirty centimeters, similar to the robotic vacuum cleaners of ancient times.

In the space environment, while some areas of the ship had simulated gravity—mostly in living quarters, command centers, and recreational areas—many other areas lacked it. After all, the ship wasn’t an ecological vessel, and energy had to be used efficiently. Thus, many regions, including the B5 Deck, which housed less critical instruments, didn’t have simulated gravity.

In these areas, objects naturally floated, making flight more energy-efficient than walking. The ten repair robots, resembling small flying saucers, lined up in a row and propelled themselves forward with bursts of gas, speeding through the ship’s corridors toward the incident site.

After Segal connected to their video systems, small holes opened on the top and bottom of each robot’s disc-like body. Two monitoring probes extended from these holes. These probes not only had high-resolution cameras but also featured 360-degree rotation capabilities. They could perform repetitive tasks based on pre-programmed routines or be remotely controlled by the operator.

At the moment, Segal was feeling the pressure from the crew and officers who were sharing the robot feeds. Some of their demands required him to constantly adjust the camera angles of the engineering robots.

However, along the way, they found nothing unusual, and naturally, there were no attacks.

“Be careful. Once we pass through this door, we’ll enter the incident zone.”

“Segal, spread out the repair robots a bit. We don’t want them all taken out at once.”

“Understood, sir. But I’ll need Gwendolyn’s assistance. I can’t handle this many devices on my own.”

“No problem. Send the request, and I’ll authorize it.” Alexon quickly agreed. Such a small matter wouldn’t consume many resources, and he was happy to oblige.

In their race, the personnel in charge of specific areas were called team leaders, but their authority was quite high. They could handle minor issues without needing the captain’s approval.

With Gwendolyn’s assistance, Segal’s workload lightened significantly. While artificial intelligence lacked creativity, it excelled at executing commands and handling monotonous tasks, far surpassing the capabilities of the biological crew members.

The crew noticed that the camera angles were switching much faster now, indicating that Gwendolyn was online. As a result, requests for angle changes became even more frequent.

Each engineering robot had two 360-degree rotating cameras and several fixed cameras. With ten robots, there were dozens of different perspectives, providing a near-complete view of the surroundings and satisfying everyone’s needs.

Along the way, no abnormalities were detected through these various angles, which was expected. However, the real tension began as the engineering robots approached the incident zone.

The sealed hatch slowly opened, but before anyone could see what was happening, most of the camera feeds went dark. The majority of the components on the ten engineering robots had lost connection with the system, leaving Segal unable to control them remotely.

But control wasn’t the issue anymore. Perhaps because of the greater distance this time, the robots didn’t lose connection immediately. A few functions were still feeding back information.

Segal quickly reviewed the feedback and let out a sigh of relief. The data showed that the engineering robots had been hit by a powerful electromagnetic pulse, which aligned perfectly with his earlier hypothesis.

The equipment had been damaged without being reported. It seemed someone was going to face punishment.

Just then, another electromagnetic pulse swept through, and the ten engineering robots, unable to withstand it, lost all connection instantly.