If there were indeed some bugs that were able to think outside the box and not be bound by the usual rigidity of the Arachnids when doing something, then it would represent a huge danger to anyone and anything.
However... at the same time, such an Arachnid would be prime research because the possibilities of what they could uncover would be tremendous. On the other hand, the chances that they would be able to capture such a bug safely, the Hivemind of the Hivefleet, was actually close to zero.
Nobody really had any illusion that they would be able to capture such a bug, but the knowledge of its existence was really a huge boon, even though it was just a theory.
Still, this piece of information was very valuable because even though it was an unproven theory, the Eternal Empire of the Asurya. If they had at least some basis for their claims about the change of thinking of the Arachnids, they could sell this information to the other High-Level Star Nations and High-Level Civilizations.
Many High-Level Star Nations and High-Level Civilizations would pay a lot even for the speculations about the Arachnids with pseudo-proofs because even that was extremely valuable and could be used to save lives.
Many, many, many lives were lost when one was fighting the Arachnids. The bugs had seemingly endless numbers; they were able to overwhelm even the most advanced High-Level Star Nations and High-Level Civilizations and even stronger factions and more developed factions through sheer numbers.
Not to mention, the bugs also had their own branch of technology.
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The biotechnology.
The Arachnids did not build their starships and weapons from metal and plastic like the other intelligent races of the Cosmos; instead, they used gene-splicing and bioengineering to grow them from the organic biomatter harvested from the planets they consume.
Every weapon, gland, and projectile used in their armies is a bioengineered Arachnid organism in its own right, from the spores polluting the atmosphere to the grotesque spires that burst from the tortured ground during an invasion.
Arachnid warrior-organisms are creatures of visceral horror, implacable monsters with razor-sharp claws that can tear a man apart in the blink of an eye, and grotesque bio-cannons that fire hungry, parasitic projectiles into their preyâs flesh.
Every weapon and projectile used by the hive fleets is a living organism or biomorph, grown from the reconstituted biomatter of previous invasions. The Arachnids have no form of mechanical technology and, instead, harness an advanced form of biotechnology to create organic equivalents of the tools, weaponry and ammunition used by other intelligent species.
Even despite everything, Arachnid Biotechnology was greatly not really understood, and everything about it was a priceless treasure.
"Either way, this development of the Arachnids isnât something that is welcomed... though such thing couldnât be hardly said about their dammed species as a whole because any evolution or development of the Arachnids is bad news as a whole."
General Rathari Velot stated that because was nothing that empowered the bugs and was good for anyone else who wasnât the Arachnid. It was ironclad truth, but fortunately enough, the bugs had far more enemies than they could count.
Aside from practically every single intelligent race in the Cosmos that was hostile to the bugs, the most notable ones were the Orks.
And the bugs were in endless waves of carnage with the Orks because, for whatever reasons, greenskins and bugs shared enormous innate hatred for each other, and they would fight whenever the two races met somewhere.
Not to mention, a lot of the Orkish WAAAGGGHHHS were directly aimed at the Arachnids, like the Ork Bosses and Warbosses were specifically searching for the Arachnids across the endless Cosmos so they could challenge them to the fight.
Meanwhile, the Arachnids were searching for the Orks because aside from the hatred between their races, it was even surprising and shocking at the same time that the Araachnids were actually capable of hate; there was another reason.
The Biomass of the Orks was the favorite type of Biomass for the bugs. Greenskins, due to their nature, were extremely high in numbers, and the Biomass that the bugs harvested from the crop of the Orks were top-notch for the preferences of the Arachnids.
Because of the reproduction capabilities of both races, there was an endless cycle of never-ending carnage between the Orkoids and Arachnids. Orks reproduced as fungus on the large part, while the Arachnids reproduced through their Gene Pools, and the more Biomass they had, the more Arachnids they could produce.
"Well... that is for smarter people to solve than us."
Arcturus stated that this wasnât something that he cared really about because there were others that would take care of this. He knew that today, or rahter, during this mission, they may have witnessed a part of the history when the Arachnids started leaving their dogmatic approach to handling things.
Yet, that was for the historians to conclude.
He was already bored of all of this, and even though it seemed that Zehal would build his camping tent and remain here to study the Xeno Containment Unit, he and Jenaiel already wanted to leave.
As soon as they concluded the cleaning out of the colony, they could enjoy some peace in the city because it seemed that the Cosmic Storm Shroud that was covering the entire several Star Systems wasnât going anywhere and would remain in place for several more weeks.
So they would be locked down on this planet for another two or three months, most possibly, which wasnât something that he was really thrilled about. However he already accepted the reality as they couldnât really do much about it, and the only thing that they could do was to wait until the Cosmoc Storm Shroud passed and dispersed.
Until then, he hoped to enjoy some of the luxuries of the Ziras IV.
Even though this was a primary industrial colony and there were not many luxury facilities, it was still an Imperial Colony, and it had a certain degree of luxury for those who could afford it that was something unthinkable for someone from even a Mid-Level Faction, not someone who was initially from the undeveloped planet.
So he was rather eager to enjoy the lifestyle of the rich in the Empire and totally for free...
A habit that never really left him from his first life.
Things that were for free were the best.
End.w
As they were talking with General Rathari Velot, Agent Mercury from the Directorate returned from the interrogation as he got rid of the amulets and rings that he had previously worn; some of them were a bit cracked.
It seemed that conducting the Memory Extraction Skill on all memories of the Brain Bug proved to be more dangerous than one expected.
The dangers of entering the memories of the Brain Bug were very high, and when Agent Mercury was doing the Memory Extraction Skill, the Brain Bug was doing what it could to cause some damage on the Agent Mercuryâs mind.
"I believe that you have obtained the complete list of the infected people within the colony?"
General Rathari Velot asked as they needed to start the cleaning out operation of the colony, and Governor-General Thefas Farax was already eager to begin the extermination and cleaning campaign of the entire colony and put this matter behind them all.
"Yes, and fortunately, we are in luck once again. There are not many infected within the colony; most of the infected by the bugs are in the lower positions of the Colony... but the highest-ranked person that was infected by the Arachnids is Colonel-Bashar Harzan."
Hearing what Agent Mercury stated made General Velot cringe heavily because Colonel Bashar Harzan was the Head of the Cybersecurity of the Imperial Colonial Defense Forces.
If someone like Bashar-Colonel Harzan was controlled by the Arachnids, then it was no wonder why the Imperial Colonial Defense forces were kept so long in the dark and why so many of the systems were compromised.
It was really interesting to think about how the Arachnids managed to infect someone high-ranking, Colonel-Bashar Harzan; then, it was certainly a disastrous thing for the entire colony because it was someone very high-ranked.
At the same time, for General Velot, this was even more problematic because Colonel Bashar Harzan was a direct subordinate of General Velot and also someone whom he could call a friend in some sense.
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However, this raised a question about how advanced the method of mind-control of the Arachnids was because nobody was able to notice anything odd about the people who were affected by the bugs.
Which spoke a lot about the new method that the bugs devised. In some sense, it was disturbing because nobody was able to tell if someone was infected and mind-controlled by the Arachnids.
"I will take care of everything. I will have my people go over the list of the infected, and tomorrow, we will conduct the raid. The strike teams from the Imperial Colonial Defense Forces would be ready within the next 24 hours across the entire colony. I will inform the Governor-General Farax about this development."
General Rathari Velot stated that he felt the weight of his choice, but there was nothing that he could do. Many people already felt pretty much similar to his situation, because once someone was infected by the bugs, then there was only one solution for that.
Execution.
"Well, I hope that you had a nice show looking at the Brain Bug, but now letâs sort out the latter matter we have on the table. The price for the Pseudo Queen Bug."
Agent Mercury stated as they observed General Rathari Velot leave the room as it left them only four of them. Seeing that Agent Mercury was ready to begin the negotiation about the Pseudo Bug Queen.
Agent Mercury already informed the higher-ups in the Directorate about the possible procurement of the Pseudo Bug Queen, and even the most problematic aspect of the entire thing was who obtained the Pseudo Bug Queen.
Because all three of them had a really extraordinary backround, there was zero possibility for the Directorate or government putting some pressure on them to sell Pseudo Queen Bug cheaply or relinquish it for the greater good of the state.
In some form, the Directorate was forced to seriously negotiate with the three of them because there was no other choice.
This was something that Arcturus and Zehal realized very well, even Jeniael to a lesser degree, that if they didnât have any background, then the Directorate would pressure them into giving the government the Pseudo Bug Queen for free.
Maximally, they would receive some Universal Credits as compensation if even.
If they were just some random Star Mercenaries or Bounty Hunters, then most probably they would disappear, and the Directorate would take the Pseudo Bug Queen and claim that they found it by the road.
"Well, then we can finally talk about this."
Zehal almost grinned as she said that because this was her golden opportunity to shine, and she wouldnât disappoint because she was always the best in whatever she was doing.
"As said previously, 10 Billion Universal Credits for the Pseudo Bug Queen."
As the offer resounded once again, among the three of them, only Jenaiel was keen on accepting the payment because it was a lot of money.
And she wasnât really wrong in this regard.
Ten Billion Universal Credits was probably enough to raise even the most pitiful mortal of any Human Race or even of its subspecies like Asuryani. So it was no wonder that she was eager for such an amount of money, but Zehal and Arcturus stopped her where she stood as they had something different in mind.
"We would like to present a counteroffer."
Zehal said that she sent something through the Extranet to Agent Mercury as the agent of the Directorate and opened the information package, and a holographic projection was created from his Neural Extranet Terminal Gene Implants.
"Hmm..."
What Zehal sent him was a list of requirements that they had already agreed on beforehand, and they were the things that they wanted in exchange for the Pseudo Bug Queen.
Because Arcturus wanted to establish his own corporation that Zehal would actually run and manage in his place so he would have a place to sell the technology that would be reverse-engineered by Red Queen, they were asking for a lot in this direction.
Within the Eternal Empire of the Asurya, all enterprises were either owned by the state or the state held a stake in them.
Depending on the other people holding a stake in the companies, if they were rather insignificant, the state would own the majority of them; if they were not, the proportions would differ.
Sometimes, they could differ drastically.
"Hmm... You are asking for a lot. Just on the taxes alone, this would be far more than ten billion Universal Credits. And the other things..."
After many, many hours of discussions, Arcturus and Zehal came to the conclusion that they would ask for several in exchange for the Pseudo Bug Queen. Judging based on Agent Mercuryâs expression, it couldnât be said that he was pleased by the things that he was seeing.
The first was the classification of "Strategic National Interest Corporation", which meant that the company that Arcturus and Zehal created would be classified as essential for the Eternal Empire of the Asruya. This was also true of Starlight Drive Yard Industries and other corporations that produced wargear and other strategic resources for the Imperium.
In this case, the Empire would be obliged to protect the company and its interest in the face of foreign or domestic aspects.
The 2nd thing that they asked was the higher holding stake, leaving only 30% for the Imperial government, with the possibility of buying another 10% stake from the 30% for approximately ten times their approximate worth.
3rd thing was a set of privileges and priorities for the company in the aspect of the governmental contracts and other screenings, tests, controls, and oversight like some other corporations received.
And the 4th thing was 1 Billion Universal Credits that would be loaned to their corporation to start the business with a 0% interest rate and repayment within five years from the loan.
Though most of these things came from Zehalâs mind, she was taking precautions and opportunities to obtain as many advantages for them as possible within the complicated system of the Imperial Government that he barely understood.