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SUMMARY: The Lekers, a violent reptile race, make first contact with the an unknown enemy. Tentions arise and the threat of Intergalactic War looms. Read to find out what happens in, The Limera Conflict.

Chapter 14-Insectoid Reminiscences Part 3-Arrival at the Crater.

The Overmind knew that from experience that a journey was as important as the destination. It had begun its search to the interior of the continent weak and fragile. Yet the longer the insects traveled, the stronger they became. From small and weak bugs they grew in strength and number. The Overmind was only as good as its components, and as they grew so did it. The insects watched through the memories of the trek with a sense of glee they had at those old days, when they were just moving. The complexity of their current existence was extreme, but as strong as they were a greater threat loomed. The bugs dwelled in their old memories looking for the drive they had then, so that they could use it now when they needed it most.

As the Overmind grew in knowledge along its trek, it also grew in it abilities to understand the radiation. From the few memories it could scavenge, it remembered the asteroid impact and the massive impact it had on Limera Prime. The Overmind felt a stirring growing inside of it the closer it go to he crater. With such a limitless energy source, it finally felt it could evolve however ever it wanted. Over time the size of the bugs had slowly grown, but now at the Overmind's request they doubled and tripled in size.

With its greater and greater ability, the bugs finally learned to make use of the environment around them, instead of adjusting to it. The Overmind no longer looked at the rocks on the ground as obstructions, but as tools. It began to use its insect components in more complex behavior. The bugs crafted primitive tools of the many stones they found. Instead of climbing a rock face by hand, the Overmind could use stone implements to assist itself. While still very simple, life grew a bit easier for the bugs.

The journey of the Overmind was finally nearing its end. For ninety years the bugs had been traveling slowly over the once beaten surface on Limera Prime. The insects had crossed thousands of miles of lava flows, hazardous clouds of gas, and ruined landscapes. Yet the Overmind was much stronger at the last leg of its journey then when it had begun this arduous quest. When it had begun, the Overmind numbered in the hundreds and was constantly in fear of being destroyed. But now the insects numbered in the tens of thousands and had all of the energy they would ever need.

As the insects finally came within sight of the crater, the Overmind gave it reverent silence for many seconds. Here was the object of its creation and of its triumph so far on this world. The crater itself was enormous, nearly thirty miles at its radius and half a mile deep. Far down in the hole, there was a visible unholy green light. The Overmind bathed in its cosmic waves and felt here was how it would rule this world. The insects began to crawl into the hole using their stone implements and began the long and arduous climb into the pit.

Whether a coincidence or somehow connected to the asteroid, the dust clouds of Limera began to clear the second the Overmind reached the crater.