Stellaris

And the sky, for once, did not answer.

The first to arrive were the Korrin Iron Compact. They were Fanatic Materialists, machine-augmented humanoids who viewed the Xylos hive as “organic noise.” Their Admiral, a cybernetic brute named Thrakk, interfaced with Xira via a sterile data-link.

Xira brought the Hive Eternal —a living battleship grown from the fused flesh of a billion drones. It was grotesque, beautiful, and screaming on every psychic frequency. Stellaris

The last Unbidden ship flickered once, then vanished into silent, non-existent light.

The Cybrex arrived last. They did not fight. They simply opened a psonic channel and broadcast the uploaded piece of Xira’s grief—a raw, infinite wave of maternal loss. And the sky, for once, did not answer

“You are loud, little chorus. We feed on the psionic. You will be our first course.”

Empress Xira felt the psychic backlash across ten light-years. She severed the connection to Vor, sacrificing his individuality to save the hive. But the damage was done. The Unbidden had a lock on the Sutharian psyche. Xira brought the Hive Eternal —a living battleship

In the Cygnus Veil, a derelict observation post—pre-FTL, pre-space—had reactivated. Its signal was not a transmission. It was a scream .