The hivemind is conquering for me?

”Do you know what? Fair play, that was some good acting, I am not even mad.” I said and flashed a toothy grin to Talia. She giggled at my smile and performed a small bow, glad she wasn’t in trouble and the future father of her children enjoyed her performance.

Talia naturally was not powerful in any capacity, but she knew men like the back of her hand. Apollo was a tough read, but she knew that play would cause him to panic and reveal all the goody goodies she craved to know.

She also knew that was a one time thing and he wouldn’t fall for it again so she needed more data. Luckily for her, they were going to be spending more time together in the future! She couldn’t wait!

Diving straight in with my questions like I originally planned before the cry attack, I asked. ”So Talia. Can you tell me about what you meant when we first met? How did you come to the conclusion that my genes were ’superior’ to others?”

I mean, the woman left her partner just for the chance to get in bed with me. I want to know how she knew that my genes were different from everyone else’s. Talia looked up cutely and put a finger to her lip. ”Eeerm~. It is kind of hard to explain as it depends on Sepiida to Sepiida, but I could sort of ’smell’ your perfect genes thanks to my bloodline.”

”Your bloodline?” I echoed, causing her to giggle and make a little. ”Mhm!” Sound. ”Yes, I am a royal Sepiida, you can tell by the ears you are attracted to. see? Pointy. Remember we Sepiida take some traits from our partner species such as nose and ears. Humans do not have pointy ears, yet I do. This is because of my bloodline. My bloodline descends from the original home world and our now extinct brother Species.”

”Sepiidan’s had a brother species?” I asked curiously, Janine had never told me about them. Talia looked over to where I was looking and guffawed. ”Well of course she doesn’t know. She is common stock and come now handsome, how do you think we survived during our civilisations founding? Without the Sepuudu to protect us, we would have perished. We aren’t fighters. Fighting is scary!”

We had gone off track a little bit, but I was invested at this point. I loved history, it did not matter whose or where it came from. Learning lost secrets was like drugs for me. ”So what happened to the Sepuudu?

”Oh, that story varies a little bit between the royal bloodlines. The common consensus is that after we both became spacefaring and the Coalition found us, the Sepuudu suddenly became sterile. We couldn’t get pregnant off them, so we moved on. A whole species wiped out in one generation. Pretty scary. Some say that one of them fucked an alien and contracted a highly contagious airborne STD that spread like wildfire that caused them to become infertile. While my bloodline believes our ancestors found better stock for faster breeding in the Coalition and developed a bioweapon with their new lover’s help as the Sepuudu were very strong and could have kept us back for a long time if they didn’t feel like sharing. The story diverges, but the same conclusion. Bye, bye brothers, hello new exotic genes!”

”Then you started fucking all over the galaxy, becoming wives and concubines to so many species that you became recognised as a threat despite your lack of combat capabilities and were exiled?”

”Mhm. Mama said to me when I was younger that my great grandma was the wife of a retired Rekosh. I don’t know what that means, but from what I gathered, the Rekosh was a powerful individual with great genes, perfect for creating daughters. Though I know for a fact you are even more superior! My insides are still churning away just looking at you after all. The urge to milk you dry is only being held back by my desire to be subservient for you after all.”

”Hmm. ’Milk you dry’. Well that’s another one to add on top of ’Daddy’ for new discoveries about myself.” I said as I looked down to my tent. Talia also looked down and audibly gulped incredibly loud, like she had been stuck in a desert for days without water and stumbled upon an oasis.

As though feeling an opportunity, Kathrine stirred on my lap and rubbed her face up against the totem pole. I just decided to ignore the phenomenon and got us back on track. ”So, your bloodline, what effects does it have on you? What is the smell you were talking about? I hope I smell good at least haha!”

”...”

”Talia?” I asked, noticing the woman was still glancing at the totem pole. ”Hyemnaha.” Talia responded with gibberish before she realised I said her name. She then jumped and reached for her drink.

”Sorry, my uh... The thing that wants your Mmmh- in uh- Mouth! My mouth got a little dry.” I tutted and shook my head before using my telekinesis to reach over to one of my bags, retrieving my jacket and placing it over my lap.

”Eyes up here lady, I am more than just a piece of meat.” I joked, causing her to laugh nervously. Even through all her gawking, Talia did hear what I had to say, so after her recovery, she replied.

”Oh, it’s not a real ’smell’ It’s more like, Pheromones? Mmh.., Well kind of, but also not really? It’s tough to explain because as a Sepiida, I just know, but to explain to others, it gets a little complicated. I’m sorry. It is like every male has this cloak around them that shows off their genetic strength. It helps weed the goldmines from the dregs. You, however,... It’s like you cloak this entire establishment. I am not trying to flatter you here Apollo by the way, but you literally are perfect. It is like your genes have been perfectly put into place and enhanced beyond what should be physically capable. It is like you are not even fully human at this point. It is the strangest thing. Sorry I’m rambling. I want to be helpful, but I don’t know if I am explaining in a way you understand...”

Oh I understood, and I was shit scared of the Sepiida beside me. ’She can use this ’smell’ to be able to tell that I have undergone genetic mutation? That is terrifying!’ On the outside I was just a tall, in shape dude, even on the inside to a cursory glance, heck, even that Jocasta chick scanned my body and only saw that I was in prime condition, but Talia has weeded out the fact I am not fully human?’

”No you were very helpful actually Talia. You are talking to one of the few minds in the empire that probably does somewhat understand. Tell me, does all of your bloodline have this trait?” I asked, Talia seemed confused by the odd look I was giving her but nodded her head and replied.

”Yes. Though you seem troubled by this? Don’t worry, I think my bloodline is only a couple thousand or so. Last time I saw mama she had sixteen children, three females including myself and thirteen slaves, but she is a fiend in the bedroom so she probably has a few more now. Hmm she probably has been assigned a new partner already, she killed the last two I know of with her ’enthusiasm’ after all.”

’Sounds like she’d give Jewel a run for her money.’ I said to myself, causing me to turn my lips inward to stop myself from laughing. Pelvis crushing wasn’t a joke after all… ”I see. Well thank you for telling me, that is all I wanted to know for now, but I am sure I will have more questions, your species is quite fascinating to me.”

Talia felt a surge of warmth, different from her urges, swell up in her body. She was glad to be of help to Apollo and was elated that he genuinely likes Sepiidans. ”Of course Apollo, all I am is yours. And when you want a hands-on examination of my biology, well... I am more than eager.”

Our conversation went onto idle chatter for a little while, I think the drink finally started kicking in as I felt a slight buzz in my head so I decided to pour another one to keep the buzz going. Getting drunk seemed to be out of my wheelhouse for now, I would have to get Jewel to synthesize the batch Valerica brought me and figure out a way to make it stronger to actually feel something...

”Oh, one more question just came to mind. You said you haven’t seen your mother in a long time? Why is that?” Talia frowned for the first time I have ever seen and stated. ”Family doesn’t share mates. Things can get heated when we are in close proximity after the parenting is finished... If that woman ever came here, I would have to get someone to kill her! You are too precious after all.”

For a moment, I saw a glimpse inside of Talia’s eyes. A slight darkness that quickly faded out. I decided to tell myself that I was just seeing things as there was absolutely no possible way I somehow managed to stumble across another one… In the wild no less...