The hivemind is conquering for me?

Much like the room we were just in, entering into the restricted section there was enclosure after enclosure of unique entities. Only this time there was a butt load of security. Sentry turrets placed in strategic locations of the roof and walls and a guard stationed every few meters with some seriously powerful equipment that was giving me the heebie-jeebies.

That being said, the security wasn’t the interesting part, no it was the creatures. From the truly eldritch creatures with tentacles, eyes, more tentacles and more eyes. To the more mundane things like a snake that was so black it looked two dimensional. There were so many specimens in here that I could tell from a cursory glance around the large building that I could get lost in here for months just learning about every creature’s property and perhaps find some upgrades for my splicing. My genes were stable now after all and my eyes and legs could use some company.

As I walked idly through the exhibits with my arm decoration, Gabrielle, I finally stumbled upon something familiar. A bipedal reptilian creature. Blue in colour and full of scales. It had horns atop its head making it look even taller than it was. The Starforged was still different to what I have seen from that Rekosh fellow. His scales were cracked in certain locations, like tattoos that glowed an aethereal Lilac.

Upon feeling my gaze, the being got up off its rest bench and walked towards the barrier between us. It brandished its teeth into a snarl before spitting on the barrier. It then turned away and lay back down, covering itself with sheets to be left alone.

Reading the plaque next to the enclosure, I spoke aloud. ”Logrik. Psi-lancer. strength class: warlord?”

My arm decoration then hummed in affirmation before adding. ”Lancers are Starforged Psionic elites. Not the tip of the spear, but still very strong. We don’t see them much as the Starforged prefer fighting against the Drakoshi and leave the majority of their allies and smaller batches of warriors against us. Not that I am complaining. Thurx drones might be weak, but enough would be capable of killing our strongest eventually.”

I nodded in agreement at Gabrielle’s assessment of the Thurx. Their strafes were very annoying during my mercenary mission and their ground troops just kept piling up around me during the siege of Bastion, leaving me open to attack. Swarm tactics tended to be quite effective in general, Steel or bioform. It’s why Jewel does what she does. It just works.

”Ah, I see you have met Logrik. Isn’t he a charmer?” A voice sounded from behind us. Turning around it was none other than Yacob. I smiled and nodded. ”I suppose, though I think his barrier needs a cleaning.”

Yacob then rolled his eyes as he noticed what I was referring to before speaking in a goading tone. ”Oh, yeah. He does that. He is still salty that he fell for such a basic trap that even a hatchling wouldn’t fall for. He-he-he.”

A fraction of a moment later and a loud thud banged against the barrier. ”You speak lies YACOB! Come in here and say that to my face! You coward!”

”No, no I don’t think I will come in there Logrik. I’ve had my spine broken one too many times thank you very much.” Yacob spoke calmly, prompting the Starforged to snort.

”Break your spine? Oh, I will do so much worse than break those pitiful calcium deposits you call bones Yacob! I w-”

”-Do I need to put you back in timeout Logrik? Do you remember the last time?”

The two locked eyes between the barrier for a moment before Logrik began to walk backwards very slowly, not breaking eye contact till he was back at his bed, at which point he covered up once more.

Yacob kept his gaze on the Starforged a moment longer before turning his attention back to us. ”Sorry about that, I got caught up in the act. I digress. Apollo. Nice to see you again, congratulations on your successes last week. I heard your Sapphire helped out a great deal though perished twice in the process? Might I have a quick observation of her condition? Don’t worry about my prior threat, I understand how Sapphire materialises. Oh! And my security systems won’t attack.”

I looked around, the large group had fanned out quite a bit, but Sapphire would draw attention. I shrugged my shoulders though and before I could even breathe, Yacob turned around and smiled.

”Haha! I felt the Psionic fluctuation that time! It is so minute and so efficient! Barely even registers, but it was there. Hello Sapphire, how are you today?”

”Moo.”

”Do you mind if I have another quick look at your form?” Yacob asked.

”M-oo?!?”

Sapphire was about to give her consent to the funny man, but the man had moved quicker than she had expected and began poking at her side in a ticklish way. She didn’t mind though and let the man mumble as he inspected her.

”No damage, no scars. True dematerialisation. Incredible! Apollo, my boy. How do you manage to intake such an amount of energy so quickly to renourish her twice in a day period? Her sheer mass and girth alone, it must be an arduous task.”

Scratching the back of my head, I spoke honestly, but cryptically. ”I have practiced a special meditation technique since I was a child. As a result I basically inhale Psionics at this point after expelling.”

Yacob then nodded. ”Hmm, Yeah, that would do it. Secret techniques are ironically the answer for a lot of questions related to Psionics. Now, how are-”

”-There! You! How dare you show your face here after what your brute of a sister did to me! I should sue you! In fact! I will unless you meet my condition! hand over ownership of your beast to me and-”

*SMACK!*

The familiar young man was suddenly struck in the face by Yacob so hard he was sent flying into a group of onlookers.

Yacob then pinched his glabella ’This little shit.’ Before turning to me and bowing. ”Apollo, forgive the aforementioned cunt, Echemus. His brain is seriously wrong. He will not let go of this incident involving your sister and your Sapphire. I had, in blissful ignorance, forgot he was here when I asked you to bring out your little kitten.”

”Oh right... Yeah, from registration, I remember now. Yeah, he pulled a gun on me and wants to sue me? That’s hilarious. Don’t worry about it Yacob, he clearly has a screw loose. No offence. Chonk and I aren’t bothered by him, but if he badmouths Orchid again and calls her names I will show him what an actual brute is.” I said calmly, not threatening, but simply stating a fact.

Yacob nodded hearing this. ”Fair, both your mindset and his potential fate. You are a good egg Apollo, now excuse me while I go find a private room to discipline my nephew... It really isn’t his fault to be honest... It’s his upbringing. Being raised by a snively cunt tends to turn you into one. Once more, excuse me.”

Yacob then walked over to Echemus who was beginning to stand up after his slap and before regaining balance was grabbed by his hair and violently pulled away, kicking and screaming the whole time like a child throwing a temper tantrum..

”Jeez, I don’t know how I would react if my children ended up like that. Would disciplining them even be effective if they are that far gone?” I asked rhetorically before turning to Gabrielle. ”What about you? Would you discipline your child?”

Gabrielle jolted before looking at me with a smile that should not have had the reaction it had on me as she replied. ”Oh, No. I could never. Apollo, I would let my child get away with murder. He could do whatever he wanted to me or anyone else and I wouldn’t bat an eye. My love for him would be unconditional and never ending. The thought of giving him a moment of pain or anguish again would be too much... A-And if any of my actions ever did cause him grief. If there ever was a time my actions meant him abandoning me. Leaving me. Denying me... Well I would lose it. There would be no more point to life... I would just stop. I would-”

I pulled the woman into my embrace again. Hugging her, stroking her hair and began shushing thinking she was about to have another episode. ”Gabrielle, please don’t finish that sentence. Don’t talk about doing that. Ever. Please never think those thoughts again. I am sorry I brought this up.”

The woman was like broken glass, one moment she looked fine, the next she would shatter like this. I needed to use my heat to melt her back together and keep her whole. For some reason, my heart lurched at the thought of her ending that sentence. I did not like it one bit.

...

Gabrielle hugged her son. Such a good boy, pulling her out of her little cuckoo funk like that. True to her words. He asked her not to speak like that. She would never do so again around him. She wouldn’t think it, the potential dreadful future would be kept in the dark around her darling light. As she continued basking in yet another phenomenal hug, her lips smirked as she reaffirmed the beginning of her thought process just then.

’ I will do anything he wants me to do, no matter what. My son deserves anything and everything.’