Aboleth's primary caasiok was travelling in space with the Sequester parked inside, which Dr. Bryant was using as his research facility. And home residence.

  The Zykra General herself stood in the large chamber she could usually be found, the chamber which she had begun to dub her 'command center'.

  It was very tall and vacuous. Multiple levels of balconies lined it, each with a railing of flesh, which was strewn across balusters of bone-like spikes. A baluster is a vertical structure that supports the railing. Lavender light from multiple psyphera could be seen, dangling from the ceiling like upside down jellyfish.

  Bridges and platforms filled out the center of the chamber, with similar railing. The different floors were made up of plates of carapace, which had seams between them that revealed often pulsating blue flesh beneath.

  Columns lined the walls, embedded in the same carapace plates and flesh as the floors. Many spine archways collected in the center of this chamber, from many hallways that ended here. The translucent organic pipes they contained occasionally transported orbs of glowing material. Like the cyan Lazothane or the green acid many Zykra utilized.

  It would be a horrific place for a human to be. The air was hot and humid, steam and particles often floated by, mostly invisible until they drifted in front of a beam of light. Drips, and the sound of slithering creatures could be heard, as well as the odd scantid skittering by.

  Dark green carapace turned to brown at the edges of the plates, with most flesh being blue or dark brown as well.

  The central platform was where Aboleth stood, or coiled rather. She was in her serpentine Zykra form, her hair wrapped in a pony-tail, still wild as ever. A humanoid torso atop a snake's body with a commanding posture. A green jacket designed specifically for her, a golden pauldron on one shoulder.

  This platform was larger than the rest, which it needed to be to contain her larger form.

  She currently had her eyes closed as she utilized the natural connection she had to other Zykra.

  Guiding and directing those onboard, as well as those on the few planets they've recently infested.

  A tiny scantid watched her as she did so, as it stood on one of the organic tables nearby.

  It's been doing that for 15 minutes.

  Aboleth peaked through her right eye at it.

  She sensed it—it was the deformed scantid, the first Zykra the Queen had ever created.

  'Pipsqueak', she called it.

  Odd, unpredictable thing. Strangely intelligent. And affectionate.

  It did not follow orders, and simply lazed about the caasiok. Never straying too far from the Queen, though now it seemed to have decided to shadow Aboleth in her absence.

  It noticed her glance and perked up excitedly.

  It began to tap the table rhythmically. 2 taps, then waited, and tapped twice again. It was being even more odd than usual.

  "What?" she asked, breaking her concentration and slithering before it using her gargantuan tail, looking down.

  It stepped backwards on the table, revealing words etched into the tables hard surface.

  'I draw'

  Aboleth looked to the scantid with intense interest then.

  Pipsqueak went to a clean part of the table and started scratching something else. It took it a moment, as it manueved around in a circle, scratching the lines that made up each letter.

  'queen'

  It double tapped the word and looked up at Aboleth.

  "You're using the scantid to communicate your will, my Queen?"

  Pipsqueak nodded.

  "But why not me? Do we not share the same connection?"

  It shook its head.

  This was an amazing development. Perhaps it had something to do with its mutation, that they could communicate over what had to be a vast distance.

  "My Queen, I'm so sorry, I've... Failed you. If I was more competent, we could have avoided your capture. I should have told you we risked too much by meeting with the resistance."

  The scantid quickly scrawled out another message.

  'Is k'

  It leapt off the table and begun writing on the surrounding floor instead.

  'No kil humans'

  'No more infested'

  'No smuggler'

  The 'u' was more of a 'v', but the message was conveyed all the same. It took a couple of minutes for it to finish.

  'back soon'

  "But, my Queen, why? The infested have potential, they can be created cheaply and perform more effectively in battle than scantids."

  'is bad'

  "Then... What do should we do? The resistance will not let you go if we do not pressure them to."

  'I will press'

  'be gud'

  Aboleth looked around in confusion, as if she could be on a reality TV show where they pranked alien Generals.

  This... Was a sudden change in their agenda. Don't kill humans? 'Be good'?

  What could be causing their Queen to order these things?

  Aboleth had a few ideas about this.

  The resistance could be coercing her, or could be changing her somehow so that she wants to. Maybe her human side has regained control.

  All of these things could have happened at once as well.

  But even if they had, she must obey.

  "Affirmative, I will make the appropriate changes in our strategies. Could we talk a bit more? I have many questions."

  It was a relief to have her Queen's orders, but she craved her presence. The entire hive did. She wanted more.

  The scantid wrote a bit more quickly this time, her Queen was getting familiar with controlling the alien body.

  'Yes'

  'Get Evo'

  It was dark and raining heavily at the bootcamp.

  The world was covered in swamp marshes, but this area had been cleared of it. Metal trailers existed in place of the marsh, made of corrugated metal, surrounded by fences covered in barbwire.

  "CRAWL YOU WORMS!"

  Their instructor shouted, like he often did.

  And Raymond crawled, through the muck.

  Yellow streaks of gun fire were tracing by overhead.

  The soaking wet mud clung to every nook and cranny he had. And his heavy uniform soaked it up like a sponge, making the olive green fabric even heavier.

  If he wasn't infested, it would be a workout just to push himself through this sludge.

  "What the fuck man—they're using live rounds!?"

  A man a few rows over said and began crawling past him in a hurry.

  Raymond wasn't so motivated. It's not like they would shoot them unless they did something stupid like stand up.

  It was clear what the recruiters goals were.

  To acclimate them to a real battle, and test their courage—to make them understand what it's like to be shot at.

  He slowly made his way through the uneven trench, elbow over elbow he dragged his body along.

  Dozens of recruits were doing the same along many rows around him.

  "Who pissed!?" a guy closer to the starting line asked.

  "KEEP MOVING MAGGOTS!"

  Their drill instructor shouted over the machine gun fire. He could feel every loud bang in his bones—it was so close, so heavy. Normal guns weren't this loud. This was excessive.

  "What the fuck is this!?" someone ahead of them cried, and they pushed themselves up and started frantically patting their clothes. The upper half of his body was lit up by the floodlights around so it was clear for everyone to see when he was shot numerous times. He fell over, splashing into a puddle.

  "DON'T STAND UP—YOU IDIOTS!!! IGNORE THE RATS!!"

  "Hey." Raymond called out to the woman laying prone ahead of him. She was lying with her hands over her head, not moving.

  "Move."

  She shook her head furiously.

  "I don't wanna die!" She cried.

  Raymond sighed, then grabbed her ankle and dragged her down until she was beside him.

  She slid easily across the mud.

  He clutched her by the lapels, as they both laid prone and looked her in the eyes.

  "If you don't crawl, you will drop-out. Just focus on the bottom of my feet, stay low, and keep moving."

  She looked at him for a moment longer—it was clear that he wasn't scared in the slightest, and it calmed her. She nodded.

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  "Al-alright."

  He moved ahead and she followed.

  He wasn't being nice, this was just how upward mobility worked. You had to show leadership traits. That's all it was.

  A rat scurried by, and he grabbed it by the tail, then flipped it up into the air over his shoulder. It flew for only a second before being shredded by gunfire.

  An older man wore a plastic poncho over his high-ranking attire and was watching the new recruits as they passed their first test. He leaned over to his assistant, who was making notes in a tablet, and told them something.

  They were always watching. Searching for suspicious recruits, or ones with potential.

  Inside her dreamscape, Selene was super glad that Aboleth hadn't decided to ignore her and kill Pipsqueak when she ordered them to stop being evil. But it made sense that she hadn't, it's just that she wasn't sure how this version of Aboleth would respond to indirect orders.

  She was right to assume that while clearly she had been changed to be less independent, she still was capable of reason.

  "Mission accomplished—Agent Pip!" She said, with a happy expression.

  Pipsqueak chittered.

  She paced around excitedly as she thought.

  They were somewhere else now—they often travelled within the dreamscape, or it would change around them.

  This new location they had arrived at was a shadowed version of the training field aboard the Alexandria space station where she did her basic training during her time as a Protectorate soldier.

  They sat at the concrete benches beside a field of green grass, which had a large circular track around it. And there was an outdoor gym nearby.

  "Now we just have to wait for the new Evolutionist to change Aboleth back, and I'm pretty much in charge again! We can fix everything! And that's not all—Danny and Raymond are alive! Aboleth told me that she sent them to join the resistance, like spies."

  Finally, this hell would be over. She could get back to her mission, taking over the sector in order to save it.

  Only one obstacle remained.

  Her Zykra self.

  "Someone seems happy."

  A gravelly voice said.

  "FINALLY!! Dreamcatcher! What took you so long, I heard I was captured days ago!"

  The roguishly dressed man walked to the bench opposite of her and sat down.

  "My abilities keep me busy. Believe it or not, you're probably one of my least important missions."

  His comment didn't bother her, she had too many reasons to feel excited, it was one hopeful thing after the next!

  "Okayokayokay—just tell me, does the resistance have a way to get me out? Get me in control again?"

  "No. We can keep your Zykra side trapped, but so far we haven't found a way to force her to switch over."

  "Darn, and she won't talk to me! I wanted to say I'd merge with her now, but she hasn't shown up since she took over..."

  Dreamcatcher looked at her curiously at that.

  "You can... Merge, with her?"

  Selene nodded.

  "That's what she wanted, but when I said no she took over. I was worried that it'd turn me evil, and guess what? Looks like I was right!"

  "Hmm... Well, they've been interrogating her. And... Torturing her. Have you felt anything?"

  She shrugged. "Nope. But I'd be fine with it. Anything to get back at her for everything she's done. I hope it hurt a lot. Oh! I got in touch with my swarm, using my special connection with this guy!"

  The hoodied woman swooped Pipsqueak off the table and hugged him, whose antennae licked at her face gently.

  "Thats... Good to hear. And you told them to lay off attacking humans? To stop expanding?"

  She looked up at him from over Pipsqueaks head.

  "...I told them to stop attacking humans. But I need my hive to expand. I thought about keeping it a secret but, remember how I told you about the Zykra, and how they're way more intellgient and dangerous than they seem?"

  Dreamcatcher had pulled out a cigarrete from within his cloaked cowl and lit it, taking a seemingly satisfying drag off it.

  Selene wondered how it was even possible to smoke here.

  "I remember you saying something like that. How they chose you because of your abilities, and that if you took over for them that they wouldn't have to. It would be your territory or something."

  She nodded. "Yep. And it'd be tough to keep them from attacking if I don't run things. Ku'senai is bound to check up on me sooner or later, and if I'm captured she'll probably just wipe out my swarm and take over herself. She's already mad at me because of the other aliens."

  "...'Other' aliens?"

  "Oh, wow. Okay, so there's these other aliens right? I call them the preservers. They seem nice, they're kind of like tall skinny humans, with orange eyes and no noses. They hate the Zykra and don't want to take over, and said they could help me if I find these devices."

  Dreamcatcher raised his eyebrows for a moment then scoffed and shook his head.

  "Damn. Maybe you're more important than I thought, if even half of that is true it could shake things up."

  Selene had a smug expression at that, she put Pipsqueak down on the ground, but he start headbutting her side so she picked him up again.

  Dreamcatcher watched them curiously.

  "Can you order your swarm to surrender to the resistance?" He asked.

  "What? No. Haven't you been listening? If I don't take over, the other Zykra will. And they're like... If you think I'm bad, then they're like a thousand times worse."

  "We can help you. See, I'm guessing the other Zykra won't be satisfied with you just running the sector like a monarchy. They'll probably get weird ideas if you—"

  A black smoke appeared, rolling across the field. Selene noticed Dreamcatcher staring at it, and looked over her shoulder.

  It coalesced into the shape of an encephalon, and the blue Queen appeared.

  "Greetings, sister."

  She said, approaching them. She was much smaller than Ku'senai was, as before. Even here in the field. So she wasn't just reducing her form to appear indoors, this was likely how large she really was.

  Her chitin exoskeleton was blue which turned black towards the edges, with brown flesh beneath.

  "Hey... Uhm.." Selene looked towards Dreamcatcher, who had a flabbergasted expression. Then back to the blue Queen.

  "It's actually a good time for you to show up. We were just talking about you, and the others."

  It really wasn't a good time, but maybe they could negotiate some kind of deal. And if not—she could just lie and act as if she would comply with whatever the Zykra wanted.

  But in anycase her excitement had been replaced with extreme anxiety.

  The blue Queen stood only 6 meters or so away from them.

  Her face was a featureless section of chitin, which curved into a crown about a few feet tall. With multiple antennae pouring out the back like dreadlocks.

  Her torso wasn't so unlike a humans, at least in its simple shape. It had two arms, and what seemed to be a breastplate existed, which transitioned more narrow abdomen. Shaped like armor plating. But that's where the similarities to human anatomy ended.

  Below her hips was a wide, oblong shape, lined with 3 sets of powerful legs. Jointed like many an insect's legs would be, often barbed and thorny in places.

  She held her hands together in front of her in a regal fashion, like Ku'senai often does.

  "This is why I have shown myself to you. I have been watching. I have taught myself your language, and decided that you shall call me Seki."

  "Why Seki?" Selene asked.

  "It is cute."

  Selene looked back to Dreamcatcher once more, who shrugged.

  "Wait, you've been watching me?"

  "Yes. We encephalons possess many abilities similar to human telepaths, it seems. I sensed this humans presence the last time he had arrived, and decided it was an opportunity to learn what your motives were."

  Dreamcatcher spoke next, assertively.

  "And? Now you know. Humans aren't interested in turning into monsters to expand your bug empire. Now what?"

  Selene fidgeted with the hem of her red hoodie. This was nerve wracking. It seemed that humanity was doomed to go extinct.

  "When I first heard of the purple Queen's plan to subvert their territory by assimilating one of their own, I knew the one chosen would resist. But I am not like my sisters, I am... Sympathetic, to you. When our species was discovered, we did not get such an opportunity to pick and choose which aspects of ourselves were preserved. And now they are largely forgotten. I wish for you to do what we could not."

  The longer she spoke, the more relaxed Selene found herself. It wasn't at all what she expected to hear.

  "I'm... Super happy to hear that, Seki. So I don't have to take over? Humanity can just be themselves?"

  "I didn't say that. These 'Preservers', you spoke of—it seems they have special plans for your species, and they are enemies of ours. Your ability to psionically influence species outside your genome—are uniquely theirs. Their 'Great Song', and it is why you were chosen. With it, we may finally be able to defeat them for good. So, while I would personally prefer that your species to join us in a manner that is... Comfortable to you..."

  The word 'comfortable' seemed especially alien to Seki.

  "Our sisters desire the death of these 'Preservers' above all else. And so without progress towards that end, it may be impossible... I've heard your plan for a partial assimilation—to convert those who are willing. While ruling over those who aren't. This could be feasible. But only if you contribute to the greater war between the Zykra and the Preservers. If you can help us defeat them, I can convince my sisters to allow you to rule your territory, as unorthodox as it is to rule over those who are not Zykra."

  Dreamcatcher was looking between them with great interest now. No doubt this would all be juicy information for the resistance, but that was fine with Selene. It could force them into playing ball with her swarm.

  "And what if we resist? What if we fight? I've seen our armies fight yours before, and I like our odds."

  Seki looked to Dreamcatcher as he said so.

  "Your human armies have fought feral outcasts, crafted to be mere diversions, which Ku'senai had sent so that she could assimilate Selene. Those and Selene's own forces, which, as supportive as I am of her cause—are not true Zykra. If your resistance does not aid Selene, she may not have enough time to grow her power enough in order to aid us. Which would result in your specie's premature extinction."

  "So it's either the Preservers or us?"

  "Yes. Give us the Preservers, and we will go so far as to spare your people entirely. Selene would be free to use her gifts and remain as human as she desires."

  Seki looked to Selene then.

  "If you agree to this, I could intervene and contain your Zykra essence until you've learned to control it. I see now, that your human heritage is also integral to harnessing the power you've inherited from the Preservers."

  Selene stroked Pipsqueaks head softly, and he chittered so softly that it sounded like a purr.

  "She... My Zykra side... She wanted to merge with me. What if we did that?"

  "You were right to refuse. The effects would have been unpredictable, you would at least have had your Preserver abilities dulled, or at worst expelled entirely. It is better to remain divided as you are, for now. Your Zykra essence can maintain this ego it's developed, as it is more powerful than you are in Zykra terms. But you must remain in control as a human would be in order to fully utilize it."

  So that's the real reason. Seki was probably stretching the truth about being sympathetic towards her and humanity, her real goal was to keep her ability potent. Something about her seemed overly pandering.

  "So what do you expect us to do? Just make her our General?" Dreamcatcher asked.

  Seki ignored him this time.

  "Bring her to the edge of this territory, and I will arrive. Contain her. Change her. Then return her."

  Smoke began to form at the edges of Seki now, and Selene got the sense she was about to leave.

  "Wait—how? How would you seal my Zykra side?"

  "Your separation from our essence seems created by some Preserver influence, I will fortify it from the Zykra's end. Please hurry. You do not have much time before my sisters come lurking. Ku'senai already plans to do so, and the orange Queen will not be so far behind, and she is slightly more powerful than I am. So you better hurry and give me some results to share with them."

  Dreamcatcher flicked his cigarette away.

  "Before you leave, I have a question for you too... What's stopping us from running to these Preserver guys for protection? They aren't holding us at gunpoint after all. And like you said, they're interested in us."

  The van-sized encephalon stepped closer to them then, and gazed downwards at the gruff man sitting at the bench.

  "Their ways forbid them. They are not allowed to alter the course of natural evolution... Though your species does seem like a rare exception... By all means, call out for them. Perhaps they would appear, it would be a delightful event for the Zykra. But until the time in which you contact them, I suggest you do as I say for now."

  She looked to Selene, her expression becoming more gentle. Or at least, it felt that way. Seki didn't really have the facial muscles to convey much emotion, perhaps it was the way her eyes burned with violet energy. The wisps of energy was slowing.

  "I do hope you succeed, genuinely. The Zykra are not as you believe, we are only what we choose to be. Influenced by those we discover. Their ways. Perhaps we will be inspired greatly by humans."

  Seki looked at Pipsqueak. She extended a hand down, which caused Selene to flinch. But Pipsqueak didn't seem to react much at all as the clawed hand laid on top of his head affectionately.

  "Make sure you show her the beauty and hope of our people."

  He chittered.

  Selene had a melancholic expression as the blue Queen stepped away and faded into black smoke, which flew to the outer reaches of the dreamscape, disappearing.

  Dreamcatcher stood up and pulled his cloak over his shoulders.

  "Well... That was something. You were right, these Zykra are smarter than they seem. That thing learned an entire language fast anyway... I have to go relay all this to the bosses."

  Selene gave him a pleading look.

  "Do you think they'll go along with it?"

  "Honestly? I'm not sure. They trust me, but even I'll be hard to believe. This is some reality shattering shit. We'll probably have to bring in another telepath just to verify my information... How do you feel, do you trust her?"

  "Too much of what she'd said lines up, the stuff she said about this ability, the Preservers—I've experienced it all, and they could wipe us out anyway. If you can't convince your leaders, our species might go extinct. We have no choice. So of course I'm onboard with it. At least for now, until we figure something else out. Learn more."

  "No pressure then, huh? Well... I'm just an information guy. Not really my place to tell them what to do. But... We'll see."

  A bit of blood began to leak from the corner of his eye. He tapped it with a finger and looked at it.

  "Looks like I'm out of time here. Hopefully the next time we meet, it'll be in the real world."

  His form began to dissolve now.

  Selene stood up from the bench and hurried towards him.

  "Wait! Tell my family I love them! Tell my dad that no matter how this turns out—I'm glad he was my dad! And my mom too, Camden, I wish we could be together again!"

  It was too late, he had disappeared.

  Selene deflated back onto the bench.

  They knew. They had to of known, right? Already? She just hoped none of them blamed themselves for what's been happening to her, it sounds like something they'd do.

  It's weird how it's only in time like these that you say stuff like that, she'd gussed it would be embarrassing other times...

  She slapped her cheeks and tried to cheer herself up.

  After all, there was hope now.

  The Zykra weren't fated to be her enemies, they could be negotiated with. These Preserver aliens hadn't attacked them, but they're hardly helping either. If it meant saving humanity... Her family, she would do anything. If it was either her or them, it wasn't much of a choice at all.

  Maybe they had another way. Once she was free, she would look into these devices. The Preserver said it could help save them from the Zykra. And if that was really true, she would use them instead.

  But if it wasn't?

  Then the Preservers better watch out.

  Seki, she seemed different than any Zykra she has met before. It could be possible that they could coexist with humanity, if Selene did as they asked. Helped them against their enemy. At least until her own swarm was strong enough to keep them away.

  In any case, the path forward was clear. If the resistance played ball, it would give her the time she needed to figure everything else out.

  Alien devices, special powers, alter-egos, it was all way too much for her. But hopefully, a little at a time, she can start to unwind this big confusing ball of stuff and create a safe place for everyone. That was her hope. That's all she had to focus on.

  She felt Pipsqueak headbutt her again, so she looked down at him.

  "So... We got some time to kill. What do you wanna do?"

  He chittered, then ran around in a circle.