The planet Alyni was swiftly taken under control, though such control was tenuous at best. The key problem was not the lack of martial force the Alliance had in the system- though it was true that they would find it difficult to handle the concerted effort of the local populace if they chose to fight- but more of a problem of administration.

As long as they were left alone, the local cultivators were content with the situation as it was. That didn’t count the Numerological Compact cultivators, of course, but they were vastly outnumbered. And with their Confluence cultivators mostly taken out during the assault- or having already gone out of system- their illusion of control had been shattered. It was unlikely that they could have ever stood up against the entirety of the ‘free’ cultivators, but nobody wanted to be the one to step up first, risking themselves. Especially not when they found their personal status acceptable.

Of course, once people realized that the luxuries afforded to them by formations that seemed to possess limited power might dry up- or at least require their own contributions- they might change their minds. But one thing had to be handled at a time.

At least chaos was kept to a minimum by the assistance of the hivemind. Once more, the freed slaves of the planet kept a connection to each other after being removed from their restraints. As one might reasonably anticipate, they were quite positively inclined towards the Alliance as they were chiefly responsible for their freedom.

While the system would eventually need new administration, they had to go with the structure that was in place- replacing those who had perished in the battles. Instead of being chosen for their ability, those officially placed in such positions were for the most part the strongest cultivators of the hivemind. The reasoning was that cultivators most respected power- and as members of the hivemind, they would have access to guidance from those who knew what they were doing, and they could be confident in that.

“This is crazy,” Devon said to Aerona. “We’ve previously dealt with issues caused by a minority… but we’ve never had to handle things at this scale.”

She shook her head. “I think you’re wrong. We just dealt with worse. The Adamant Federation isn’t exactly a bastion of freedom.”

“Well, perhaps. But the majority of civilians were very limited in their exposure to cultivation,” Devon said. “Here, most people seem to cultivate. Most likely so they can choose the best ones for capture but… that’s how it is.” He shook his head. “But you’re right. The Free Planet Guardians made me more positive about that situation. It’s not as if we suddenly became friends with the rest of the region.”

“I think the issue you have run into,” Aerona commented, “Is that the ‘neutral parties’ here are directly complicit in an issue very personal to yourself. I’m not saying that they are innocent, just that your perspective makes the issue of slavery greater than the actual genocides the Trigold Cluster committed.”

“Well when you say it that way I feel like a jerk,” Devon said.

“That wasn’t my intention,” Aerona clarified. “Both are quite problematic. One problem is just more visible in modern times. I understand why it affects you more. Even I am inclined to feel the same way, even if I can say that objectively both are quite horrible. But the Alliance has chosen- wisely I believe- not to wipe out entire groups of people where the situation is less clear cut. And here… even though there is much bitterness among the hivemind, there is also camaraderie shared with those who could have fallen into slavery themselves.”

“I wish we could deal with the people at fault more swiftly,” Devon grumbled. “I know it’s not right, but what happened on Waral… at least it was efficient.”

“Even if we could bring a great number of judges and the like from our territory to here… it is better to let the locals handle things themselves. They can argue legality all they wish, but being faced with empowered victims they won’t do well in front of the rest. This is something the local populace needs to get through.” She shrugged. “Alternatively, we learn that they are all corrupt. But we have already seen enough to know that is not the case. Even a few members of the Compact were decent. Very few indeed, but some.”

Devon nodded. “Things feel both too slow and too fast. Byron wants us to finish taking over this system which I agree with, but we’re going to have to deal with a lot of instability if we don’t get on top of it all.”

“It is a good thing there are a great number of people able to act together, then,” Aerona said. “Regardless of whether anyone asked for or intended such results… they are currently convenient.”

“I’m not sure how to feel about the hiveminds,” Devon admitted.

“That may be the case, but they like you. So I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“I never intended to teach anyone my style of cultivation,” Devon said. “But I can’t reject this new group either, can I?”

“You’re the only one who has that answer. But if they are willing to follow your rules, I don’t see any issues.”

“It’s just… I don’t know,” Devon shook his head. “Actually, that’s exactly it. One would think that as an Enrichment cultivator, I wouldn’t be surprised by things I don’t understand. But I have no idea how any of this will work out. Everything is stable for the moment, but we have no idea if it will stay this way.”

Aerona smiled at him. “Sounds like you get it. Powerful cultivators end up with access to more information than others… but sometimes, the answers you seek aren’t there. And the unknown is only made worse by your understanding.”

“I’m not sure if that was supposed to help,” Devon admitted. Then he sighed. “Well, I suppose I at least have to train those I’ve already promised, and while at my age missing a day or two of training isn’t a big deal, it’s problematic for those just starting out. Especially with so many of them reworking their cultivation base. Hopefully, that will distract me enough.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I’m sure it will,” Aerona said. “And when the time comes to act on the next step, you’ll do something right. I know you will.”

-----

A large explosion of energy had drawn the attention of pretty much everyone on Turilia. The more the Numerological Compact tried to deny it happening, the more certain parties became interested in it. Of course, one particular group actually knew what it was. That was those free dissidents who had linked up with the Son of the Queen.

“So this Anton fellow… he’s hiding up above, able to shoot down at the planet at any time?” Luci asked.

“I don’t think so,” Queenson replied, cutting his words short as communication was still difficult. At the very least, he expected he would be able to sense Anton’s energy if he were around. And the local star didn’t feel right for that either.

“So he came to this system only for that attack? I hope we can figure out what he was targeting…”

“He just shot here,” Queenson explained.

“Yes, with his bow,” Luci replied. “From outside the atmosphere.”

Technically that was correct. Just like literally every other part of the galaxy was outside Turilia’s atmosphere. “Further,” Queenson wrote on the ground. It turned out humans had like five liters of blood and so a few milliliters was not that big of a deal for them. It still would have been nice to have some ink, though.

“From the edge of the system?”

Queenson gave a shrug, once again an imitation of human expressions. He didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure he should go into details if he did. Anton could have shot from the edge of the system safely.

“We’ve been able to track down the location of the attack,” Luci continued. “We’re hoping something secret will be revealed. Without being able to consult anyone… we have to do whatever we can.”

Queenson understood that logic. He was still here to gather information, a goal he might have gotten distracted from with the whole freeing-dissidents thing. Or whatever they were. Most of them seemed to have been kept alive due to information they had, especially regarding formations. These humans were good with them. That was also how they had been moving about without being caught.

The void ants were obviously fine on their own. They were trained spies. But Queenson had to admit that humans were great for going places intentionally. They could just ask when the next flight to a certain place was, and plan out routes, and all sorts of useful things. And they could walk while carrying hundreds of ants without issue. Not that most of them were willing to do so for some reason. As if the void ants being a bit further away would save them if Queenson and the others actually wanted to kill them. But they could have their silly ‘caution’.

At least Luci was helpful. The old woman might have simply thought her cause was more important than whatever risks, but she also seemed to have been quite pleased when Queenson reported to her about the other groups.

“We’ve only failed to get into contact with three of the areas you listed,” Luci said. “One or two of them seem to have actually remained secure, unfortunately, but the remainder should be in hiding. You don’t have any way to contact your team?”

Queenson shook his head. They were sent out to perform their individual operations, and were supposed to meet back up at a particular location. They would be stopping by that city on the way to the destination of the attack. Queenson hoped that as many people as possible survived- but he knew that whoever had failed would not be returning. Unless something made those particular locations actually impossible to succeed, the troops would not have failed to achieve their goals even at the cost of their lives.

That was true for him as well. He’d snuck his way into a military position to begin with because he believed in the cause. Being accepted for his individuality didn’t change that. Queenson understood humans thought it odd, but it made perfect sense to void ants. And the Great Queen had chosen the humans as allies, which was one of the clearest signs of her foresight. That included the very same Anton in question here. Whatever he had targeted, if it had not been destroyed… well, they would finish the job.

Queenson had to admit it was much less suspicious for a human to walk around a city with hundreds of void ants dangling inside pockets than for them to all scurry across the ground, trying to avoid being stepped on. That was why on civilized planets they had their own walkways. Tiny ones laid out efficiently, unlike the meanderings of humans.

Linking back up with their remaining cohorts was simple enough. Luci let him down at the designated location, where a temporary burrow smelled of other void ants having already arrived. Technically, his group was late.

There was a whole thing about them planning a rescue mission, but none of the plans were honestly any good. Questioning humans one by one was impractical and difficult, and systematically wiping out the Numerological Compact in vengeance sounded good at first but there simply weren’t enough of them to succeed. Besides, that was all a distraction from the mission. He quickly corrected the soldiers who had made it back, and they left the temporary burrow behind, marking the area with pheromones to indicate they had moved on, if any were later than even Queenson.

It barely even took two days for them to get to the right part of the planet. It would have taken less time somewhere proper, but then again Luci and the others were technically in hiding so using flying transportation at all was riskier than it seemed. Apparently the general populace wasn’t looking for them, however. That was odd, because even the humans in the core worlds could reproduce the energy signature of fugitives for others to pick up. Or at least they had devices that could.

As they were descending towards their final landing point, Luci cursed. Fortunately, she explained out loud her reasoning, since they couldn’t have written communication in public circumstances. She whispered, cutting off the sound of her words beyond herself. “Unless I’m off, that’s right in the Compact’s biggest personal ports. I thought to look in but… they have a very suspicious light screen over them right now.”

Well, obviously they had to sneak in.

“It will be impossible to infiltrate, if that’s it,” she said. Queenson disagreed, and let her know by gently nipping her thumb. Not enough to draw blood, of course. “Well, you can do what you want but I’m only willing to die for something that has a chance of success.”

That was fair enough. But working together, he thought they could do it. If only he could find a way to explain it, when they were somewhere he could do so.