“The city sure is lively!” May leaned into Dan’s side, a grin on her face as they watched the streets below. “How many people do you think there are?”
“Ultron has the count at five hundred thousand Mandalorians, plus about fifteen million Taurill,” Dan returned his Wife’s smile and squinted at the newest group of arrivals. “It looks like the Killiks have arrived.”
A cluster of varied insect forms, all covered in the familiar black of Venom’s clones, drifted through the street like an iceberg. They were the first, representatives of the Colony who would speak for all of their kind.
“There are so many different varieties…” May leaned over the balcony for a better look. “A thousand different species, maybe more!”
“The Killiks have countless sub-species and variations,” Dan nodded as he held the back of May’s shirt, an anchor that kept her from falling to the crowd below. “Each one is a different hive mind, individuals form the Colony.”
This species had built the galaxy's most advanced technology, under the direction of beings they called the Architects. The name was another title for Celestials, in their final days before they turned from the workings of mortals. With Venom as the principle mind behind their subconscious, they were destined to be one of Krypton’s greatest allies.
“Let’s go say hello,” May tugged at his grip until he relented. She slipped from their perch and slid down the side of the building. Her new symbiote suit covered her form, a deep, silver blue highlighted in black. “Last one there, has to tidy Merlyn’s study!”
“None will overtake us!” May’s symbiote, self titled as Mayhem, growled a challenge to her father.
Dan laughed and lept after her, wings extended to the skies as he dove like a hawk. They had a week, before he had to address the Deathwatch Mandalorians. Of all the groups, they had caused the most friction. Unfamiliar rules combined with Ultron’s arrogant enforcement, raised tensions to an unwelcome degree.
“System, what is the completion level for the quest?”
[Quest has passed into compleatable levels. 98% percent of Garnib’s population has a favourable impression of you and your family. Bonus rewards are still available for higher satisfaction levels.]
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Dan sighed as he landed, just ahead of May. The Vernol holdouts stood between him and a perfect score. Once they settled the Killiks into their quarters, Dan planned himself a visit to the skittish lizards.
“Greetings to the Colony,” Dan gave a small bow to the legion of black toned insects. “It is an honour to meet beings that remember the faces of the Architects.”
“The Nest of Nest’s greets you,” A large mantis analoge stepped forward, covered in smaller beetle forms. “The Venom has shown us your plan, a return to the glory of the past. The Killik have long dreamed of the days when we moved the universe, but without the Architects…”
“The Architects live, but they have abandoned the galaxy,” Dan shrugged. “With my help, you can surpass their works, build something to show them their mistake in leaving you behind.”
A ripple ran through the menagerie of bugs, a chitter that hit frequencies above the human ear. They sang for several minutes, a communication between the various hives. The speaker stepped forward once more, a single thumb sized beetle on the tip of its claw.
“We can accept your alliance, but you must carry one of us with you,” The mantis offered Dan the scarab. “Take her on your travels, as long as they are safe, and we can agree to join your dream.”
‘You’ve blocked their pheromone production, right Venom?’ Dan took the tiny creature into his hand. It scurried up his arm, to a position just below his neck.
‘We have. No joiners will be created without our permission,’ Venom whispered into his mind. ‘Should we allow the Mandalorians to be converted?’
‘Not yet…’ Dan smiled at the Killik and spoke once more. “I can agree to that, I’d like to request a population of some of your smaller members.” He motioned to the tiny beetle on his shoulder. “I’d like to have them keep watch on things on the planet's surface, preferably unobserved.”
----------------------------------------
“So these are the Vernol,” Dan hovered, a bloom of pale white plasma at his feet. “They seem like pretty good neighbours…”
The land around their settlement was pristine, a curated exaggeration of the natural environment. They had cultivated an ocean of edible planets, arranged in organic clusters and surrounded by small foraging mammals.
Here and there, a Vernol gathered from the land, or hunted small game. No heavy industry existed, just enough advanced technology to make life smooth. Dan understood why they had rejected the service drones.
“They don’t need them…” He muttered as he drifted closer to the city centre. “This is a sustainable system.”
The drones would throw things into an imbalance. What would a culture of gatherers do, if their jobs vanished overnight? Dan would have to do more than bribe these people, if he wanted their support for his senate pick. It was unnecessary, since he had a supermajority already, but the system promised more for a higher percentage.
“Let’s take a look,” Dan descended between the stark, concrete structures as he prodded Venom into action. “Can you identify any buildings that have higher concentrations of technology?”
“Two large constructions contain industrial equipment, while a third holds a large data network,” the symbiote grumbled as it used the functions of Ultron’s technology to hack the mainframe. “We can find no useful data within it, just personal logs and bureaucratic irrelevancies.”
Dan had expected as much. This place was rustic, for a futuristic settlement of over three hundred thousand beings. If Venom had found a weapons cash, he would have been suspicious.
“That’s fine, it’s probably the place we’re looking for,” Dan shifted to target a functional, three story building. “I want to talk with their Governor about what this settlement needs from its neighbours.”