Olivia could hear them murmuring about her arm, and cursed herself for regrowing it. She should have just left it off, and feigned anger and pain.
"I see you have strong pet, that makes good food," said the male Gooblen, covered in tribal scaring.
"Of course! I am one of the Old Mother's first born," said Granny, turning up her nose at him.
Instead of being upset about her snotty attitude, it only seemed to make him more friendly. Olivia couldn't understand these creatures. First, he wanted to eat them, and now he was trying to curry favor to breed her. Her age alone should have been enough to turn him off, but instead it only made him more interested.
They were led into a small crowded room, where old Gooblens lounged around a throne made of bones. These Gooblens were all male, wrinkled more than Granny, skinny, and covered in tribal tattoos and scars. Each one had at least one weapon, that looked handmade, and easily accessible.
"Old Motha ahead. I don't go in." The male that had led them this far turned on his heel and left, still munching on her arm. Olivia winced as he grinned at her, blood leaking out of his mouth.
"I seek Old Mother," said Granny loudly and authoritatively.
The warriors around the throne all turned to look at her, but one stood up to look her up and down. This was the first time Olivia had ever seen a Gooblen with facial hair. The mustache and beard were long and thin, but it was still facial hair.
"Who are you?" he asked, sneering at her.
"Glyfzi?" asked a voice that was soft and strangely feminine.
All of the warriors in the room scrambled to their feet, as if they were startled to hear the voice. The throne started to turn, and Olivia realized it wasn't a throne, it was a robe. Every Gooblen in the room fell to their knees, including Granny.
The old wizened Gooblen that Olivia could see peeking out from under the bones, had pure white eyes. The tribal tattoos that covered her wrinkled skin were all but glowing a faint purple. As she shifted and stepped out from under the bones, her robes, that had been hidden in the dark, were a deeper purple than the tattoos.
"My first daughter. You have returned to me." The words were soft, and barely audible.
"Old Mother, I return, with a problem." Granny's voice cracked, and she couldn't seem to look up from the floor in front of her.
"Daughter, you come with a problem, yes, but, also a solution for us."
Those white eyes turned to Olivia and traveled over her body, causing her to feel naked all of a sudden. This creature was terrifying!
XxxxX
Dustin looked over the front deck of the ship, and nodded, pleased with himself. He had rebuilt everything to his specs, using the parts that they had available. It had become so convenient to use the nanobots to do everything, he had forgotten how fun it was to disassemble and rebuild things.
The people he had saved, he had removed their implants, to make sure that the AI couldn't take control of them again, using the medical equipment on board the ship. They were far too willing to do what he told them to do, and he feared the AI had caused them to have a feeble will after so long under its control. It might be too dangerous to take them back to his planet, as they would be used by the others as nothing more than slave labor.
Leaning back in his chair, after finishing the new programming for the ship's computer, he thought about the girl Cybele, that had changed herself to be his perfect mate. The horrible thing was, she had looked too much like Olivia to suit him. He would rather have Olivia back, than get someone new.
So many people, that weren't Uz'En, meant he was going to need someplace for them all. His planet was already getting a little crowded with all of the Uz'En they had acquired over the past decade. He almost needed another planet for the non-Uz'En to live on, then if some of his Uz'En wanted to bleed over to it, they could. Maybe the fuel planet? It was nice, but needed a tweak to the atmosphere to make it livable…
"Dustin?" came a hesitant voice from the doorway. "The next shipment of supplies has arrived, and we thought you would like to know?"
Dustin turned to see a young man standing at the door, holding a tablet up that contained the contents of what had just been delivered. Standing, he took the list, and scrolled through it quickly. Tapping a few of them, he handed it back.
"Have these brought in here, so I can use them. Is the food I got alright with all of you? I noticed you seem to have issues with dairy products."
"The new foods are satisfactory, thank you," he said, ducking his head and turning to leave.
Dustin sat back down, and brought up a new program. There was a video that he was embedding with several nasty viruses. If anyone tried to take it down, they would be hit hard with the viruses. He was hoping the AI would try and take it down, because after the damage he had already hit it with, these would finish it off. Even if it had developed an antivirus protection, by attempting to take the video down, it would be opening itself up to attack by these nasty bugs.
The irony wasn't lost on him, that as much as he hated real living bugs, he was now using virtual ones to kill his current enemy. This current one, that he was going to attach to the video was based off of the nightmare bug that still occasionally gave him nightmares. Just touching the thing could cause damage to any program.
As the crates were set down, the people made a hasty retreat, and he opened them with pleasure. Inside were upgrade parts to his computer that would allow holographic displays and physical interaction with his programs. They would allow him a more personal touch when designing the viruses. With a huge grin on his face, he got started installing everything.
"He hasn't eaten, do you think he is alright?" whispered one of the people from the hall, where they were peeking into the room, watching him.
"He kept us alive, by cycling the air, and grew food on his body for us to eat. I am not going to question anything this deity can do. He is far more powerful than the one that brought us enlightenment."
The first speaker nodded, and they returned to their watching.