Hive Minds are very dangerous, as the only effective means of destroying a hive is to kill everyone and everything belonging to the hive, starting with the Queen. That is easier said than done, given the fact that the Queen is almost always surrounded and protected by her Royal Guards.
Then there are countless of drones, basically infected individuals enslaved to the Hive Mind, one must go through in order to get into the hive.
Drones can be very troublesome, as their number can multiply rapidly under the right situation.
This is because a drone can infect other people through bodily contact, and those infected people can also infect others without becoming a drone themselves. As that is the case, an entire population of a world can become infected within a relatively short span of time.
It can be equated to a highly contagious virus.
Good thing that the Life Zone is sealed off from the outside world, or I cannot imagine how impossible it is to eradicate the hive.
In any case, I can assume that the military base has fallen to the Hive. The same military base that my mother is currently at. It still does not explain why she is in mortal danger, however, as being infected or becoming a drone does not kill a person. Unless the Hive Mind demands sacrifice.
As that might be the case, the reason for my mother being harmed is –
"You have been killing the infected?" the Major asks the right question, and like me, she already knows the answer She just wants to hear it from those who has assumed command while she was away.
The other people in the room sigh deeply. They are very stressed, and it is understandable since they have to make all the hard decisions. Soldiers merely follow orders while the people in command must live with their decision.
"We have no choice, Major" one of the Captains defends. "If we do nothing –
"There is always a choice!" the Major scolds furiously, and her anger (or maybe frustration) is evident within the shrouding flames. "I want all my men tested and double tested immediately."
"Yes, of course," the people nod in agreement, and one of the soldiers left the tent as requested. "But what if they are infected, Major? As far as we know, there is no way to reverse the infection."
"Then I shall deal with them myself," the Major responses as she scans through the pages of the given dossier. "Doctor Becket. He discovers the infection within one of the civilians. Is he still around?"
"Sorry, Major. He is the first casualty amongst the civilians. It is not because he is infected, but rather, he reports his finding to the wrong person – another infected. The infected seem to know what other infected know, so we cannot take any chances."
That is one of the greatest strengths of a Hive Mind, as all information is shared within the hive. Drones are basically eyes and ears of the Queen, and because of that, she definitely knows about the survivors here.
In fact, I can assume she is sending a strike force, and it will be one hell of a slaughter, considering that the primary goal of a strike force is to remove any threats to the Queen.
I should return immediately, and it is easy as severing the spiritual connection to my Spiritual Body.