5 minutes of Orchid ferrying me through the void swimmer later, we passed through a 'door' threshold. The moment we did, I felt a gentle force wash over me which lifted me into the air. 'No tentacles this time fortunately.' For a moment before the notion was squashed as a large tentacle reached out for me in mid air before pulling me closer to its wielder.
"This one is sorry little Apollo-mate. This one is aware of your discomfort towards my tendrils" The agitator claimed, its voice as soothing as the first time I heard it. "It's not discomfort per se, it's more an irrational distaste. Please don't feel bad or anything, with prolonged exposure I'll get comfortable with them." I said hoping to make the being happier. It is also considered my mate after all...
"This one is glad to hear you say this, as the next week of travel Apollo-mate shall spend his time with this one." The psionic agitator relayed its voice traced with a tinge of excitement.
"All week?" I asked puzzled. "Is that how long it takes to check my mind for possible damage?"
"This one assessed your mind the moment you were in this ones embrace Apollo-mate. The next week we shall be strengthening your mental defence so you can be in the presence of the queen-brain and testing which aptitudes you have in psionic manipulation so we may better guide you in the future our mate."
"I understand the first part, Orchid has had to cut her psionic link with me a few times in order for the queen to relay orders to her without affecting me. But what are these aptitudes you mentioned?" I asked excitedly. I had thought my ability in psionics were purely telepathic in nature so thinking that I could have other types of powers I have only dreamed of enticed me greatly.
"This one shall explain. Psionic manipulation is more than just telepathy through Psionic links. The hive uses this ability to extreme flawlessness compared to other races who if not trusting of each other their minds will rupture attempting to link even more than 2. However, there are other abilities the hive and certain elites can wield such as This one. "This one was created with mutation in its telepathic ability allowing for a new psionic power, telekinesis. The hive brain herself through devouring so much biomass has developed almost all forms of psionic powers therefore is able to tell through some tests which powers you may or may not have."
I furrowed my brows. 'That's quite the explanation.' "How do these tests work? They aren't invasive in any way are they?" "No need to fret Apollo-mate, the tests will be done whilst you are asleep. This one needs to enter your mind and find your Psionic origin, the source of your power. And you being awake may cause your defences to flare up and as we said we never wish to cause you harm."
I thought for a moment of course they wouldn't wouldn't hurt me but the idea of something 'digging' in my mind left me uneasy. However, the idea of knowing which abilities I have far outweigh my concerns so I stated "You have my complete trust o' future mate, but before you set me off to sleep can you place me back in my Orchid pouch? I feel at ease there." A grggling sound came from who knows where out of the agitator in front of me before it relayed with a twinge of glee. "Of course Apollo mate." She started moving me back to Orchid " Your comfort and happiness means more to us than anything in this universe and we are truly glad you trust us so."
Once strapped back into my mobile cot, Orchid made me feed as she wasn't sure how long this would take. Usually the hive instantly knows any mutation in its 'limbs' as they are all connected, but it could take a while with me considering they are going to take extra care with me. After having my fill I naturally felt drowsy and fell asleep peacefully.
Once asleep, Orchid re-established her link with the hive and relayed to the agitator. "He would name you if you asked, you know? Although we could feel mate-spawns trepidations about us at first he clearly cares for us now." "This one is aware designation Orchid, but the hive fears him giving names to us with stronger psionic might. The queen brain thinks it may damper our abilities as although we have autonomy like you freethinkers most of our might comes straight from the collective whole and giving us an individual name may suppress our link. We may all care deeply for Apollo, but not all of us are to be with him in his future; we are content just seeing him through the link." The agitator paused, caressing my sleeping face. "Just knowing this one has been able to caress future mate and be of help to him is more than enough. Besides, the queen made it clear no more names till she has received her name gift."
Orchid looked up at the floating kin in front of her; she wasn't aware of some of the things the agitator had said to her which left her scared. Although now almost fully autonomous thanks to her new freedoms of bio-infiltrator class, she was still ultimately made to be a freethinker and although yes the freethinkers still had autonomy, they always had an understanding of what the hive at large was thinking, doing ,attacking and devouring but now she actively had to access her link and although she didn't realise it at first due to always being with Apollo, she now realised how lonely and isolated from the rest of the hive she felt.
"DESIGNATION ORCHID" The queen herself feeling Orchids worry entered the link personally. "WHAT YOU ARE FEELING IS UNDERSTANDABLE, I NEVER MADE YOU FOR THIS PURPOSE, BUT THE FREEDOMS I GAVE YOU WAS FOR A REASON MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU WERE DESIGNED TO DO. OUR FUTURE MATE IS BONDED TO YOU NOW I CAN FEEL IT EVERY TIME I WATCH YOUR PSIONIC LINK FROM THE OUTSIDE. YOU MAY FEEL ALONE NOW BUT KNOW YOUR NEW FUNCTION IS ONE THING. TO CARE FOR OUR MATE IN A WAY THE COLLECTIVE HIVE CANNOT. ALTHOUGH NOW ISOLATED YOU ARE STILL US NEVER FORGET."
With that the queen left Orchid to ponder for a moment. A newfound pride filled her thorax. The queen was right. Although isolated, what she received in turn was a gift. In the whole hive, the one Mate-spawn Apollo felt closest to was her! The entire time on the ship, although incapable to move on his own currently, Apollo only wished to be with her. Stopping her unconscious stroking of Apollos face with her stump she re-linked with the agitator and said. "Apologies for the delay agitator, please find our mates gifts, there must be plenty just observe how perfect he is." "Yes he is indeed perfect. You should enter torpor for a while designation Orchid, you have yet to do so since Apollo-minor. Mate should be asleep at least 12 hours and this one can provide nutrients directly to his brain while I search for the origin."
"Orchid shall listen to your advice agitator" With that, Orchid hunched down a bit now only 3 meters tall instead of her usual 5. Her pitch black eyes were still open, but her mind was now entering a state of rest.It was needed more than she thought. Her care for her mate, the only thing allowing her to still perform at peak.
With Orchid now resting the agitator got to work. Although not physically entering her host's brain, a psionic user's mind is usually paradoxically larger than its body, therefore it takes a while to navigate the whole thing . The queen for example's mind is theoretically as large as her furthest 'limb.' Truly gigantic; on par with gods if they exist. The psionic might she radiates is enough to destroy any threat that even gets close to her planet's solar system. Not that Apollo is anywhere close to that.
The first thing the agitator did was 'massage' Apollo's mind defences into allowing her access. It helped that they have had psionic communication before and the defences didn't consider her a threat it didn't take long for her to make a way in and once she was in, she was rather shocked Apollo's mind was much bigger than any humans she has seen before. Her main function on a battlefield was to attack other psionically gifted users minds and in a very crude definition, 'Burst' Their minds open so she has definitely seen her fair share of how human minds should look like.
As she was probing gently through her mates mind, she grew confused from time to time a lot of her mates mind was blocked off from her in a way the hive has never seen before. Out of respect for her mate and self preservation, as those that were blocked off seemed more defended than his own Mindspace barrier, she ignored them. After a few hours of probing her mate's mind, she found what she was looking for and it made her stop.
It made the whole hive stop. For the second time a week after the first. The entire hivemind let out another huge cloud of mating pheromones.
What the psionic agitator had seen had put every single female body the hive possessed into a heat like state.