Louise floated up to consciousness and tried to figure out what had happened. She could feel herself laying on a cold flat surface, likely metal from the feel of it, and her entire body ached. She opened her eyes and saw above her a massive vaulted domed ceiling, glimmering a brilliant deep purple. The color of the ceiling made all her memories come back in a flash and she bolted upright immediately, or she would have but her body did not want to respond, causing her to only twitch slightly.
"So you wake then?" came a light, slightly screechy but almost seductive voice of a woman from behind her.
Louise turned her head to the side, cringing at her screaming muscles, and finally found the owner of the voice. Before her was a creature unlike any she had seen before, with eight long legs supporting a humanoid form, similar to that of a woman's. Her arms had two elbows in them, with long, spiky three pronged ends that likely acted as hands. Her head was sleek and had no visible eyes, nostrils, or a mouth upon it.
"Something wrong, dear?" the creature questioned, its head pulsing with feint blue lines as it spoke.
"Er, uh. No, I just. You are?"
"I'm sorry, the overlord didn't exactly give you in depth overviews of the finer details did he?"
"Um, no. I, ow, my head."
"That's normal, your . . . . headache? Will subside soon I think. It is just your mind resorting and arranging the new information you have been given.
"Information? Wha- ow!"
"Yes. You do recall, don't you?"
"I took the overlords offer, and then he shot a glowing ball in me and- . . . what happened after that?"
"That ball of light was a concentrated ball of both knowledge spanning thousands of years, and of DNA altering ichor Hypercondences."
"So it was information and a DNA altering energy to do as we had-. . . . . . . . wait, how do I understand this , . . . . miss?"
"Oh, forgive me. I neglected to introduce myself. My name is Shil'ka Sectlord of Traveler-59; it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance potential Sectlord Lu'eez."
"Potential, right. I remember everything now. So you're the Sectlord, of Traveler?"
"Indeed I am, and have been since my people joined the Scrin. It has been far too long since there was new potential to add to the cause."
"I, er, thank you," Louise said. "Do you know why can't I move?"
"The ichor hypercondences are still positioning themselves through your body, and the augmentation is beginning. The hypercondences are disabling your movement to make it safer. You should be able to move in a few moments now that you're awake. Are you not wondering why I am here?"
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"The overlord is quite busy so after you were infused by the ichor you were brought here."
"Where is here exactly?"
"We're on the Sectlord level of the ichor hubs central spire."
"There is an entire level just for Sectlord's?"
"Oh it's not that major. It's just for the primary combat Sectlord's, and there's only about a half dozen of us, not counting yourself.
"Just six!"
"Yes, the rest deal with terraforming, research and the like.
"What is your speciality then?"
"Traveler focuses on speed tactics and local species subjugation. My sect has had only one recorded failure, over 3 dexacycles ago."
"Three, dexa, cycle. . . . That is. . . . . .over thirty thousand years!"
"Yes. Quite a bit of time really."
"So you're at least that old?"
"Exactly as old as my sect exactly. So almost 4 dexacycles."
"That's, really old!"
"Not really, considering that the Scrin's presence in the universe and its history go pack over a thousand dexacycles.
Louise looked at Shil'ka in shock. "Th- that long?"
"Yes, my own original species only had a history of a few thousand years before joining the Scrin. Probably similar to your own, am I right?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I figured as much. Can you stand now?"
Louise tilted her head and then slowly, but surely pulled herself up to a sitting position and then stood up, wobbling as she did. "Barely, I feel queasy."
"That's normal. It helps to get up and walk around, and I was intending to show you around the Hub and explain our culture to you, if you're up for it?"
Louise looked at Shil'ka and only then realized that even with her massive multi legged body she was only half again as tall as the average woman in Halkeginia, making Louise grimace at their height difference. "What do you mean? I thought the overlord gave me all the knowledge I would need. Isn't that why I have a splitting headache still."
"Yes. But the information that has been given to you is primarily basic and advanced scientific knowledge and military. The cultural knowledge is left out initially as a lesser being's head would literally explode from so much information being forced in."
Louise glared at Shil'ka. "So that's what I am, huh? A lesser being?"
"No, that's what you WERE. You stopped being a lesser being when you accepted the overlord's proposal. You are a Scrin Sectlord. Potentially."
"I don't feel any different, besides my headache that is."
"It takes a while for the Hypercondences to spread through your system. Once they do, they will slowly and safely alter your body's construction. But we can talk of that later, would you not like to see the Hub?"
Louise looked to Shil'ka and nodded.
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After what seemed like an eternity of going down circular ramp ways, Louise, riding on Shil'ka's back at her request, came to a massive doorway and stepped through it and into the Ichor hub.
Around the Central core was a massive circular courtyard with sections of vibrant green ichor crystal everywhere. Beyond the courtyard Louise could see massive buildings of every shape and size, some that even looked impossible in their construction. The ground beneath the crystal looked exactly like dirt while everything else she saw looked like it was made of deep purple, blue, or black metals. And above, a blanket of night sky covered all, more vibrant and beautiful than she could imagine. There was no moon, but there did not need to be.
"I've never seen so many stars!" Louise whispered.
Shil'ka turned her head to look back at Louise who was still sitting comfortably on her back. "Yes, it is quite beautiful, isn't it? My own home planet has its beauty as well, but something is just undeniably beautiful about a sky without an atmosphere in the way of the stars."
"Yeah I. . . . What?"
"Oh right, you wouldn't know. The ichor hub is not a planet but an artificial construction, and as such has only minimal atmosphere. Don't worry though, you're not in danger."
"Oh, good. . . It took me a second to realize what atmosphere was, and why I needed it."
"It's both the perk and the curse of being given information cycles ahead of your species' knowledge base, I went through it too so I know how you feel." Shil'ka stated as she walked through the courtyard and down a 'street'.
"Um"
"Yes?"
"I have a question."
"Then I'll do my best to answer it, ask away!"
"Both the prodigy I came here with and the overlord had odd voices that seemed to echo and come from all directions at once. Why doesn't yours?"
"That wasn't their voices. It was their minds speaking directly to yours."
"So, telepathy then. Why?"
"They knew that you would be unable to understand our language as you were, so spoke to your mind directly with their meanings. Slightly difficult if you don't use it often but most Scrin can do it. You should be able to as well."
"I see. So your voice doesn't sound that way because with the knowledge I now have I understand your language flawlessly."
"Yes. Your language is similar to others we have encountered so we understood it already."
"I see. That makes sense." Louise commented as she looked around and could see all matter of both humanoid and insectoid beings walking down the streets, talking to each other, and what even looked like some smaller ones playing. "So Scrin have kids as well then."
"Of course. Our people have jobs, must eat and have families like most other species. Our peoples have a greater lifespan than most sentient species as well, but nothing is eternal. Except us, that is."
"What do you mean?"
"Only the overlord's army have the curse and the gift of eternally serving our people. The common person must earn their lives, education, jobs, families and everything else. Only the overlord, us Sectlord's, our secondary's, Supervisors and foremen live as long as our life permits. Because our job is so important to the continuation of our species we live endlessly, unless we fail and are killed."
"Immortality to serve the people with, that kind of sounds nice in a way."
"It is, but it is also very hard as well. We can still have families and the like, but will always outlive them."
"I see. What do normal people think of the Sectlords?" Louise asked as she looked around and saw almost every second person bow, or greet them in some way or another.
"It's . . . complicated. Most of the Scrin show us great respect, after all without our work our entire society would collapse. But there are some that look down on us, being un-aging. They believe everyone should be given the gift, or curse as some think of it."
"Why would they think that?"
"Since the event of a Sectlord actually falling rarely happens some think we are un-killable, which is untrue. They think that if everyone was given the gift then more people could join our military."
"You mean they can't?"
Shil'ka looked over her shoulder to Louise. "Knowledge still sorting?"
"Yeah, I don't quite have the grasp on the military stuff yet, though if you want to ask me a question on particle physics I think I could handle it!" Louise exclaimed with a slight grin.
"I'll pass. Our military is mostly comprised of bio mechanical drones that are unable to disobey commands. There are only a few classes of units that are actually sentient people. Leaders like us and the supervisors. And our most skilled ground commandos, like the prodigy that brought you here."
"No other soldier is actually sentient?"
"Perhaps sentient was the wrong word, but basically. Even our most power constructs are drones, the only ones that are not are creatures from my home world that we call a Hexapod."
"It's intelligent then?"
"If by intelligent you mean a native beast that when augmented becomes a near unstoppable beast of destruction that has a habit of eating corpses, then yes."
"Oh, so beast of destruction, gotcha. How would a normal person join the military anyway? Do they try to become prodigies or something?"
"No not quit, most join to become foreman, most commandoes are picked from those lots as well."
"I see. Must be tough."
"To an extent. Shall we head back to the hub?"
"Why. Isn't there more to see?"
"Other than more residential zones and the wall of thresholds that circle the Hub, not really. Unless you want to see the zones that create most of our drones and sends them out to our foremen and supervisors."
"Er, maybe another time."
"That's what I thought. Beside you'll need to rest your mind."
"Why?"
"The hypercondenses should have positioned around your body and begun changing you. But your mind will change little except for its build. Become of this, you will still need to rest your mind, as all creatures must."
". . . Wait, how long has it been then?"
"Going by your home world's counting of time . . . . About two days, almost three, I would guess."
"Oh."
"Time flies by quickly here on the hub. Without a star to orbit it makes having any way to calculate time more difficult than on a planet."
"I guess it would be. I guess I should ask this now then. Do Sectlord's have quarters or anything like that?"
"Yes, we have personal quarters for when on the hub. And yes you do as well, though they will be smaller than an actual Sectlord's quarters. For obvious reasons."
"Yes I'm small. I know that!" Louise growled.
Shil'ka looked at Louise and tilted her head. "What? No, your quarters are smaller because you're a potential Sectlord, not a full one."
"Oh. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Though I can only hope the quarters work for you."
"What do you mean?"
"I do not know how yours have been set up, so I cannot say if they will suit you or not."
"We'll see then I guess, huh."
"Yep, I'll show you to where your room should be when we get back to the hub."
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Louise groaned as she walked down the halls of the Central tower. Shil'ka had told her that her room had been marked by a symbol she would be familiar with, which would have been fine. The only problem was that there were an insane number of rooms around her, and her mind had begun recognizing Scrin characters, forcing her to read every doorway she came to.
She was about to scream in frustration when she came to a door that was not quite right. The door had an actual sliding handle, instead of the clasps like the others had, and above it instead of a Scrin or Halkeginian character was the symbol of a pentagram.
"Of all the symbols to use." Louise muttered as she slid the door open and stepped in, closing the door behind her. As the door slid shut a single red crystal of ichor in the ceiling lit up and illuminated the room. It was about the same size as the rooms at the Tristanian Magic Academy but instead of a bed, desk and cabinet, there was a long table to one side beside a window and in the corner was what looked like a large net. She walked over to the net, as it was the only thing that even close to resembled a bed, and sat on its edge. It was made of some kind of soft cabling, and was very springy. No longer caring what it looked like, and now feeling the ache of her mind from the headaches and from being awake for almost three days straight, Louise threw herself onto the center of the net, and fell into blissful slumber.
Authors note: okay so second chapter out. I hope everything is fine considering how much I looked it over but if a part of the Scrin culture that I have shown here does not make sense please say so and I shall attempt to explain better in a future chapter or authors note. Other than that I hope you enjoy!
