Memory Transcription Subject: Dominus, Herd Masters Leader

  Date [standardized human time]: January 6, 2137

  One, two, one, two. Fifteen laps around the ship. Fifteen more to go.

  One, two, one, two, one, twooo. Damn, I'm tired. I grab the water bottle around my waist, quickly chugging a gulp down while still jogging. Not even half way, come on.

  One, two, one, two, on-e, twoo, one, two, two, one, one, two, one, two, on-e, twoo, one-e, tw-w-o, on… I pause for a quick moment, my legs shaking from exhaustion and strain, my chest beating like crazy, and my lungs burning up. I clench my teeth in frustration, my body wanting me to pant using my mouth, but I'm not allowing it. This is it? This is my natural limit, after all this time of unrelenting training?

  I crouch, feeling myself succumb to the weariness. Combined with how early I'm waking up, and how it’s still nighttime here on this side of Aafa, the energy is sapping away faster with each step everyday. But I can't give up. For both the sake of the Federation at large, and my team. I need to be their symbol of discipline in this turbulent time. They need a sense of control and order, otherwise, they fall apart.

  I get myself back up, one using my appadages as support on my knee and another on the cold metal floor. Through sheer determination, I work through the fading feeling of somnolence and debilitation, and force myself to keep going. I still don’t need to use the stimulants, I can do this. Come on.

  I cross the half way point, using all my might and any remaining energy I can find in reserve, but then, I feel something working up in my lungs, and stop myself, not feeling too well. Feeling something going up my throat, I go next to the landing wheel closest to me of our ship, and brace myself.

  I begin to cough up, my purple blood dialluded with the water I drank from earlier. I cough and cough again, putting my appendage to my mouth, as more blood came out. As it stopped, I looked at my blue tentacle arm, having greater shade of purple than before. As I looked at it, I noticed something else dripping from my face and onto my arm. More blood?

  I put my other appadange, the one that I've gripped onto the wheel to hold me up, to the source of the leak, which I noticed it was coming from my nostrils. I began to wipe it away, only to then realize how dirty I was looking, with blood covering my right arm and my left appendage, parts of my face as well as the horrible taste in my own mouth. Disgusting.

  Damnit. I think I need a break after all. At least, to clean myself. Can’t have the others see or know this.

  I began to walk out of the hangar, the door sensors recognizing my motion and opening, and to the nearest bathroom. Inside, I gather some paper towels and begin to dry the blood, still wet. I made sure to not drip a single drop of the purple liquid on the way here, I don’t need anybody to worry about this. It’s not the first time this has happened, so I'm not worried. According to the doctors at the hospital, Kolshians store water in their lungs, and when we are put through extreme and constant physical exertion, we cough blood and water. Although this is the first time it has ever come out of my nose.

  Finishing cleaning myself, I threw away the blood soaked towels to the garbage chute, and looked at myself in the mirror. There were small black circles forming beneath my eyes barely noticeable, probably from the lack of sleep, and the inside of my mouth still had blood. Deciding to take care of the insomnia here, I turn on the faucet, and start splashing water onto my face, tongue and open eyes. Already, I'm feeling a little better, as the cold water touches my skin, and a little more awake.

  Drying everything, and spitting everything out, I feel a rumble coming from my shoulder. Knowing it’s my holopad on mute mode, I grab it, looking over the notifications.

  (MyShadowHerd) [Stovos #D9341] directly blooped you: Just delivered the [weekly] supply of stimulants from the hospital! Same place as always!

  Well, wouldn't you know it. Sighing, I finish my business here by doing a quick run over to see if I have any more blood left on my face, and when it's done, I exit the bathroom, going through the corridor to the front entrance of our headquarters.

  When I arrived back at the hangar that day, after my brain scan, there was a feeling of defeatism in the air. Supernova’s defeat was still fresh in the team’s minds, alongside the deaths of Qouso and Bepona. I felt terrible when their families asked me to bring in their mortal remains, and had to find the courage to tell them they got atomized out of existence, right to their faces.

  Predators will take everything you love with their jaws, and snatch it away from you when you least expect it.

  We all had underestimated the human threat, me included. We thought them as primitive Arxurs, using their predator friends as a bailout for their incompetence. But, above all, I was the one to blame for this. I always downplayed them from the very start, loafing the humans from the very start to Lorqon or the team at large. The Herd Masters look to me for guidance, training, and advice. I selectively pick each member to be best suited for the role of a Herd Master Aviator, and because of this, we are the best aviator team in the shadow caste’s history so far. Our statistics showed it.

  So, my speech wasn’t just fiery, it was personally emotional. I admitted I had failed them, and that it wasn’t their fault for the fall of Tellis, it was mine alone. I told who our enemy was that day, and how, because of my arrogance, I essentially lied to my team about the dangers of humanity. But, I told them we were not done. I went on to tell of our past victories, how many raids we have stopped single handedly before, and while this war is our greatest challenge yet, it was just a test, to cement the herd masters in history! I told them that with the plan I had devised since they were asleep, we would defeat Supernova and their aviators, and our herd shall come from it more powerful than before, and the federation at large, secured and improved!

  Their spirits were promptly lifted. They trusted me before, and they know me not just as their leader, but as their friend. They shouted in enthusiasm, Irana calling for the murder of Supernova, and then Paulilas and Sabelino, and Tronho even asked if we could bombard Earth again, once the time came. Lorqon was right ahead of me, smiling, and I could see with his ears and tail swinging. He was filled with hope.

  With that, came the first part of my plan the next day. I had already contacted the shadow caste before and told them about my upgrades to our training grounds we already have in orbit near the moon, but they said those were going to take a little while to get finished. No problem, we could already start training immediately, right here in the hangar.

  I looked through all approved federation exercises catalog, because if bepona’s last words were correct, she died because of a lack of oxygen. We needed to train both our endurance and something to let blood flow more freely from our heads to the rest of our body. This, combined with our suits, would make us truly unstoppable. Unfortunately, there wasn't much.

  The shadow caste itself does not exercise, so the techniques I got came from our Exterminator guilds, some of which maintained themselves in shape to be the best predator killing machines. To train our endurance, they suggested doing laps in groups, as a herd, to train our cardiovascular systems ceaselessly, as it was the most prey-like way to train ourselves against predators. But as for an exercise to train our blood flow, we were out of luck.

  The only one I got recommended was this: Get on the floor and put a heavy weight around the back of your neck and head, like a box of food supplements, or multiple, and try to lift it up only using your neck and head. The heavier, the better, they said. Although I'm seeing a small improvement overall, I've already had to send Gabrilos and Lebius to the hospital on the accounts of a broken spine.

  But that wasn’t all. Because of the demands of the war, and how fast things we’re moving, we couldn't afford to lack and be left behind by neither Supernova or the Humans. Who knows when we could get called to relieve another world, only to be unprepared by predator tricks. So, we began to train everyday, with no breaks nor rest. I could already tell this was going to be hard, since not even when the first day of training was over, my team was exhausted. Prey bodies weren’t built for the excessive and constant physical exertion I was putting them through.

  Yet I thought we could manage. If one of us was doing great despite everything, maybe I could project him as a symbol for the others to keep going. That was until the third day, when Tronho injured his paw leg while running and stumbled, breaking his other leg, and the others complained how sore their neck and legs felt, burning lungs, no energy, and other issues. They gave me a suggestion, to use our suits while training, which I quickly denied. It would beat the very purpose of our training! Still, I understood their concerns, but I simply still couldn't ease the training, most certainly when we are still this early in! So, I contacted R&D again.

  They had something we could use, so I ordered it right away. It was a special cocktail of different stimulants that gave us a massive boost of energy that lasted throughout an entire day, heightened our senses and starved us of sleep. They assured me there were no side-effects, but I think I misheard them, my insomnia is doing that sometimes, and what they told me then was that there were no recorded side-effects.

  I arrive at the welcoming area of our headquarters, the sounds of the doors closing and the lights humming greeting me, the sound buzzing back and forth in the cream white floor and sky blue walls. I look at the welcoming desk, and find the satchel full of stimulants there, besides the digital automated holopad.

  No one mans our reception desks at all hours of the day, so we use this in case we have any visitors, which aren’t many. Our courier, Stovos, the same Kolshian who does my brain scans, lives conventionally between the hospital which produces the stimulants and our headquarters. He also wakes up early because of his job so it isn’t much for him to grab for us and drop it here, thank his soul. Although I still remember the first day he delivered, and rang the facility bell and woke everybody up.

  The familiar loud chime gives in to a loud voice. “HELLO?! DOMINUS?! I’M HERE WITH THE DRUGS! FROM THE HOSPITAL THAT YOU ORDERED!”

  OH FUCKING DAMMIT! I push the weights against my neck to the side, and race to the entrance as fast as I can. Doesn't he know the headquarter bell rings through the entire facility, along with his voice?!

  With my lungs burning and my legs tired, I lock eyes with him, leaning against the desk and looking at his holopad, unbothered and not knowing what he just did. When he sees me, he puts it aside. “Oh hey! It's right here!” He points at the satchel*. “Gonna take my l-”*

  “Do you know how loud that bell is?” I employ the most serious face I could muster. “You just woke up every single member of my team, and I haven't even told them yet about this.”

  “O-oh!” He puts his appadages in front of me. “I’m sorry, dominus! I didn’t know! I swear!”

  I sigh, closing my eyes and putting my appadage over my head. The light was hurting my eyes and I need a clear head. “It’s ok.” I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do. “I’m not mad, but next time, message me, all right?”

  He wags his tail in affirmativeness, probably relieved he isn’t in trouble. “Of course! I have you on Shadow Herd, that allright?”

  “Sure, it works.”

  “Great! Now, I need to go to work. Today I have to parse a large collection of brain scans the capital just sent me from Kolshians who live on the surface.” He walks to the front door. “Again, sorry for all the trouble!”

  “Just don’t do it again. And also, thank you, for taking time to help me grab these. It would impede and take time off my training if I had to go to the hospital, and hopefully, these stimulants will be what we need to defeat Supernova and the humans.”

  “Tails crossed!” He flicks his ears to say confidence. “I’m sure you guys will defeat them! If you won’t, well, who will? Anyway, gotta go, see you!”

  I watch him stroll through the front yard as the automatic doors finally close. Well, at least he is not worried anymore.

  “Dominus?” The desk holopad calls with Auctoritos voice. I don’t even bother looking at it. “What is this about drugs?”

  “Just a moment. Call you back in a flick.” I say as I walk to the satchel on the desk, and press the hang up button on the desk holopad with my off appendage.

  The satchel was in the same place as always. Stovos is a man of routine, not caring of change, as I began to notice, always leaving in the same place at the desk, not bothering to even adjust where the handles are placed when he leaves the satchel here. Maybe if our headquarters were above ground, where we couldn't allow automation for the sake of appearances, he would make a good secretary.

  It’s also not new, the same nylon white satchel with purple strides, standard issue at the hospital, where they can produce these with their printers. I tried giving it back to them once, but they said I could just throw them in the trash after I used it. Opening the zipper, I looked at the contents, to see if there was the supply I needed.

  It was itself full to the brim with tiny medipens, the stimulant autoinjectors that I've ordered. I’ve put my appadage deep inside, to see the depth and count how many pens I felt until I reached the bottom, of which I could feel 13. For the 18 of us, for 7 days, with at least one pen per day, we should only need 126 injectors, but I've found out that one or two of my herdmasters were secretly stealing autoinjectors from one another! I can’t allow infighting at this moment, so besides ordering more, I've been giving some of my spares stimulants that i’ve haven’t been using to those that have been robbed. I need to deal with this insubordination immediately after the war, but right now, I need everybody focused on Supernova, not discord amongst ourselves.

  Finishing my bath, I swing my tail in a coordinated motion to open the showerroom door, after putting on my Herd Master suit. Putting on a new set of clothes makes you truly feel like a new kolshian!

  Soft steam comes out of the room towards the rest of the bathroom, blocking my vision to the rest of the room. As i put my towel in my shoulder, i walk out and-

  “You thief! You stole my supplement of stimulants today!”

  “It wasn’t me! You stole mine! Now stop following me!”

  When the smoke clears, I see and hear both Paulilas and Sunno arguing, standing near the benches. Worried at the accusations and the supposed implications from what I was hearing, I approached both of them. “What is happening?”

  Paulilas pointed her appendage at Sunno. “I saw Sunno sneaking into my room just right now, and I'm sure he’s been stealing my stimulants from me! This is the second time this week my supply has been looted!”

  “No, you stole it from me!” Sunno raises his furry paw at her. “You were always behind me, following me, grabbing my pens from my pocket! I'm just taking back what's mine!”

  “Oh, so you are admitting the truth, now that Dominus is here with us? So petty of you!”

  “I saw you twitching before! I need these, how am i going to fight Supernova and their predators if-”

  I cough fakely and loudly with my voice, in an obvious matter, to get their attention. They know this cough from their time with me as the “Silence” cough. I’ve heard enough. They both shut up and look at me, still mad at each other.

  By what I gather, the drugs we are using have an addictive property, which I myself have been feeling. I’ve been trying to train my body, trying to not rely on it myself too much, but I know my other Herd Masters don’t share the same ‘impulse’ or ‘drive’ as me, so i’ve been telling them to use them daily, just as it was instructed.

  But because of it, we have a thief. I have already reported this to the research division, but they say the current drugs will have to do right now, since most of the biological division of the research team is focused on “Nikonus’ project”. Doesn’t matter for the current situation. It’s clear both of them aren’t in the right mind, and i wound’t get any meaningful answers out of both of them. Besides, it’s a little early to come to a conclusion of who this thief is, with this little information, and unfortunately, I can't investigate, not when I'm busy training myself and them. But, I can come to a compromise.

  “I’m gonna give you some of my spares, to compensate for any of the lost injectors. Then, you two are going to be locking your doors every time you leave your room, so this doesn’t happen again. Understood?”

  They both look at me, ears flicking in surprise. Paulinas speaks. “You don’t take them, Dominus?”

  “Of course I do. The Hospital just gave me samples to first try it out, before I handed it out to you.” A lie, but a believable one.

  “Right, of course, Dominus. You wouldn't be giving us poison.” Sunno pats his left ear.

  I nod. “I’ll be looking at this thief case, don’t worry. Now, has everything been settled?”

  Paulinas uses her left eye to look at Sunno directly, then sighs. “More or less.”

  Better not force an apology right now. Let them come to terms naturally. “Great. Now please, Paulinas…”

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  I put an appadage over my forehead in embarrassment. “Get out of the man’s bathroom. You embarrass yourself and the entire team by being here. I’ll be with your pens in just a moment.”

  She flushes. Did she just realize where we are? I need to add this to the list of symptoms. Without wasting time, she gets out in a hurry, covering her face. Sunno, for his part, sighs, and walks over to one of the sinks, and starts brushing his teeth. Thank the universe we were all clothed.

  As for me, I sit down a bit to take a breather, and think. Shit, I might need to order more if this thief keeps taking more. Maybe install some cameras around, and let Auctoritos take over the case. I need to talk to him first.

  Well, looks like nothing is missing here. Everything looks just as ordered, at least, on a cursory glance. I scoop over my holopad, to see how long until I have to wake the herd masters up. If everything is according to my schedule, I should have enough time to rest for a little bit and get to…

  [ONE AND HALF HOURS] LEFT?! My muscles still feel sore, and I still need to speak with Auctoritos and finish my personal training.

  I look at the holopad in frustration, gritting my teeth. Have i oversleep? No, I remember waking up hearing my alarm go off. Maybe I've spent too much time in the bathroom cleaning myself of blood? Daydreaming? Bah, it doesn't matter now.

  Looking over the open satchel, I consider my options. I cannot slack off my own training, but I don't have time to rest. I could skip seeing Auctoritos, but I need to see him today to see if we have any updates from Talsk and Lorqon’s parents. Fuck…

  That only leaves me with one option… I sigh. I need to take an injector.

  I approached the table and glanced over one of the autoinjectors on the top of the pile, taking one and looking at it with disgust. Before having any second guesses, again, I began to remember why I am doing this: How that damn predator, Supernova, took the lives of two of some of greatest aviators the federation has ever witness, and how, by my tentacles, I commanded billions to die and live in damnation in cattle pens because of my stupid arrogance. That is all the motivation I needed, as I grabbed the pen and quickly stabbed it into my neck, as it was instructed by the doctors.

  I take it out as I hear the ping sound, telling that the injection was successful and the autotopical patch was applied. Even before I put the spent cartridge back on the desk, I could already see it taking effect: The increased heart rate, and my body feeling like it’s burning up, more than it already was. And then, not long before that, I feel the tremors, the nausea coming back, all combined with a sudden lack of air. Feeling sick and dizzy, I grab the desk to not tumble over, dropping the injector to better balance myself.

  Grabbing it with all my strength, patting, I began to breathe in, and breath out, and let the chemicals do their work, even with my head bumbling. As much as I hated these negative “side” effects, I couldn't deny the benefits that came from it. Because of them, I've been able to train the Herd Masters at three times the rate faster than I normally would have without it, and since the training regiment i’ve been putting them through is more unforgiving than any team before us has ever before, they wouldn't have enough energy by the end of the day to get through tomorrow.

  Speaking of energy, I can feel it coming already. As the side effects slowly subside, I can feel my drowsiness from my lack of sleep going away. Slowly, as I get my breathing in order and the chemicals finally go, I feel fully awake and full of energy, as if nothing happened to me at all.

  Still, I need to take caution. As much as these help, I can't fall into addiction.

  Breathing and letting out a sigh of relief, I grabbed the spent autoinjector on the floor that I dropped, and walked over to the disposal bin to throw near it, after I felt my balance return. Remembering the doctor's advice, I grabbed my water bottle and chugged it all the way through without thinking to stay hydrated, drying the wet parts that got on my clothes with my appendage after i’m done. Oh, the things we do for the federation.

  I think I'm better now. I say to myself, looking over my body as I put my empty bottle away. feeling more awake, energetic, attentive. But I know these effects won’t last forever, if I don’t take another dose. Better make use of it while it lasts.

  Going over to the desk, closing the satchel’s zipper and grabbing the bag, and without wasting more time, I sprint back to the Hangar, ready to continue my personal training. Today’s training session will be on the training grounds, so I need to make sure I complete mine here in the headquarters in haste, in case Auctoritos has something new to tell me.

  I look at my holopad on one appandage and the satchel on the other as I make my way to the debriefing room, at a commanding pace, feeling I have enough time to do everything I need to do. [30 minutes]. Yeah, more than enough to check on Auctoritos and debrief the rest of the herd masters today.

  Let’s see: I need to ask about how our upgrades to our suits and fighters are going, or if we have any updates from research and development. I also need to talk about our training grounds: since its upgrades were finished, we’ve wrecked it a little, especially after our last training session two days ago, when Lorqon-No, I can't daydream again. Focus, Dominus.

  I called for repairs yesterday, and I need to see if it's finished. Then, see if they have made progress on the stimulant thief case. Lastly, Talsk updates and see if Lorqon’s family is alright. That’s all on my check list.

  I’ve been receiving updates on Supernova directly from our exterminators still loyal to us on the predator occupied worlds. By the looks of it, they have gone into hiding after they butchered Tellis. I am fuzzed. Are they planning something? Or are they gathering strength for their next attack on the federation?

  The mission debriefing room hasn’t changed since the last time I was here: When I founded the Herd Masters, I was given the opportunity to redesign the headquarters from the previous Aviator team to my liking, which I did. I took inspiration from the Pre-Federation Skivit theaters, which I noted while in school that the half-circular formation around the podium, with seats reaching higher up the further you got away from it, allowed the viewers to hear better since the sound isn’t muffed. Of course, it’s not made of primitive materials like stone and moss, and the seats have desks to them. I took away that oval thing podium however, since it wouldn't work alongside the projector.

  The door behind me closes as I make my way over the stairs to the bottom floor to the mission masters office, Auctoritos office, on the east side of the room. As I get closer, I begin to hear murmurs coming from the door, alongside another voice I don’t recognize. Is he on a call with someone?

  He is old fashioned. Extremely old fashioned, which was one of the reasons we don’t get along very well. For some unexplained reason, he insists on having a key and lock door to his room and office, like an uplifting primitive. I raised this concern multiple times already with our leadership, but they simply ignore because of his seniority. Well, this works for me, since the door is slightly leaned open. I just need to make sure I open very gently so it doesn’t make a sound…

  Perfect. I stick my head adjust to the thin metal door, looking over his office. He’s talking with someone over hologram, another kolshian, Auctoritos appandages behind his back, looking at him directly.

  “Captain, you have to understand the moronicity of your request.” He shakes his head. “All 50.000 of our ships to cover the edges of the system for this supposed probe wiretapping attack?”

  “Auctoritos, if you brought my plea to the other members of command, I'm sure they would understand! Imagine what would happen if the predators got hold of the federation communications, or even, OUR communications? Please, see reason!”

  Auctoritos sighs, looking down. He says something to himself, something so low that I can't even hear. Then, he looks back up. “Look, captain. All I'm trying to say is that some things don’t add up, if you pierce the logic together.”

  “Then explain.”

  “Ask yourself: Why would the humans make it obvious that they are trying to hijack our communications, when we know they can hide their technology so well, like when we saw during the Battle of Earth?”

  “You see-”

  “Let’s dissect it even further: Why make it obvious at all? I can think of several different ways to mask a signal using methods we already know. It feels like they wanted you to find this probe. See what I'm getting at?”

  The captain doesn’t answer, so Auctoritos continues. “And finally, if they wanted to hijack our communications, they could, again, do so in more subtle ways. My belief is that we wouldn't even know it until it’s too late.”

  “What are you implying, Auctoritos?” The captain speaks after a brief moment of silence.

  “I’ve been studying humans ever since we found out they were not extinct. I got a research paper from the archive about them at my request, and something caught my eye. They call it ‘hacking’, which raises worries.”

  The captain earflick in surprise…and in fear. “Maybe we are fine, maybe we aren’t. That’s why our focus is to build as many automated ships as we can before Earth can counterattack. Orqus' research helped us greatly in hind sight.”

  “What do you think it was, then?” The captain puts his appandages on the table.

  “I don’t know, but my guess is that they are testing us for a future attack. To see our response to their tricks and see if we panic, and you are playing right into their predatory hands, captain.”

  The captain blinks, then shakes his head. “You might just be right…”

  “See? Now, that you are clear headed, understand that-”

  “Hold your tentacles right there, Auctoritos!” I push the door fully, revealing myself. He instinctively looks behind, surprised to see me there.

  “Who is this? I thought this was a private conversation!” The captain’s hologram looks around Auctoritos to get a look at me.

  I give a quick glance to Auctoritos. If he thought about his supposed “logic” for [5 more seconds], he would also see that it itself is extremely flawed. Does he want predators inside the system or what?!

  He looks at me in a way like I'm a child, that i'm unvinted, to go back to my room. Whatever. I’m not compromising the security of our home because the shadow caste command made an oversight in judgement, like me, but on a much larger scale. “Don’t you see, Auctoritos? If they wanted us to find out this ‘probe’, and they have the technology to hide it, why didn't they, then?”

  “What?” The captain looks at me in curiosity, while Auctoritos just looks back with even more disdain.

  I continue. “Think! They wanted us to think we would ‘panic’ so we wouldn't send anything to the system’s edges, so they could send more probes, this time using their stealth technology, so we wouldn’t see what was coming as they wiretapped everything around us!”

  The captain looks at us, his fears reignited. “Oh no…”

  “That doesn’t make any sense!” Auctoritos shouts. “Why would they then send a probe to alert us in the first place?!”

  “Like you said, it is a test! If the first try didn’t alert us, they would have sent it further along, close to Aafa. We need to now be alert for any stealth probes that are making their way inside the system by the edges, otherwise who knows what damages it might cause!”

  The captain looks at us, ears and tail wagging slightly out of worry, and slightly out of anxiety. Auctoritos puts his two appadages near his eyes as he closes them and murmurs something again, his forehead turning into a hue shade of purple, different from his pink skin color.

  He opens then, taking his appadages to his waist as he takes a deep breath and sighs. “Captain, please, give us a flick of your time for just a moment.” He goes to the holoprojector, and presses the mute button, muting both our sounds and turning his projection into a blurry non-corrent one.

  He turns to me, his eyes full of rage. “What is the matter with you?! Have those stimulants-” he says that last part with a mocking tone. “-gone over your head already?!”

  “What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you!” I stand my ground. “We are about to get a security breach from predators, and you are just letting them at it?! I should report you for predator disease!”

  “For thinking clearly?! You were the one skivit brained enough to go through so many logic loops to reach this conclusion, after the explanations I gave them!”

  “What if this is their plan?” I lean in closer.

  I’ve already underestimated humans once. Never again.

  “Like I said, plan for an attack, and at the same time, try to get our communications! We know they are smart enough to come with a multi-phase plan with multiple objectives!"

  He puts his appadages on his head yet again, frustrated. “Then how about this: what happens if, when all of our PDF is alway, the humans decide to raid us? They drop next to, I don't know, the asteroid belt, and we can’t call the military fast enough to deal with them when they reach the surface?

  There would be absolute pandemonium in the streets! Like you said, they can make a multi-phase plan. We can’t allow the PDF to go on a potential wild predator chase! Who cares if they get access to the rest of the federation communications! Our own communications are separate because of this reason!”

  What did he just say? “Who cares if the predators get the federations communications? I DO!”

  In the loudest yell I could muster, and I took a step forward towards Auctoritos. He doesn't flitch. “I swore to protect every member of the herd from predators! I’ve already failed the Venlil, I’ve already failed the Paltans!” I put both of my appandages in my chest. “Who knows what the humans will contaminate and attack next! What happens when they get the federation comms? What will they strike next? The federation’s food supply?! The power plants?!”

  He watches me, apathetic, the prick. “Then what happens if a human raid reaches Aafa? Who are we going to call?” He asks, in a stern voice.

  “You have me! You have the herd masters!” I answer. “And however many drone ships we have available, besides the moon’s laser cannons! Do you really believe the humans can cloak an armada without us knowing their subspace activity beforehand?! Probes, I can see it happening under our tentacles and know the damage, but with the training i’m giving my team, and support from the rest of the shadow caste armada, we can defend our home from any raid!”

  “You’re being irrational.”

  “I am being rational.”

  He lets out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes again and putting his appandages on his forehead. He moves his head slightly, facing a wall, and talks to himself again. This time, I can make out the words “They probably know we operate on Aafa anyway.” I don’t say anything.

  He moves his head again, now facing the projector. He looks at the blurred and non-conhesive figure of whatever is on the other side right now. The captain could have panicked and ignored his orders to wait for all we know. We are putting a lot of people in the frontlines, and someone of them don’t have the expertise of running a battlegroup of ships, from what rumors are circulating.

  Auctoritos breathes in, putting both of his appandages on the table to support himself. “We cannot keep the captain waiting forever, nor do I have the patience and desire to continue this conversation any longer. I will approve his request, but I will specify to the rest of the shadow caste command that it was under your orders.”

  He knows that I have no authority over him, since technically that he is the mission master, he is outside the herd master chain of command, and this is just fallback in case there comes consequences over this. “Go right ahead.”

  I would volunteer the Herd Masters to help, if we weren’t training today, or to the fact that we are just 18 members out of our 50.000 military ships from Aafa’s PDF. Maybe if we had 50.000 members like them…Heh, like that’s ever going to happen. I’m confident they can manage.

  Auctoritos doesn’t turn back to answer me. He presses the button to unmute his call on the desk, and the hologram comes back to a kolshian looking confused, and worried, as he looks to the both of us. “I guess you both have come to an understanding, then?” He says, trying to remain professional.

  Auctoritos sighs, as I tail flick an affirmative. He speaks. “Yes. Under Dominus orders, your request to command has been approved. I’ll communicate to them right away, captain.”

  The captain looks relieved, he is trying to hide it, but is doing a bad job at it. “Thank you, Auctoritos. Let’s hope they will approve it right away, before any more stealth probes show up.”

  “We’ll see. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to arrange a meeting. Stay near where you are, they might want witness accounts.”

  He tail flicks an yes, and Auctoritos ends the call with a twitch of his appendage. He looks down at the table, putting an appendage at the back of his head. He looks up, and slightly turns his head. “Now please leave. We both know you need an invitation to go to a command meeting for non-command members.”

  Yes, but I still need something from you. “Wait. I need my reports. Talsk, the upgrades, the repairs to the training grounds, and more!”

  He gives an amused laughter. “Now? That you told the captain to put all of our defenses on the edges of the system, and made me busy?” He puts on his serious expression again. “You’ll have to wait.”

  I watch him and his body. He tail and ear flicks at me in annoyance, clearly done at my antics.

  I just need a little push, and he will give me what I want.

  “Talsk’s security and well being is a top priority for me! It cannot wait!”

  He closes his eyes again, tilting his head as he groans, walking around to the other side of his desk. There, he grabs a handle to one of the cabinets, and pulls out something, as he uses it. It’s semi-translucent, and yellow. It’s holding something with a metal looking piece on top of it. It looks like…Paper?

  “Here.” He puts the thing on the desk, motioning me to grab it as he puts the paper he took out of it back to the cabinet.

  “What is this?” I ask, grabbing the strange thing. By the touch, it looks like its yellow exterior is made of plastic, but the thing it’s holding: Paper?! Void, he is not old: he is ancient! Why does he have this?

  “Your reports.” He replies. “I keep them all organized in that clipboard. Or do you think they all arrive at once to me?”

  No, I-Erh,Whatever! I grab the ‘clipboard’. He always said the reports to me orally, or at least, a rundown version of it, when I came into his office. He cited them with a holopad on hand, however. Why the hell is he using paper this time? Can’t he just pass today's files via a simple transfer?

  This has to be some sort of plan by him to annoy me. There is no other way.

  “If that’s all for now, please excuse me.” He flicks an appendage up and and down, pointing at the opened door, clearly tired.

  Maybe? I look, confused, at him. This is unusual, he is more snarky when that's the intention. Well, I can handle this today, however to my discomfort.

  I go towards the exit, looking at the clipboard as I go. Uh, these things are so weird to the touch. So…Dry and rough. At least there in a language I can read, so it feels less like I'm a farsul archivist on a first contact mission on a primitive world. But there are like, a stack of 20 of these things on this clipboard? This is going to take forever.

  At least, I prevented another disaster, which makes it all worth it. Surely, the shadow caste command will see my and the captain’s reason to approve his request for ship redeployment to the system’s edges, with the stealth probes a much bigger threat, and if the humans decide to raid us, they will deploy me and the herd master alongside our automated ships.

  I am beginning to wonder: Who is behind this? Maybe it is that ‘Noah Willians’. He did replace Tarva, he would have the knowledge to conduct an operation like this, and he is high up in his ‘United Nations’, so he would have the resources. Then, there is any other lackey from their organization, but from what our exterminators are telling us, a new human named ‘Zhao’ is in charge now that ‘Elias’ is dead. Maybe it's them? Or maybe…

  Stopping at the door, my appendage gripping its handle, I turn my head to look back at Auctoritos. He is messing with his holoprojector with both appandages, completely focused on whatever he is doing.

  I speak. “Do you think Supernova is behind this?”

  He takes a quick glance behind him, before turning back and sighing, returning to his work. “On what?”

  “On the probe attack. Maybe it’s their operation.”

  “Why would your mystery pilot do this? What does it have to gain? It’s far more likely to be a UN department of war or high official than them.”

  “It’s a predator, and it’s the worst and the most dangerous one. Maybe after Tellis, it traced us going back to Aafa, and this is just all just a distraction to raid us.”

  “Impossible. It beat you because you are cocky and naive. And besides, how would it raid us? It would have to come with a raiding party, and like you said, we would have been detecting one well before they entered the system, and despite your senseless ramblings, I don't see any point for the United Nations attacking us this early. It would be a death wish.”

  Taking the insults back, he does make good points. A predator this dangerous is smart enough to survive this long. “I guess you are right. Maybe I'm overthinking this too much.”

  Backtracking, pushing the door handle forward, making a noise as it shows the rest of the debriefing room. Void, it might be the drugs. They might be overstimulating those ‘signs of obsession’ thoughts that I'm having. Maybe they are no-

  “It’s a she.”

  I turn back towards Auctoritos. He is now forward facing me, both of his appandages crossed near his chest. His holoprojector is still on with a myriad of screens, but all of his attention is focused solely on me.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Your mystery pilot. It’s a she.”

  Is…Is this another ploy by him? “How do you know this?”

  “Let’s just say the shadow caste command has been keeping certain information away from you, and the rest of the.”

  Do they?!?! No, this predishit! “Do you know more about ‘her’?”

  “Besides that? No.” He replies. “Maybe I can find out more, if you corporate more in the future.”

  I look at him and his features. His ears don’t show any sign of distress, nor does his tail is revealing fret. His face is stern, mouth not moving, eyes looking at mine patiently as he waits for a response. I’m looking for any signs that might tell he might be lying but…there are none.

  This HAS to be some sort of scheme of his, like those in the past, but I need to know more about Supernova. Wait, if the Shadow Caste command knows something, then maybe I can get answers from them or Nikonus. I’ll barge into his office in the capital if I have to!

  “No.” I answer. “I’m going to find out for myself.”

  He immediately looks irritated, his whole body language changing to demonstrate that. His ears turn back, and his tail swishes. This was definitely not the answer he was looking for.

  But then he relaxes himself, taking a small breath through the nose, and unfolding his appandages. “Suit yourself.” He turns to the projector, back to working on it, but still maintains eye contact with me. “Now go.”

  Say no more. Circling to the door, I opened fully, and took my leave with the yellow clipboard, and once I'm out, I pulled it close, shutting the line of sight between me and Auctoritos. I sigh, already tired from this whole exchange. He is difficult, and I still need to read today’s reports before I wake the team up. I look at the paper, door behind me, thinking of what to do.

  Let me go back to the office. It will be nice and tidy, and I'll be able to go over Supernova there…