Space Station named Defiant

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The two shuttles both grabbed the rogue shuttle in their tractor beams and together towed her back to the shuttle bay where more security officers were ready and waiting to question her.

"A bit like the hivemind I met today, only they split apart over time, instead of merging," Asher said thoughtfully. "What could happen if Third doesn't merge?"

"Then Quinn and Third will forever fight for dominance of the body." Merith said simply. "There will be times when one takes over the other, causes chaos and confusion in some way, and a major tiring, eternal headache and struggle for both of them."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Then again, I've never heard of a Follower of Inari losing contact with the Leash like Third was... And most certainly not for as long as Third said he was..."

"Third was one of Inari's followers?" Asher was fascinated at this point. "They seemed so... lawful, and what little I've seen of Third was anything but that."

Merith sighed, "That's because Third is, quite literally, a madman. He had been isolated, cut off from the Leash for many many centuries to the point where it drove him insane and he abandoned all reason, searching for something to attract towards. The Leash is much like a big connection of individuals. Though they are many, they can still speak and communicate great distances telepathically, and are therefore never alone. Imagine a creature such as that suddenly losing that, and having no one to help him regain that solace of kinship."

"That must have been horrible for him," Asher said, suddenly feeling a lot more sympathy for the guy. Desperation could do nasty things to the mind, after all, and being isolated was painful for most creatures anyway. No woder he couldn't merge!

"There's not much we can do now for him other than slowly ease him into the process. Quinn has been instructed to let him take over once in a while by her own power, but Vanessa believes she is unwilling to let him roam due to the past experiences." The Keeper mused in thought, "Still, I myself would dislike being an oppressed psyche, I believe..."

"Nobody wants to be a prisoner in their own mind," agreed Asher, "My brother was in that situation, in a way. They kept giving him orders until he was only capable of doing what they wanted. It wasn't good for him."

--From Vestia--

Swarm kept a healthy distance from Tala and her worryingly growling stomach. Their other half was waiting for them in the shuttle bay when they returned, ready to remerge quite happily. They didn't much like being separated like that for long periods of time, it was... unsettling for them. A little too much like being isolated again.

--

Meanwhile,
Suitably drunk and not apparently particularly chatty, Esk paid up, stood up and began a slightly wobbly walk back to SD. He didn't really care if Luka and Dawn were following him.

Luka looked to Dawn and rushed after the Hexenfolke, watching him warily.
What'd they do if he collapsed?

--

The security chief nodded briefly at Quinn, or... third, or whoever it was, and once the fine was paid up would just let them go with a stern warning.
"Try something like that again, and you'll get worse than just forms. You're extremely lucky nothing was damaged. " To Vanessa he added. "Enjoy the rest of your stay." Hey, this was the most actual work he'd had to do in months. All these fines were working up a tidy profit, and threatening random people always made him feel better.

Merith sighed again, nodding. "Of course, we could let him roam for a few days, under Vanessa's request. The question is, how to keep him from causing trouble..." The Keeper frowned, thinking.

James watched Swarm reunite, smiling. They were so adorable, seriously. He stepped out of the shuttle, keeping a minotaur arm's length between himself and Tala. "I'm gonna head back to our boat, gotta beg Acus to let me go on vacation," he said.

~~
Asher sighed. "That may be difficult, trying to keep him from causing trouble. He does need freedom though, perhaps it's a risk worth taking." He added, "At least his appearances won't take anyone by surprise that way."

Third finally revealed himself, the pale face morphing through the black fur as the crimson paint markings grinned at the shifter officer. "Lucky, or just that skilled?"

~~~~~~

"He might settle down once he's given the freedom to himself for a while. Unfortunately that means Quinn won't be around for a while, but I do think it'd be best, at least for a few days." Merith agreed with Asher. "And for once, Vanessa and I can keep him in check in case he tries anything too gruesome."

"lucky." The shifted repeated flatly, staring at the fox face with narrowed eyes. Just what they needed, magic users with split personalities. Wonderful.

---

--Good luck!-- they told James, turning their attention to Tala as they declared "Food, this way!"

Vanessa apologized to the officer one final time before departing with a giggling Third, whom she eyed with scrutiny. "Oh, don't think you're out of trouble yet!..."

"It'll be much better for our peace of mind, knowing that you and Vanessa are keeping an eye on Third," Asher laughed. "I'm sure the others would understand the necessity of this, once it's explained."

~~
Tala headed after Swarm, sniffing the air hopefully.

~~
James raced away, mentally preparing himself to try and act as if he wasn't a free robot now. It was going to be tough, that was for sure, but he had to try.

"I think it will be a better choice in the long run." Merith chuckled, "Who knows, if Third doesn't fuse, then he may just instead settle down and focus on building character instead of causing havoc, once he's seen some compassion or reason."

Swarm would lead Tala straight to a pizza place which happened to have a salad buffet, with no bacon or chicken or any of that nonsense.

"That would be a decent solution, too," Asher said. He looked over at Seraphine, she had been quiet for quite a while now.

~~
"Thank you, friend!" Tala told Swarm. She would head into the restaurant to buy herself large quantities of salad.

Saraphine had become completely entranced by the book she was reading. Merith chuckled at that, "Ever eager to read a new storybook, that one..."

Rigel walked with Tala to keep her company. He looked to see what he could pick to eat that wasn't just salad

~~
Dawn looked to Luka and smiled a little, moving closer to her "Don't worry, I can use my air power to hover him if needed."

Swarm of course didn't eat, least not food like this. They also got weird looks from the customers and staff who weren't totally sure they wanted a cloud of insects near food.
They ignored the looks and found a table, where they waited for the other two to join them, projecting the very best illusion of a humanoid they could. It wasn't a very good likeness, the eyes were black and too large and the face too flat but they tried.

--

Esk glanced back at the girls. "And i'll try very hard not to vomit if you do." He told her.

Rigel found some pizza and got that before joining Swarm at the table.

~~~
Dawn chuckled and looked to him "I would appreciate that, along with the people who would have to clean that up."

Esk nodded. "I'm sure it's not the worst thing they've had to clean up here. Security's a joke. " He glanced to one of the security staff at their post, they seemed to be playing a game on a tablet.
"not paid enough to care much I presume."

"She reads as if she's making up for lost time," Asher commented.

~~
Tala sat down with her friends, and a truly impressive mountain of salad. "I do miss the lawns on the beach planet. They were unusually flavorful. Still, this is a reasonable substitute."

"We wonder if you could grow decent grass in space." "would need decent space and hydroponics" "imagine, who lawns of grass on board a ship." "Grass doesn't require very deep roots..." The swarm chattered to itself mostly before managing a weird smile on that flattened face of theirs. "Do you think the captain will let us leave for a while with this other ship?" they asked quietly.

Dawn looked towards the officer then around them again "Probably used to crews coming here to get drunk"

~~
Rigel shrugged a little, looking towards Swarm "I don't know, moot point if we go with them all together"

"you think the captain would agree to come with us?" Swarm looked kinda eager at that thought. Having everyone all together, no having to worry about him.
"Your alterations shouldn't take long yes?"

---

Esk nodded. "They turn a blind eye unless you mess with the civilians, the shops or the station itself. Otherwise, they couldn't care less about us all killing on another in the middle of the promenade." He shrugged. "Wonder if those bounty hunter assholes got bailed out yet... " He mused to himself.

"The captain will think we are betraying him," Tala said with a shrug. "Whether it will hurt him more to stay alone, or leave therapy, is anyone's guess."