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Blindspot took one last mental picture of the metal creatures in the valley below, preserving it for the Hive Mind, before slinking back over the ridge. Even had they been staring at her exact hiding spot, they would have seen nothing more than a passing heat ripple on the horizon, easily dismissed as the setting sun continued to torch the sands above. She’d been spying on their movements since the Fleet landed, and never come close to being detected.
By the time she reached her regular rendezvous, the sun was gone and the sky was strewn with a smattering of stars. She settled on a rock and gazed up at the dark spaces between, ancestral memories of a home she would never know echoing at the edges of her mind’s eye.
As always, The Inevitable One arrived precisely on time. His stride was measured, not swift, but his eyes belied the truth. That stride would remain utterly unchanged, even as he strode straight through a battalion of foes intent on claiming his life, leaving no spark of being in his wake.
A synaptic link crackled open between the two, and the reassuring weight of the Hive Mind settled over Blindspot’s thoughts. The Inevitable One’s request for a report was immediate, as it always was, but she waited for a moment before sending it across. An exasperated growl let her know that despite his implacability on the battlefield, he was still extremely easy to mess with.
Now, as always, The Inevitable One would acknowledge that he had received the report before turning and marching away with that same measured stride. Leaving as well, Blindspot wondered-
But the synaptic link was never terminated. Confused, she turned to see The Inevitable One still in place. There was more.
Memories poured across the link, showing the Swarm’s assault on the strange devices she had discovered nine sunrises before. A battle lost because the swarm could not take enough casualties to force the enemy from their positions. It was no surprise Overseer wanted her to return to the main force then. They had decided to try something new with her most recent iteration, splicing some of their own genes together with hers to create an even deadlier bioform.
But while she could feel newfound strength building in her talons with each passing sunrise, Overseer had prioritized compatibility with her camouflage over a speedy mutation, and the full effects had yet to emerge. She sent a biodiagnostic to The Inevitable One, but he appeared to already be aware of the problem. He conveyed that she had a few more sunrises while Overseer prepared to weather the steel creature’s retaliatory strike, but needed her for their next planned engagement. No more than five sunrises, if Overseer’s assessment of their foe was correct.
With that, The Inevitable One turned and strode away. Blindspot sent a quick goodbye across the link as it frayed, and was pleased to receive one in return just before it snapped completely and left her alone with her thoughts once more.
Back to the battlefield. She couldn’t say she was entirely happy about the proposition. At least she would be able to see her friends again. But she felt so much less like herself with the Hive Mind buzzing around her every thought.
She gazed out at the sands that had become her home. There would still be scouting missions, of course, but they would be fewer, with tighter deadlines. She grabbed a talonful of sand and let it drain between her claws, the shifting details testing the limits of her camouflage and revealing the contours of her hand. She hadn’t realized how much she would miss this place before it all started slipping away.