Take a moment to calm yourself. Thank them for taking care of you and ask them what happened after the end of the play.

Quick! Go to the orphanage and adopt all the kids who are too old for normal hives to think they have a good enough chance of adapting, before your easy hive adoption period wears off! Or all the ones that click with you well or something. Or I don't know maybe call the orphanage and have them bring them to you? Anyway also probably the government has guidelines for this, maybe some sort of supports, so I'd get on that if I were you first.

Oh first thing give everyone a hug though!

Alright, we're fine, this is surprising and odd but it's not bad news, just weird and maybe good news.
Time to make use of your usual self-control and calm yourself, you're in a hive now so your emotions are linked to that of your hive so you'll need to stay calm in order to keep your hive calm.

First order of business, a recap. Ask Nellie what happened after you passed out, and who was affected.
Also make sure to assure her that you're fine, just catching up to the surprise everyone else must have felt.

The most important thing we need to do is stay strong, we can't afford to have our own freak out session when what we need now is strength and action to reassure our new hive.

>>1053039
Ask everyone if they enjoyed your play. I mean, yeah, it's pretty obvious they did, but it's nice to hear them say it out loud.

Now you need to figure out what you all have to do. Specifically, where will you all live now? Do you need to go tell city hall so the government can provide a building for your hive to live in?

>>1053039
Now that you're a hive, this means you've all gotta move in together, right? Does anyone know where we can find a place big enough for all of us?

well, a good first step would be to ask what all has happened while you where out, and who is in this new hive, let out SOME of the elation, to answer them, then if you're all fine (and you're a neumono you're probably fine)... than it's time to meet the hive personally

Long Live The Queen Queen Ryka 2023/01/03(Tue)12:16 No. 1053138 ID: 34c09b
File 167274816816.jpg - (124.21KB , 700x700 , LLTQ12.jpg )

>What implications?
Rogues or not, these neumono were fully-fledged people before I showed up. If you ask rogues what they'd give up to be in a hive again, their answers can frighten you, but it hasn't escaped my notice just how much power I've gained over these people for doing essentially nothing. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

>Move in together?
>Government assistance
Finances are going to be difficult... I don't care if I sleep on a bed or on the streets, but that's not going to work if I'm responsible for more than just me. Right now, I live in a musty one-bedroom apartment, which can't even comfortably fit two people, much less however many rogues I actually formed a hive with. I... never thought I'd actually be in this position, to tell the truth; I don't know what government assistance is available.

>Has anyone ever acted their way into becoming a queen before?
No, not that I know of. Spontaneous hive formation is extremely poorly understood to begin with, and it's drenched in pseudoscience and misinformation, but if it was simple as pretending to be a queen really hard, I don't think there would be as many rogues in the galaxy. People can't not have tried that, right? You cannot convince me they haven't tried that.

>Calm down
>Don't freak out
>Make sure they know you're fine
It occurs to me that what I feel is going to start having a bigger impact on those around me than I'm used to... I'm going to have to figure that one out. Good thing my empathy is so relaxed! I can already feel the alarm fading, and everyone else seems to be calming down again in response, though they remain crowded in around me. Let's just start where we can, go from there until we need to do something different.

>Enjoy the moment
Believe me, I'd love to. The emotions in the room are making that easier, but there's so many thoughts swimming through my head right now that it's still difficult, and I'm pretty sure I'm still in some kind of shock. Still... you're right. Worrying about them right now isn't helping us.



>Confirm the situation from Nellie
Okay, that's a good step one. She almost doesn't need to, though. I can feel their empathy flowing through me and back out through each other again. It's more than just a dead ringer for mine, it's functionally identical.

"Nellie. What happened after the end of the play?"

"Oh thank god, she's lucid again." Says a snowy cerulean neumono in relief, leaning over the bed to look at me. I don't recognize that one, but she was holding in more tension than the others. It's good to see it melting away.

Nellie glances at her, then back to me, and in efforts to get closer, she climbs onto the bed, drawing back the curtains to let some light in. It's difficult to miss her smile, even if she's radiating some definite anxiousness too.

"Well it was amazing, for one thing! I know you showed me some snippets when we were marking out the scenes, but wow, I was not ready for that. You had me in tears during the second act, and that conversation with the predator! It was like you were Arvenia!"

[Shit yeah, she was.] Comes the empathy from the snowy cerulean, which sparkles a wave of amusement in the group, though it does nothing to impede Nellie's exuberance.

"But... after that, well.. It was the end, and... I don't know. It all went so fast. I just remembered feeling like for the first time ever, I actually understood the play. Like, I got what you were doing with it, and I loved it. It was like everything suddenly made sense"

I am listening to her, but I can't help but get a little lost in the moment. Everyone in the room is a similar combination of extremely happy, amped up, and anxious. I can't really blame them. The way things are looking, they're going to have a hive now.

...Just thinking that word. 'Hive'. For the longest time, 'Hive' for me was a word to apply to others. It was something they could have. Never something that I could. Not ever again. I can feel some tears welling up inside of me, but I cried that river dry so long ago that I don't think they'll come out that easily.

"...And I just felt this connection with you and this pressure inside my head started happening and I got a little woozy, and then I realized that you were going off-script and just kind of... babbling up there."

"I... what?" I don't remember that.

"Yeah, you.. It wasn't speech, you were just kind of making noises." Says a neumono in the backpack in front of me.
[Suppressed second-hand embarrassment]

"Then you fell over. And we realized what was happening, and ran up there to try to protect you." Says the one in the cap, looking up at me. His empathy is surprisingly neutral, though the happiness is still radiating through him.

"Protect me?" I asks, looking at him. He pulls his cap down over his head a bit more.

"...Not all of us are as stable as us. Lots are outside, too, but we didn't want everyone crowding you, and we seemed affected the least."
[Can someone else?]

The female that interjected with the joke takes over. "When people finally realized what was happening, it was chaos. Rogues started pouring in to get closer to you, past the aliens, past everyone. Hivers were trying to get out, I think some of the aliens got injured. And... well, some neumono can be complete bastards, you know. You're... you're our queen. We can't... We weren't gonna let anything happen to you." She was putting up a tough front earlier, but there's a lot of sadness and vulnerability surfacing in her empathy while she says that. Clearly she can be real when she needs to. The one in the cap nods firmly, and Nellie just looks kind of sad.

"Police were called in. They pulled a lot of the rogues away... It didn't seem safe to stay out there, so we brought you back here to my place because it was the closest. It's only been about an hour or two since then before you started making sense again." She says. [Anxious]



Rrgh. Of course rogues that learned about this would come charging in. It's a large open-air amphitheater and neumono are tough, of course they would try their hardest to get into empathy range. The disparity between life in a hive and life as a rogue can be enormous, and the joint government has always been poorly equipped and riddled with systemic insufficiencies when handling us, and that's when it's trying. It hasn't been that long since the answer to a neumono going rogue was killing them.

I've met the rogues that live here. I've talked with many of them. Some of them do fine. But not all rogues are equipped to live that way; they pine, constantly, for what they've lost... some of them embrace the Predator. Even for rogues, intentionally hurting someone over this is going too far for most, but when the stakes are so vast between living as a rogue and a hiver, can I really judge them for not being cognizant enough to avoid injuries? Especially if they're used to our regeneration, and are operating on blind panic for what could easily be a once-in-a-lifetime event?

Would I really not break someone's toe if I knew that it could bring me to an imagined paradise?

>Thank them
"Thank you for protecting me." I say, looking them over. I'm genuinely [Grateful]; by all accounts it sounds like I was helpless for the past few hours. "I'm still feeling a little shocked at saying this, but I'm Queen Ryka." A wave of happiness courses through the neumono in the room, and out into the ones outside as well. Good, I was hoping that would happen if I said that. "I haven't met all of you yet, and I don't know how well you know each other. We're going to have to do this again later, but we should do quick introductions."


In short order, I'm introduced to this gang of 5.


Nellie. Cerulean-redgrass female, first-generation rogue. She's pretty small. My gauge for her is that she's friendly and quick to help, but I've noticed she can seem kind of insecure at times. She's better with people than she gives herself credit for.
Rupert. A cerulean male on the taller end, an orphaned rogue that was apparently raised by human aliens. He's wearing a backpack and seems to have a sturdy head on his shoulders, but out of all of them, he seems the most uncertain of what's going on.
Lett. Jungle-cerulean male, second-generation rogue. His empathy is unusually even and mild, I wonder if he has a similar thing that I have going on. Apparently he was a pickpocket, which is pretty impressive for a neumono for a variety of reasons.
Kiara. Northern-archipelago female, like me, and apparently she's another second-generation rogue. She has the most spunk out of all of them, I'll give her that, and her empathy is stronger than the others. She's clearly had to get tough to get to where she is.
Rotali. Cerulean female, she's just about the smallest neumono I've ever seen, and I don't think she's said a word this entire time outside of introducing herself. I remember seeing her in the audience, though. She might be shy. I noticed that she's been taking glances at my costume and what remains of my ablative makeup.


"I really liked your play." Rotali adds simply to the end of her introduction. [Happiness][Shy][Anxious]

...Why is everyone so anxious? I think I've demonstrated that I'm alright at this point. Am I missing something...?

>Go to the orphanage
There aren't many neumono that fit that bill, actually. Most are adopted by one of the big hives, or by rogues trying to become queens. Other races might have a stronger presence there, but we're pretty good about this. Truth be told, if there were any rogue neumono orphans, they probably would have been part of the group that stormed the amphitheater.

So how big is the hive? Just these 5 or are there more? If so are we talking around a dozen, dozens, god forbid hundreds?

Then I guess find out what kind of resources everyone has, what skills people have, where people live, if they need to be close to you or can stay away for awhile to find out if people are going to have to move or if they can stay where their at, guess we will also need a way to make money so see what everyone does for a living... wow their's a lot of things we got to check on now that we're basically a mini nation now.

>>1053138
The most obvious anxiety ping was related to the police and rogue situation, if it's an ongoing situation there's probably some tensions that might boil over outside? Probably best to ask anyway.

>>1053140
also yeah, can you tell how big your new hive is from empathy alone? if not, probably a good idea to ask.

>Not sure how I feel about gaining power for nothing
They are as much setting a course for your life as you for them! Maybe the exchange there isn't even, but you can certainly work towards making it more equitable in the long run.

>Stampede, violence, protect you,
Well... if nobody died at least that's good, but the aliens don't fix up like neumono does, so those sorts of charges are going to cut harder against you if you get the blame for what went down, especially if you speak in defense of the rogues. Which you're probably gonna, given how much you get how they felt.

>The stable ones
Wonder whether asking Nellie and Kiara to act as a sort of communication / negotiation team might be a good move - one's got the social skills and the other seems to have the spine to not let the first get bowled over.

Rupert and Lett - though Rupert more so - are the fishes out of water here. They've never been part of a Hive and could use a rundown of how their life has changed. That said, they both seem capable - Lett being a pickpocket probably means he's, well, more available to drop everything in his life to stay by your side. Rupert having been raised by aliens probably has had a fair amount of stability in his life for a rogue and might have picked up an education and a skillset, you should quiz him more on that.

Rotali is... clearly a big fan of your work. Maybe her love of your art and her aspirations can be channeled towards something. Shame becoming a Queen will probably put a hamper on your acting career. Or maybe not.

>Why is everyone so anxious?
You could ask if there's anything threatening or time-sensitive that you need to be aware of. It could just be an underlying fear that this whole situation - and Hive - is fragile, but maybe there's something else going on too, like authorities that want to be met with ASAP, or there's a standoff outside against cops or the remaining rogues still, or there are people hurt outside who need tending, but refuse to leave your side.

It could even simply be a lack of a unifying cause - other than how badass of an actor you were - for your hive to believe in and look to the future towards with you that's starting to sink in as a sort of low-level worry. Like - "We have a Hive and a Queen - now what?"

>Challenges
If there's no immediate crisis, confer with your new family about the current challenges facing you all. For one, there's the stampede fallout. That probably needs addressing in some way - no way some your new hivemates weren't hauled off by police as well, right?

For two, you've got a fresh Hive hanging about and crowding the inside and outside of a tiny apartment - clearly that's not sustainable. To some extent you all will need to continue one's regular life for now - going to work (or going to quit from work), getting rest and medical attention (goodness, you probably have wounded, given what went down) and to make sure one won't be as missed from wherever one hails. Obviously you're not sending everyone home this instant - you want to meet them all - but arrangements must be made, whatever network of contacts one has can be contacted and you should probably look into getting a bigger place for that typical communal Hive lifestyle ASAP. You need a base of operations. Or a home, if you will.

Thirdly, the wild rumour of you being able to integrate rogues at will, or whatever it's ballooned into by now, should be... softened considerably. You've no idea how it happened - you just acted your heart out and then woke up a Queen in bed.

Fourth, and related to three, probably there will be questions from journalists and such. As an actor you should be media-savvy enough to know you should have some solid soundbites for them, as well as take advantage of the situation and the spectacle of an instance of spontaneous Queenification to promote... something. Yourself. Your new Hive. A good cause. Whatever.

>Future & acting talent
You could consider at some point put on a second performance of Arvenia, the Lost to satisfy rogue attention and drum up some extra money for your Hive. A lot of rogues might attend just in case lightning strikes twice - and it not doing so would lessen some of the pressure on you. Doesn't have to be an immediate thing though.

>A unifying cause
One thing is probably for sure. Whatever else comes, you're going to be a hive - maybe THE hive - that gives a shit about rogue rights. At least for a generation or two. You all know what it can be like.

If your new hive got the resources, you might be able form a fortresshaven for "rogues" by just buying some land or apartment in the slums equivalent, and build or renovate from there to make a rogue haven. Remember to look into the zoning or building permits; you really don't want to dig into an aquifer city plumbing or electrical.

So... what exactly are the resources, skills, expertise, and contacts your hive has?

>>1053138
>why so anxious
The distant fear of becoming a rogue again? They don't know how fragile this new Hive is, and they don't know how well they'll fit in. They could also be nervous about how well you'll perform as a leader.

First, clean yourself up a bit. Get presentable.
Then I think the first order of business is to take a census. Go out and meet your hive. Meet everyone personally, for everyone is important. Take introductions, etc. Delegate someone (perhaps Rupert, to give him something to focus on?) to do brief interviews to get an impression of everyone's skills and origins; depending on how many there are you could do that yourself. Then later, at a slower pace, you can interview each one personally and find out the details, get to know everyone better.
You'll need to decide on a name for the hive, as well as register it officially. Then you'll have to figure out what kind of business you'll be running. I'm sure everyone can support themselves individually for now, but it will do good for the hive's unity to have a central business to work for, and an ideal or goal to aspire to.

Hmm, should these five be your royal guard for now?

they could be anxious about any number of things, so it's best to just ask, assuming none of objections you'd really like to at least get up, and probably at least show your face to your new hive

Yeah, the first thing we need right now is organization and information, I have more of an idea on how to possibly handle all this once that's done with but for now it's best we make sure everyone knows everyone, then we can prepare a speech for the hive.

I will say, there seems to be a lot of diversion from significant change prevalent so far when that's what we really need. We can't really expect everyone to just continue their lives like nothing happened, so we'll need to get a little culty. By that I mean we need to act as a whole and essentially sacrifice our individual lives to make a collective one.
Basically what I propose is that everyone that's now a part of our hive and is willing to do so should sell anything they wouldn't take with them and consolidate a hive fund that we can put forward into a single building. Basically, we need to start fundraising and proving ourselves to be self-sufficient.

As shocking as this all is, time is of the essence and we must make use of this gift fully while it lasts.

Go out to meet with the ex-rogues outside and encourage them to share in the joy and comfort from this new chance you all now have.

After that, you should seriously consider going to the police station where the other rogues have been detained to get into empathy range and let them join yout hive.

>>1053228
>let them join yout hive.
I doubt we're actually still mentally "open", it sounds like it happened semi-instantly to those who were watching the play from the start during its climax.

The entire performance was about Ryka communicating Arvenia's thoughts and emotions and getting all spectating neumono to feel exactly like her, to the point that rogues ended up synchronized and attuned after the climactic lines.

Wait... We only affected rogues (or possibly soon-to-be rogues), right?

>anxious

Well, now that you're stable, it's sort of a sign that the clock is ticking, right? Or maybe even already run out. There might be another stampede when you go out. At the very least a lot of desperate people are going to be hurt. I don't know, maybe you can come up with something to say to people?... there might be a lot more than just these five who are in the room with you, too.

They could also be anxious just because this is a big life change. Everything's changed course and who knows to where, right? Maybe you can get someone from the police or government to talk to about safety and supports and stuff. Aliens, maybe. Does becoming part of a hive again make the empathic xenophobic response stronger again?

Just ask why they're anxious. Best to let out any worries now, while we're in a more safe and secluded spot. They make it sound like we've got a hive bigger than just the five of them.

Long Live The Queen Queen Ryka 2026/03/19(Thu)03:24 No. 1123589 ID: f66ffb
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>Aliens don't regenerate
No, they don't. At least, not many of them. Still, most of them heal from some injuries. I hope their wounds are of this type.

>They are setting the course of my life
That's... true. I'm the Queen now. What do they think of me? What are they going to expect of me? Whatever it is... that's what I'm going to become, isn't it?

Gradually.

Slowly.

Hm.

>The stable ones
>Royal guard
A bit of an... not antiquated, but imperfect term? If they managed to handle suddenly being dragged into a hive, and are this coherent and thoughtful, they must have very strong wills. That's a kind of quality that's hard to describe, but that I respect. I find myself already thinking about how best to assign them. I can't help but feel like they're important members of my hive, no matter what.

>Nellie and Kiara
They're not a bad match for each other, at least. Kiara definitely seems like she could handle a situation if it soured. She has a kind of rough barrier around her, emotionally-speaking, not empathically, that lines up well with the rogues I've seen that survived through difficult circumstances. I don't know what those might be, but I've been through a lot, myself. Survival is always about tradeoffs. What you can lose of yourself, and what you fight to keep.

Nellie is a lot easier to handle, mostly because I've known her for some time. She's charismatic, smart, affable, and skilled, particularly with numbers and contacts, but that's not everything she is. She's the kind of pained optimist I can empathize with, someone that sees the best in people while knowing full well that she's going to experience their worst. I've worked with her for a few performances at the playhouse.

>Rupert and Lett
It's true. Most likely, all of these neumono are thinking somewhere in their minds about how they're going to live, now. What they're going to abandon. What they might be able to keep. Even on a good day, there's going to be sacrifices. Lett is... interesting. A neumono pickpocket has to be very subtle. His empathy matches that, but it might even go further like mine if he truly can hide himself that well. Hopefully he will not need to sacrifice much.

On the other hand... I didn't expect to become a Queen, but I didn't expect even more to handle a neumono raised by aliens. Second-gen rogues tend to carry with them the trauma of their parents, but ones that never even knew second-hand what they were missing? This must be an extremely strange situation for him. I don't know how to navigate this yet; I'm going to need to know more about his life and how he's previously lived it. He seems strong-willed, but how will he feel about his human parents if he suddenly has a completely new 'family'?

>Rotali
I didn't expect her to be such an enigma, but here she is. Very happy. Very... very small, actually, but... very anxious. No... Squirmy, almost. I cannot see anything other than genuine admiration in her when she speaks to me about my play, but there's something hidden in her, a part that I can't see. Whatever it is... maybe she isn't looking at it either, though. I've seen times when a neumono blocks something out and focuses on what's in front of them, instead, and she feels like that. Even aliens seem to do that.

>The play
>Reporters
>Rumors
Fuck. What am I going to do about the play? A rampage, chaos, injuries, and somebody becoming a queen during a live performance? How many myriad of ways is this going to spiral out of my control? What are people going to think of what I've spent all this time trying to perfect, with this kind of event surroundings its only exhibition?

My magnum opus. And I only did it once.

Can I even do it a second time? After this?

...Yes. Yes, I probably could I have such overwhelming [Joy] fueling my entire being. It's hard to feel suffering right now.

But I know that the pain hasn't magically gone away, either.

...I can't deal with this right now. There are more important things going on.

>Resources, contacts, goals, cause, skills
>A place to live
Simple, I don't know. We're going to have to figure this out, though.

I cannot imagine that many of any of my hive is going to want to live apart from each other, not anymore. I don't have a lot of money. ...Rogues infrequently do. We're going to have to figure that out, too. But the size of it is going to have to depend on the size of my hive. We'll need income, we'll need to see what we're capable of affording...

What I'm capable...

What we're capable of affording? Rrgh, my head is having trouble thinking of my hivemates as separate! This is--this is a good thing! I'm overjoyed about this! But Rupert--I can't just assume everybody will be willing to sell their current lives in totality!

...Or maybe it's that I think they would be willing.

It might not be a consideration for them. But can I ask them to, knowing they likely will?

But we need a place to live.

Next step first. One foot beyond the next.

>Hive size?
There are more outside. I can feel them from here, but I can't tell just how many. Maybe in the future? I don't know. It's like our empathy is strong--stronger than it's ever been, but fuzzy. So many feelings, overlapping at once... I'm surprised. It really doesn't feel overwhelming. It does, however, feel like I'm not very used to it.

"How many of us?" I ask, turning to Nellie. "What size are we?"

The others glance around at each other.
[Empathy Layer 1: Overwhelming Joy]
[Empathy Layer 2: Thoughtfulness]
[Empathy Layer 3: Anxiety]

They could feel me thinking about logistics, no doubt about it.

"Ryka, you... you became a queen. During a performance." She says.

Well, I know, so I emanate for her to go on.

"Ryka... the theater was packed." She says, her voice getting quieter, but with a twinge of elation to it, as well.

"There's over sixty of us."

What...?

That's.

That's more than I was expecting.

I slowly pull myself up, and the five seem to get excited again.

"There's sixty three! We counted!" Rotali says, beaming up at me.

"Yeah, but... that's only the ones here. There's the police, and they took a lot of us." Lett says, pulling on his cap. "So the number should be higher, but. We don't know how..."

"We don't know how stable they are." I finish.

Shit.

I need to get over there. And everybody needs to come with me. Ascension events like this are rare. I don't know how close I have to be to them and for how long to ensure the change to their empathy is permanent. I need to go outside, first, and the five move before I even finish standing, heading out the door like a vanguard fanning out in front of me. I step past my door--

Oh.

Wow. That's--that's a lot of neumono. ...A lot of archipelago neumono especially, for some reason. I can hear them. I can feel them, their empathy filling in around me, a massive, blurry, intimate match for my own, as if I've stamped myself onto them. Which, I suppose I have. They are [Overjoyed]. It's infectious. So many are laughing. So many are crying. It's messy. It's wet.

And they notice me instantly, as expected.

"It's Arvenia!" "ARVENIA!!"
"Queen Arvenia is here!!" "QUEEN!" "OUR QUEEN!"
"SHE'S HERE!" "YES!! YES YES YES!!!" "QUEEN ARVENIA!"
"Thank you, thank you so much, thank you--"

That--that isn't my name. That isn't my name, and I need them to come with me to the holding cells. Many of these neumono used to be rogues very recently; I doubt that none of them have bad experiences with the place.

>>1123589
Hmm, if that's what they believe in their incoherent states you should not shock them by denying it. You might lose some of them. You're gonna have to act like Arvenia for a while. Maybe ease them into acknowledging you for who you are. ...it's probably a good idea for you to openly embrace the ideals Arvenia did anyway, so long as you agree with them. The performance is your foundation, so you'll have to build on it.

How did the play progress from where it stopped? Was that the final line, her welcoming her new children? Riff on that-- welcome your new children to your embrace, and tell them you will make good on your promise. All of them now have a home, though for now it is a humble one with an uncertain future. With effort and cooperation, we can all work towards comfort and stability.

>holding cells
Oh yeah we need to go get near the ones that got arrested, to make sure their empathy stabilizes. To become a member of a hive only to be stolen away, then lose the connection due to alien interference... that's fuel for a riot. It should be relatively easy to convince the police to either release the neumono on bail or let you all in so the hive can stabilize.
While we're there, we might be able to ask someone for legal advice on how to register your new hive? Putting your best legal foot forward in this situation can smooth over a lot of the oncoming troubles. Oh! Ask if anyone present has useful knowledge about laws that could possibly apply here, or be helpful in recovering those who have been arrested. If there's an outright lawyer that'd be best, because then they can represent our arrested hivemates in court if it comes to it.

Unfortunately we're going to have to move as a group... oof. That'll be intimidating to anyone watching. Make absolutely sure everyone knows that you have peaceful intentions and you believe it will work out.

OH! Call the police station ahead of time so they know you're coming over. If the prisoners are acting out, the police can tell them you're coming and that should help. You might even be able to arrange their release over the phone, if you're lucky. Just the threat of having to drag your entire hive over there should be enough to get them to cooperate somewhat-- they won't appreciate the spectacle, or having to deal with the logistical issues of nearly 70 neumono crowding into the station.

Or am I worrying too much? Would they be ok for a couple days? If this has literally never happened before then we should err on the side of caution.

Second priority after you've handled the prisoner problem is figuring out where you're all going to live. You'll want to ask if anyone has access to a compound large enough that everyone has a place to sleep. If so, that'll be our new home base. If not, we'll have to buy one by pooling resources! Or maybe contact the local government to see if they're willing to give you some financial aid?

Your hive has a dangerous cornerstone: they know what it's like to be cast aside and discarded.

They will teeter on the verge of hatred and authoritarianism, but if you can reel your hive's destructive tendencies in and hone them, you could really deal a blow to your species' greatest weakness; its willingness to kneel before fascism, to love discrimination with undeserved honor and fulfilment. For all your species' unity, nothing enables the cycle of exploitation more than showing the universe that you can create perfect bonds through absolute cruelty to 'others'. It needs to be fixed - not just for the Neumono, but for all the abandoned.

You are the prototype of this fix. Now you just have to find a way to mass-produce hivemaking. It's what your hive should build their focus around.

>Mission 1: Retrieve imprisoned followers
>Potential risks: deteriorating mental instability, heat
Well. This is gonna suck.

You're an actor in a big city, so build your leadership style around acting. Come up with a narrative, something that allows you to get the impounded Neumono out without drawing attention to yourself. Make yourself the middlewoman and not the negotiator; the police don't have any official charges, they just arrested the Neumono to prevent chaos. You need to come up with some kind of social-services or hiring agent or what-the-fudgedoodle-ever that seems most appropriate to convince the police that releasing the Neumono into your organization's care will prevent further chaos, such as the Neumono trashing the cells.

Your followers are used to being alone, even if they don't like it. Practice casting yourselves in a wide net, a chaotic mesh of individual rogues who can fuel their disguises with their own instability. This will make for a rudimentary yet effective spy network. Keep most of them at least a six-foot distance from the prison, have the gruffest followers act like hired mercenaries who don't listen to you; it makes sense for a greater organization to hire protection for its secretaries because they need to protect their image, but they don't have to respect the employees they protect.

You're in the perfect position to give a little speech. Introduce yourself (warm, excited) and thank them all for participating in this avant garde fifth act of the play (humorous). Express your commitment to them and this new hive, how you're looking forward to getting to know all of them. But full introductions will have to wait, as you have hive members to retrieve.

Organize them to march on the police station, but not in a militant way. Try to keep the tone light and celebratory. While you're organizing send Nellie and Kiara ahead to warn the cops what's coming, begin negotiations, and inquire on government assistance for new hives.

Well, on the front of the Neumono in the cells, your range, and the range of an entire hive, should be... Generous. You only need to be halfway close to the cells, not AT them.

Second, you are about to need to pull together feelings of Control, Chill, and some necessity. You need these people half calm for a little bit, and as a queen you have that power.

Third, when you get a moment, have people start introducing themselves to the hive. Kinda important to know this. have fun getting the moment.

...You are just going to be Arvenia, Even once they know your actual name, you acted her so good that you BECAME her! at minimum it will linger as a nickname
Long Live The Quest

>police
Definitely call ahead as suggested, with your most legally-savvy hivemate doing the talking.
In fact, if the police station isn't too big you don't even need to be inside in the immediate: simply standing beside the right wall should do the trick.

>living space
Temporary doesn't need to be a dedicated compound, merely a place with walls, a roof and a washroom. Renting a bunch of continuous rooms in a cheap hotel can do for the first night, allowing you to hunt for a suitable location more serenely.

Long Live The Queen Queen Ryka 2026/03/21(Sat)12:34 No. 1123697 ID: 2aa67e
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>You are Arvenia
I am not Arvenia.

>They are definitely going to still call you Arvenia after learning your name
...
Yeah.

>Destroy authoritarianism
I can really only do my part, that's a bit of a tall order. The mere existence of this planet's multicultural colony, however, does at least show some progress for our species towards less violence.

There is still military research and manufacturing here, though.

>Never happened before
This has definitely happened before, but it's rare and poorly understood. Many neumono try to become queens, either by adopting children who can imprint their empathy from their parents, or building up a following of rogues and hoping that it happens someday like what happened after my performance. Finding accurate information on what causes it, however, is next to impossible--it's too uncommon for science hives to have developed a good understanding of the process yet, and our cultural conceptualization of it is shrouded in rumor and mysticism. ...There's quite a market out there for people selling misinformation to desperate rogues.

>Becoming a hiver only to lose it
>Fuel for a riot
Yes, exceptionally so, and all it would accomplish would be to further incite harsher treatment on antisocial rogues.

I will not let that happen.

>Call the police
>Tell them you're coming
>Send Nellie and Kiara ahead
Good plan, only I'm not letting Nellie or Kiara leave my presence.

"Nellie, Kiara, call the holding cells. Tell them we're peacefully coming over, that should at least let them calm people down to some degree.

"Got it--phone, phone...!" Nellie says as the two of them step back into my apartment and away from the ever-increasing din.

Now I need to address... my... my hive?

I feel a shiver try to run its way through my body, but I'm too keyed up and my muscles are tight enough that they don't let it. I step forwards, gripping the balcony. The boisterous talking quiets in an instant as they all turn to look at me, feeling that I'm about to speak.

>Humor
>Warmth, excitement
>Control, calm
>Organize them
>Short and sweet

I bring what parts of myself that are calming and focused to the surface, like a sea beast breaching itself through overwhelming waves of elation. I know I'm still in shock; my feeling are roiling around within me too fast to place names to. I look down at them all, and allow myself a little smile.

"I am glad that you enjoyed the performance."

They know I'm not finished, but their laughter makes itself known both audibly and empathically as spikes of joy erupt throughout the assembly like glints of light off shattered glass.

"I... am Queen Ryka." I say, holding one hand to my chest, and the other out toward them--underhanded and outstretched. "...Listen, I don't want to make some grand speech. Almost all of you know what's happened, and I'm sure you've been running through the implications in your head for everything it means for you. Some of you I know, and some I'm meeting now for the first time. I cannot claim to understand you all yet, but know this:"

I clench my hand into a fist, pressing it tightly against my breast.

"Here and now, we are all in this together."

They feel it. I see their smiles, the tears and snot matting through their fur. Their empathy glows, like a raging bonfire of [Overwhelming Joy] lighting up a pitch night of [Anxiety] almost into day.

"...Which is why I must ask you all to follow me to the holding cells, for we are not all here."

I let my hand fall.

"A place some of you may wish to avoid. I know full well what the life of a rogue can be like. ...But so do you." I say, sweeping my gaze over the neumono. Pinpricks of [Fear] and [Anxiety] appear before rippling out as the stress rolls over their neighbors.

"You know that what they could gain and might stand to lose... is more precious to some of us than life itself."

The nature of fear and restlessness in the crowd is shifting. Nebulous worries drowned out in pure unadulterated happiness galvanize into resoluteness. They are not going to let this happen. They are not going to leave anyone alone. How dare anybody take them away? Voices start up, speaking over each other as many neumono take out phones and maps, starting to get ready to leave.

Which is when I feel the stress and anxiety behind me increase significantly.

I turn back towards Kiara and Nellie. They're no longer on the phone. "Kiara, what's wrong?"

She looks up at me, hands quivering at her sides as if they want to clench.

"Ryka, they... they told us not to come."

I return to look over the crowd and gesture towards the road. "March." I say as cheers erupt that are definitely going to result in noise complaints from the rest of the apartment tenants.

"What?" I ask, turning around once more to look down at Nellie.

"Fuckers said we're not a hive and they don't give a shit about what we want; they all but fucking said we're not registered, so they won't let us see anybody!" Kiara spits, slamming her fist into the side of my door, narrowly avoiding denting it.

"They don't want us to bring a bunch of 'emotionally unstable'" Nellie says, frowning as she makes fingerquotes in the air. "neumono to crowd around the building; I tried to get through to them about what happened, but they started stonewalling us, they didn't want to hear anything!"

"Yeah, well, they don't have the resources to stop us from showing up, either, so that's tough shit for them." Kiara says. "Ryka.. Ryka, we're going, aren't we? Please tell me we're going." She adds, staring at me with wide, open eyes, her voice becoming a shaking plea. I can already feel that some part of her is in mourning already for something that hasn't yet happened.

And won't happen.

I'm not going to let it happen.

"We're going. Whether they agree or not, we have every right to be there."

"Yes..." Kiara says, her body breathing out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"We'd better go." Lett says, pulling his cap further over his eyes. "The longer we take, the more possible it is for someone to try and stop us."

"We're going to prison...?" Rupert asks, seeming a little bit lost. "I'm, okay, but, I don't really understand why...?" He's uneasy for a lot of reasons, but it at least seems mostly focused in simple confusion.

"It's okay. It'll make sense." Rotali says, placing a hand on his lower back beneath his backpack. "Trust us. Just... just ride the whirlwind a little bit longer."

Rupert lets out a slow sigh. "Okay. Okay, got it." He says, nodding to her. And then to me.

It's time.

Well.

Your hive's emotions are too riled to deal with this anger directly. Time for some collective bargaining: hire an investigator. Give them recordings of the conversation with the police. Also, keep talking to the police and keep recording their conversations; it might make you angry but you'll get the last laugh when you spill their conduct to the courts and the public.

Well, two pieces of good news on becoming an OFFICIAL hive:
1.) Queens are, I would imagine, incredibly obvious. Queens heavily imply a hive.
2.) There are Science Hives, they want to know things about Queens, the best way to get one to co-operate is to help their hive, your ascension was about as obvious as possible. It will be some time until one comes to you... or you could call one, it is not like you lack proof.

>>1123697
Great, the police are being scumbags about this. Well, we're going. When we get there, we just have to get within empathy range to keep the prisoners stable. At that point we can camp out until the police let the prisoners go, even if we have to pay bail.
How long would it take to get registered so they have no excuse?

We should prepare for the worst case scenario and get a few weapons for those who have been in combat before.

You gave them fair warning, if they think its not their problem time to politely disabuse them of the notion.

This is going to be a peaceful protest. They are holding members of your hive, who need you, and you aren't going to leave until you see them.

If the cops say you aren't properly registered they can write you a fine. You aren't abandoning any of yours

>>1123705
No weapons, that could cause a bloodbath.

Protest signs however... Cops always get a PR hit if they attack peaceful protesters.

wait question, does multicultural mean multiple types of hives, or multiple species, in this case.

IF and only if the local police chief is not a nuemono, this is half-understandable, a UTTER misunderstanding that could have been easily avoided, but understandable.

If you start by demanding the prisoners' immediate release, you can negotiate down to holding vigil outside, in empathy range.

Even if you get arrested, as long as you stay together you've achieved your goal. It might be bad optics but that's a problem for tomorrow.

Long Live The Queen Queen Ryka 2026/03/25(Wed)00:33 No. 1123913 ID: d44c14
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>Multicultural
Yes, multiple hives, and multiple species. It's not just neumono here, there are pomi, humans, heef, even some other aliens in the mix. The joint government is just that, a joint between the different aliens living here on this colony.

I do, in fact, suspect that this is the reason Nellie was dismissed so firmly.

>Hire an investigator
>Register
No time. Courts aren't particularly effective at these sorts of circumstances anyway. And registering takes a few weeks at minimum; it's supposed to be a process for off-world hives to emigrate.

>Weapons
>No weapons
I don't own anything besides prop knives with real blades. Either way, trying to arm ourselves with weapons is only going to make it more likely that they'll be used. I'd like to avoid that.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few among us already, though. We haven't had a lot of time to take stock of ourselves, rogues frequently live in unfortunate circumstances, and the outdoor theater doesn't frisk.

>Demand release of prisoners
>Queens are obvious
>Empathy range
Queens are obvious. To neumono. When they've had time to acclimatize. I just have to hope I feel the part well enough as I am now that they become convinced. Either way, I'm going to do it in person. When someone's standing in front of you, you cannot dismiss them so easily.

What we want isn't remotely unreasonable. Theoretically, all we need to do is get close enough. I hope they don't have jammers. They shouldn't, but...

"Come on, stay between us, Ryka." Kiara says, stepping in front of me as we head down the stairs to join the crowd.

"I'm not fragile, Kiara." I reply, stepping into the morass of bodies.

"Haha, yeah, it's... for our own sake, really..." Nellie says, rubbing her head strainedly. "If anything happened to you now, after all of this... well, I truly don't know what I'd do!"

"I'd die." Lett says quietly without elaborating. ...I won't speak to his empathy.

I sigh and let the three form a triangle around me. Rotali and Rupert seem to feel comfortable enough just remaining close rather than joining the perimeter.


And then, we march.

- - -

We keep up a good pace, only slow enough to ensure that nobody is being left behind. The roads pass by us, sometimes narrow, sometimes wide, and all foot traffic is completely dominated by us. I find it lucky that very few individuals pass us by, but each time, the right of way predictably belongs to the enormous group of neumono, and they step aside. Too many are aliens; I cannot directly read their empathy to know what they think about us, but we have more important things to worry about. Before too long, we arrive at the holding cells.

We don't get all the way up to the door before two armed guards are rushing out to meet us--or head us off, as the case seems to be.

"Stop it--stop right there, you are going to have to disperse right now, we told you already not to do this, and you directly violated our orders!" Says the pomi, the heef next to them carefully looking over all of us.

I can feel pangs of [Frustration], [Anger], and [Malice] running throughout those around me, spreading and amplifying each other's emotions. This isn't a good start.

"Whatever you think--" I begin, stepping forwards past Kiara and Nellie despite their clear trepidation. "Disperse! Now!" The pomi shouts, cutting me off. This doesn't go over well with the other neumono. "Are you fucking serious..-?" "You idiotic-" "What is wrong wi--" "We just--" "They're not rogues, they're part of us--" "We have a QUEEN you fucking--!"

"Quiet!" The pomi hisses. His hand rests somewhat close to his rifle, and many of us are not pleased about it. I can feel their [Anger] ramping upwards. "I'm going to start counting down--"

As he speaks, I try to discourage the others from talking. They quiet down, but not completely. The discontented murmuring continues, especially from those at the back who can't see us directly.

"We literally can't leave." I say, trying to emphasize myself firmly but non-aggressively. "Please. Listen for just a moment." I hold my hands up calmly in front of him. This would be far easier if he were a neumono, but few of us would willingly make a career of guarding those with pained empathy. "You arrested many neumono today. We just want to be allowed to be near them. That really is all."

The heef spits. "You bring an angry mob for visiting hours? No. Stay away from this building. They haven't even been processed yet, and we're a little fucking on-edge from all this trouble. Visitation can wait until we're through with the process."

"Don't try to push this." The pomi says, staring directly at me. "We know exactly what you're trying to do. We happen to know that these are rogues, and some of them have been problems for a while. You're not going to try and pull that hiver bullshit to just ignore any consequences. We have our laws, and unless you're a registered hive entity, we don't have to give you shit for accommodations. All of you can just deal with due process like everybody fucking else."

I--what?

Oh.

...I think I understand now.

He's irritated at hives. We must just be the only neumono within reach.

Criminally, neumono that belong to hives are typically considered part of that hive. They can be arrested, but legally, it is the hive itself that's responsible for their behavior and dealt with by the hive. ...Internal punishment can take a lot of forms. At worst, something far harsher than the dictates of law. At least, a slap on the wrist, if that. But for the broader society, the hive makes reparations, either in community service, fines, or similar punishments, which is under the hive's jurisdiction for how they decide to dole it out.

There are good reasons for a system like that to exist, but it wouldn't be inaccurate at all to say that it's abusable. I have my own thoughts about the efficacy of retributive justice, but it does disconnect the individual from the punishment. Sometimes, neumono are forced into the role of a 'scapegoat' by their hive. Other times, when such a large entity is involved, consequences can be escaped entirely through legal machinations. Many larger hives operate similar to large scale corporations in this way. Even when the system is working as intended, outsider species frequently misunderstand how light the punishments on hives seem to be. But it frequently doesn't work as intended.

"Every single person we've taken in is going to be meticulously documented and processed. We'll make you wait as long as we fucking need to get this all sorted. If you don't like it, get out, this is going to be your last warning. You've already disobeyed direct orders and violated gathering ordinances just to throw your weight around; you're going to make yourselves wish being charged with a misdemeanor is all you'll suffer from if you dare to keep escalating this." The pomi says, standing straight and glaring directly at me.

That was a mistake. The [Anger] spikes throughout the sea of empathy around me. Upon seeing this, the heef grips his rifle more tightly, cascading into even more [Anger] while the pomi keeps staring daggers into my skull.

The [Anger] flows into me. I can feel my hands trying to tighten into fists. My eyes narrow. I do my best to keep [Calm], but I can't say the same for everyone else. Kiara feels like she's holding herself back from tackling the heef, Lett wants to shove himself into the pomi's legs, and Nellie is frantically trying to decide which rifle bolt to take for me first. It feels as though their emotions are going to blow over if I don't do anything to direct their responses. I can feel their violent instincts wash over me, but I do not want that. I need another way to handle this situation.

Ask to speak to the police chief for negotiations. Have the other neumono call the station and tell them the same.

He might be a control freak, but if he gets riled up and tries to puff himself up as the alpha while his boss is in plain view, he's screwed. You just need to capitalize on that.

>>1123913
Respect. The police have been routinely disrespected by the hives. Change your speaking manner to be as respectful as possible, and make clear that you do not want to escalate. You are a new Queen, you are worried you need to be near *all* your new hivemembers for a while to stabilize the connection, and you can do so through a wall if needed; anything to stay a group. Say please. Bow if that is appropriate. If you are given an opportunity, say that the former-rogues they have will likely go mad if the bond breaks. If he straight up doesn't believe that you're a new queen, then ask how you could prove it. You can sortof communicate via the empathic connection, right? Maybe something like that?

Also say if you are wrong, and there is evidence from former new Queens forming that the bond is more stable than that, then you can wait. There are many other things to do, anyway...

>direct their responses
Your hive's responses? Okay, first, order them all to stand back. They don't need to be within earshot. They can sit on the ground some distance away. Or do pushups, something to burn off some of that anger. What do you normally do to vent?

Urge your hive to take a step back. a show of deescalation.

Express your regret that this situation has caused so much trouble, but you will not abandon your people. They can issue a fine, or arrest you, but you cannot leave. If they can't allow the whole hive in then just you and your guard.

Point out that arresting all of you will make for a lot more work.

You should turn to address your Hive directly. You are their Queen now and it's imperative that you are the rider of the horse that is this new Hive, and not being ridden by it. Your hivemates will change you but you have already changed them, and will do so more in the future as long as you stay the one who directs and isn't directed. Getting subsumed by your Hive's emotions is a bad way to start your hopefully long reign if you want to be an effective Queen. It might be time to give them their first order for most of them to scatter (staying in empathy range) so the threat of all of you mobbing them decreases. They're aliens, if they can't see your hive they'll subconsciously think the threat has lessened even if you are all still in contact and can gather again at a moments notice.

The current problem is that you have very little obvious leverage. The law isn't on your side for the moment, so you should have a few of your hivemates step away and start taping this. Then at least it won't be your word vs. theirs if anything does go wrong, and taping the interactions will hopefully make them deescalate as well.

Can you feel any of your new hivemates from inside or are they too far away/being jammed? It might be best to have someone from your hive who has been in these holding cells come up to tell you if they use a jammer inside. If not one temporary solution may be to try and create a daisy chain of empathy connected to you while go about other business trying to find sure footing for the hive. You should also ask them, if they know, just how many holding cells they may have inside. If it's around 10-20 it might be an option to simply .

Explicit threats you aren't sure you can back up aren't going to help, but you also can't let yourself be pushed around. Maybe sit on the ground to show that, while you're not going anywhere, you aren't here to be a threat. And then explain the consequences of not allowing you contact with your hivemates. The best way to calm and get cooperation from those inside would be to let you see and talk to them, even if it's alone. And if they are kept separate from you for too long they may revert back to being rogues, and if that happens... up to a dozen suicides under his watch won't play well with anyone, especially once the media frenzy from this extremely rare and important event for neumono spreads.

>>1123919
Let's say this and do something else to boot:

Let's sing a song of kinship as a group. One from the play that inspired everyone into becoming a hive, or another common song that everyone knows of that sort.

That will soothe the anger among the neumono and also give them a reinforced sense of belonging.
To say nothing of the fact it will be hard for the police to justify attacking a whole group of people just singing kindly in front of the station.

How many of you are allowed? 3 would be enough. Just you and a guard or so. Everybody else can stay in range but get distance from the police. Perhaps have a few head to the mayor to go play politics. We are a voting bloc now.

If I got this right, you can stand outside the wall, it just has to be the right wall.

You can also ask that they use their radios and call in a neumono officer, any of which could spot what's wrong.

There is something about this situation that really makes you appreciate why neumono became such a violent species.
An attack on one is one and the same as an attack on all. Hive Neumono I would say rank death and going rogue closely. They can feel each others emotions as though they are one. And last but not least... an eye for an eye, and the world goes blind.
Makes me wonder how they got OUT of that closed circle of war, wasn't it contact with other species? I digress

Your hive CANNOT really back down without risking falling apart, these people don't want to be the ones to do so, only you can as the Queen.
You do not have many tools here, only your words, the fact they hopefully don't want to shoot into a hive and be gruesomely murdered, whatever laws may or may not exist or even matter seeing as these are the enforcers, and whatever groups are above these people.

And I have to admit, I do not have many USEFUL words here, not that wouldn't amount to further escalation, I doubt telling them what the cost of shooting into a hive would be taken well, even if it might FORCE them to back down, you cannot back down enough to just go above them, I do not know what the hell the laws are or if they even care (I can imagine a world where a Hive counts as a person, I do not know if it is this one).

Hope they listen to a calm explanation? Even if they do not listen, it will buy time to cool the hive, if only enough to attempt to go above them.

>>1123913
This is bad for us, but I can sympathize with these policemen. They're used to people like us abusing our power to ignore the laws that are meant to keep people safe. They have good reason to see us as a threat. Share that compassion with our hive. Turn to them and tell them to hold; we are not here for violence. The aliens will see our call for a peaceful solution and hopefully see us as less of a threat.

Then we talk to our hivemates and plan. Those of us with legal or financial ability, separate from the group and see to those needs. The others will go around the building to try and sense our hivemates, or record us with their phones to make sure the police don't do anything crazy.

As for Ryka and our closest followers, we are still going to visit our hivemates. They are in dire need and we will not leave them behind at this crucial moment. If being arrested is the only way to get close to them, so be it. Show our hive that we're willing to put ourself on the line for them; by the time the police are done processing us, we'll get some minor civil disobedience charges at worst, but we'll be here long enough to ensure our hivemates our safe.

Adding on to my earlier suggestion:

To help the officer understand you can use an analogy... these former rogues are now your children. How long would he keep a newborn separated from its mother? This is an emergency.
Apologize for bringing what looks like an angry mob here. You have no choice but to move as a group at the moment. You know he had good reason for arresting people during the initial chaos. You apologize for their behavior as well, both past and present, and you promise that sort of behavior will not continue. You are a new hive, and that is live-changing, for all involved. You can ensure that that change is for the better.
Ask if there is any sort of compromise you can make? Would some sort of agreement or promise to behave a certain way in the future help?

Long Live The Queen Queen Ryka 2026/05/03(Sun)12:25 No. 1126183 ID: 6a3b70
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>Record police interactions
Fortunately, it looks like Rupert is already doing this, along with several others. He looks uneasy about it. I know the face of someone who hasn't had negative interactions with authority before. It's not hard to tell how far he is out of his depth.

He isn't shaking as he holds his tablet, though. It's impressive emotional adaptiveness for what it is.

>Weaponize the media
...But it's not going to do very much. Neumono from across the stars may rightly condemn them, but that won't give any rogues a hive. Obtaining a settlement from this isn't out of the question, but even a substantial amount of money wouldn't erase the knowledge of what we'd been through. From others or ourselves. People rarely think of it this way, but Pride can be its own kind of resource. You can spend it, or have too much. But people that don't have any do about as well as people that are lacking in food.

It makes you easy to hurt. It keeps you from standing up for yourself.

>This is your hive
>You will change them, they will change you
>Do not allow them to control you
It's far too soon to become a victim of instrumentality syndrome. You're right, we need to establish how we handle ourselves in turmoil now, before any rigidity sets in. The will of the mass is no better than a mob of unaffiliated individuals.

>Empathic communication?
Empathic communication only works between neumono, and some creatures still living on our homeworld of Astreneus V that are also capable of it. ...Usually to mind control us to be enslaved or devoured. I've heard rumors about some far-flung species that are able to do something similar, but even if that's true, Heef, Pomi, and Humans are not among them. These wardens can't sense our empathy at all, let alone anything qualitative.

>Laws
>Altering rules
>They see neumono hives as abusing their power
>Share compassion
Laws don't affect a person's lived reality unless they're standing inside of a courtroom. These correctional officers aren't going to be swayed by untried proposals for a better criminal justice system even if they do hold merit.

Their motivations, though, I can find a way to use against them. I just need to find the right way to non-violently force them into seeing their goals as conflicting with their actions and not our desires.

>Your tools are your words
>Speak respectfully
>Do not escalate
>Sit on the ground
>Point out rogue instability
"Everybody, calm down and sit on the ground. Aggression serves no-one. We're already nearly finished here." I speak clearly, both to the neumono, and to the wardens. More of a hope than a declaration, but I need to buy at least a little more time. Letting them know it should be over soon will hopefully mollify their anger, and directing them to sit will assuage the wardens' paranoia while indicating our stubbornness. We're not leaving until we finish this.

I'm gratified to see that while the heef's grip on his rifle hasn't changed, the rest of his muscles have relaxed somewhat, moving away from action. Whether or not they believe my status, I can play the part of competent authority enough to make them hesitate, if only slightly.

It's not enough on its own, but I'm distracted by the fact that every neumono is sitting down. I knew they would, but seeing it in person... My ears whip around from how quickly I turn.

"HEY, WHAT--" The pomi starts, glowering at the crowd.

...

But it's still not enough.

We need to do something more.

But... what can I say?

If I asked them, they would follow me into hell without looking. They would sacrifice themselves to save the 'us' that doesn't even exist yet. They would disperse and cut our losses, no matter how much it hurt. They would burn down these holding cells. They would kill these two aliens.

Anything. I could say anything, and they would do it.

My empathy leaks out of me. I can't stop it. My calm demeanor is cracking, and I can tell, but nothing I do will stop what I'm feeling from trickling through the gaps. We can't afford to be uncertain right now, but what right do I--


Suddenly, two hands clap the sides of my face, and rather than the heef and pomi, a snowy face obscures my vision as Kiara looks back at me, exuding her empathy like a yell.

[Trust]
[Fear]
[Affirmation]

"Ryka." She says, staring into my eyes, her cropped ears resting beside her shoulders. "Whatever you want to do. We're with you."

I close my mouth. She sits down again, and I can see them all looking up at me. Unfamiliar faces with familiar empathy. A sea of myself, reflected back at me. Neumono here hanging on my every word, my every motion. Disparate. Different. But united.

And sharing more than just a single point of connection.

...How blind have I been? They were at my play. They came willingly to see performance art. It isn't just myself that they have in common, it's impossible for that to be the case.

My hive. These people are like me.

...It doesn't matter what's fair. It doesn't matter what's right. Whether they made their choice, or it was made for them, does not change what's right in front of us.
They trust me to lead them. And leading them is my responsibility.

These people will follow me wherever I lead.

And I owe it to them to make sure that everyone gets through this.

No matter what.


I know what we have to do.


I take a deep breath, and look straight at the pomi.

"...Fine, then. You win." I say.

"That's what I thought." The pomi says, his hand slowly slackening from his weapon. "Now, get--"

"We surrender."

"--What?"

"We surrender." I say again, simply. His eyes begin to widen as comprehension dawns on him, glancing between me, Kiara, and a few of the others sitting on the ground beside me. A quiet murmuring comes through the hive, but I can feel the [Anger] changing, transformed into [Resoluteness] and [Sorrow] beneath the still-present blanket of [Joy].

"...Are you fucking crazy? We can't hold that many--"

I whirl on him. "You were the one that spoke of us violating your orders."

"So leave, we don't--"

"So now you try to give clemency? Just ignore our 'misdemeanor'? Are the rules you cling to so swayed by your mercurial whim? Is this the justice to which you posture?" I step forwards. Slowly, but deliberately towards him, my arms slack to my sides.

His demeanor has changed. I don't think he expected someone larger than him to make demands like this. The heef, who's mostly been stoic, looks as if he's not sure how to react to this and keeps glancing towards the pomi. He must have seniority.

"Every one, meticulously processed and documented. Those were your words." I say, looking unwavering into his eyes. He accepts the challenge, but I can tell how uncomfortable he is the moment he realizes that looking away would offer some sense of victory towards me in this confrontation.

"If hiver bullshit is what you despise so much, then we'll share in the punishment." I continue. "Every. One of us."

"What... what do you..." He starts, before finally looking away for a moment as his thoughts seem to gather. "We don't have the cells for a group your size, we don't even have enough amenities to sleep on, the violation of ethic--"

"Then we'll sleep on the floor." I say, waving a hand in dismissal. "Ask any of us, you'll find no shortage of volunteers. We're supposed to be rogues, aren't we? We've slept through worse."

He doesn't form his words fast enough to reply to me, and I have no interest in giving him the time to do so.

"We accept whatever penance we must to atone for what we did. Whatever harm our actions have caused, property damage, injuries, public disturbance, we will endeavor to fix it." I say.

He falters. His foot shifts in place as if he's trying to take a step back reflexively before holding ground. I take another small step towards him, and place a single digit to his breast.

"Do your duty, officer." I say, standing above him and looking down. He can't meet my eyes anymore, choosing instead to look forwards.

But the only thing to see there is the field of neumono, sitting resolute, waiting to be arrested.


We've won.


- - -


The processing goes slowly, but smoothly. I don't see the entire circumstances of everyone because there's so many of us, but from the chain of empathic contact I can glean a few details. All of us are frisked, and, as expected, confiscations occur. I'll have to figure out the legality of what contraband they had later; we might've racked up a few more charges depending on what it was. Communication devices and electronics are taken, and each of us is not-so-thoroughly deloused in some kind of chemical.

But it was worth it. Inside the building, the blissful feeling of me reconnects with the rest of us and the bubbles of fear and doubt are dispelled so thoroughly that I feel more strongly confident about this course of action than I think I even intellectually should. We're together again, for the first time.

We're led through corridors by armored guards out into an open courtyard surrounded on all sides by two levels of cells filled with aliens and neumono alike. Most of the neumono have my empathy. Some do not, either rogues or members of other hives. I can see them, hiding in the depths, gripping the bars, multitudes of emotions flowing past them towards us like rain against the canvas of [Joy] still irrepressible in those around me.

"Here." The pomi from before says, gesturing ahead of us to where other guards are spreading blankets out like a large patchwork quilt over the cold ground. "...It's the best we can do." He says, still not meeting my gaze. His aggression's gone. He just looks uncomfortable now, but I'm grateful at least for his professionalism.

I nod to him. "Thank you. It's fine." I say, as we move to settle in amongst the blankets. The guards are wary of us, but the way they're prioritizing overall handling of the number of us more than individual safety tells me that they don't consider us suddenly turning violent to be very likely.

And it isn't. Even with our full cooperation, this process has taken hours. We haven't even been individually processed yet, merely prepared for holding in a facility already overfilled by our presence. Stars are visible through the open ceiling as our bodies, exhausted from the day's events, finally begin to settle down, the cold atmosphere blowing through our fur as we bundle up in each other's body warmth.


Here I lay, surrounded by unwashed rogues in the open night air, bodies tucked against mine, laying limply against each other as the quiet sound of wailing from the cells of those unable to match my empathy lament nearby. I wish I could say I'm commiserating with them, but I truthfully can't. My tired mind is only able to focus on one thing at this point.

The night is loud. We smell terrible. The ground is uncomfortable. All around me, neumono I barely know and some I do not even know at all sigh and shift as the chilled air threatens them with a poor night's sleep.


And they are Mine.


"When the light rises... I will feed you. When it falls, I will keep you warm...

The storms we will weather together... and when the world is cold...

I will call you my family."



End of Chapter

And so, a third option was found, congratulations Ryka, and welcome onto the stage.

>>1126183
Yaaaay everyone's in jail!
This is inconvenient but necessary. Thankfully nobody will mess with you like this, but you should resist any temptation to take advantage of that.

Obviously you must deal with the cold by cuddling even closer and making a true pile.

Then you can get the true hive experience of waking up to a pile of fluff.

Stayed strong, stayed together. This bodes well for the hive.

Have sweet, shared dreams.