The hivemind is conquering for me?

Slick wet with blood gore and viscera, men and women parted way and saluted towards the fourteen feet tall armour clad warrior. At this moment, none would dare to do anything else. For the first few hours after a battle, it was protocol not to speak to King Sigismund under any circumstances.

Sigismund ignored looking directly at any of his worthy warriors. He respected them, but he knew himself that one wrong misjudge of a look and he would turn them into mince. He ignored everyone and focused on his destination. His post battle throne.

Built for his current size, he could sit there and meditate until he was calm. Still, he was struggling. As he sat down and left to his own thoughts, his eyes naturally turned to his war gear, more specifically, his sword, Doombringer.

The sword had torn bloody murder through the ranks of the invading Coalition today, he could still feel the screams of its bloodlust clawing at the back of his Mindspace. The Alien blade was not satisfied with the amount of Thurx oil it had spilled today, it needed more blood.

Sigismund closed his eyes and in his augmented emotional state, resisted with everything he had to start up the engines and send it FTL straight into a coalition planet so he could fight more.

His breathing increased in intensity as an uninhibited aura of bloodlust and rage began to emanate off him, those nearby could feel it and felt their blood run cold, but they had to continue on with their tasks. They didn’t fear their King, they feared letting him down and forcing his hand when he had no control over his impulses.

In the thick of battle he was fine, gave orders like the king and general he was, his mind was focused. It was the silence after the battles were over. When his mind was only his own, that was when bad things could happen. So they diligently worked.

With his eyes closed, Sigismund heard a set of heavy metallic footsteps approaching him. Opening his eyes was a male techno mechanic, the third one he has had as a personal assistant since Jocasta left.

They had all been adequate, but could not keep up in combat and had all perished in service of the empire.

”Your grace.” The frayed robotic voice of the man spoke. The sound of something non-human made Sigismund’s neck twitch unnaturally, but he kept himself in check as he looked down at the man.

”Speak.” His voice was gruffer and deeper than usual, a side effect of the insane amounts of energy swirling around his body.

”The Lady Jocasta requests communication from Vallerand.” The techno mechanic said and all of a sudden the screaming in the back of his Mindspace ceased as he followed up to make sure he heard right.

”Jocasta? Give me the communicator.” He said, placing his sword on his lap and reaching down to grab the communicator from the mechanic’s hand. ”Leave.” He said with a regal might and the whole room scurried away.

After everyone was gone, he took a few moments to make sure his mind was as clear as it could be at this moment before, with great difficulty in his gauntlets and enlarged hands, accepted the communication.

”My King, I have good news- Oh, have I caught you at an ill moment?” Jocasta spoke and Sigismund shook his head. ”No, the battle concluded not too long ago, I am resting.”

Jocasta let out a binaric squark before responding. ”Do not lie to me your grace, your head is above normal Psionic growth. What height are you at currently?”

Sigismund looked deadpanned at Jocasta, preparing for what came next. Jocasta was usually very respectful to him, but... ”Fourteen feet.”

”Fourteen feet!!! *Binaric Screech!* Sigismund have you not been taking your medicines? Ten is the healthy maximum, you know this!!! When was the last time you had a lobotomy? If you tell me it was before I left, I am not going to be happy.”

Sigismund chose his right as the military king not to answer that question, but a lack of answer was answer enough. Jocasta sighed despite not having a fleshy throat. ”Take me to the honoured dead, my king.”

Sigismund frowned, knowing what Jocasta was about to do, but got up and walked towards the edge of the room. Being his ship, any dead that had fallen in battle, and were recoverable, were to be escorted home on his ship. Their final voyage was to be one of honour and remembrance in the presence of their king.

He then proceeded to flip the communicator around to show some of the fallen and waited until- ”Ah, that one will do.”

A moment later the corpse of a fallen techno mechanic began to convulse with fresh life. After two minutes of spasms, it suddenly stopped and with great speed sat upright with a frown on the half of the face that hadn’t been blown off.

”What the? How is this one even dead? I count 68% augments still functional and the head only took cosmetic damage- Oh wait, there is the problem, yes. This is why I tell my colleagues. ’Get your heart swapped for an artificial one’ Much less likely to die from shock that way. Such a shame, this one had done well to get so augmented as well.”

The voice of the woman was horse, scratchy, the augmented vocal chords had been damaged, but even with the different voice, Sigismund could tell exactly who was speaking. ”I still find this incredibly creepy Jocasta.”

Jocasta rolled her hosts eyes. ”So you have said, now let’s get back to your chair so I can run diagnostics. How is Lorraine doing? Has she been too scared to do her job? I told you his stoicness is just a front and-”

”She is dead. A Starforged Psio-lancer. slipped past me and blasted her to bits in the half second before I could get to him. Then her replacement got squashed by a Plipit attack titan I was battling against, then their replacement got his head blown off by I still don’t know what.”

Sigismund then slouched in his chair and sighed. A deep mournful sigh he had been keeping in for a while. ”I am sick of these aliens killing my people, Jocasta. I try and try to kill as many as I can to spare my men their ends, but it is never enough. I still think King Demus had the right idea. To launch a crusade, amass all able bodied men and women and just wage war until the enemy are dealt with.”

Sigismund looked down at Jocasta’s doll for a moment as it stood completely still, it then looked up at him a moment later and smiled warmly. ”Times were different back then, my king. No Drakoshi, no swarm. Just one enemy, and even then the civil kings would never allow such a needless loss of life. Also, forgive any delays, using my power through the communicator is causing some input lag... Also a great shame about Lorraine, she was a bright woman.”

Sigismund said nothing, he knew this, he was just venting. He watched as Jocasta’s doll began twiddling with his war gear in a way the former owner of the body would have had no idea how to do so. Seconds later, after Jocasta’s doll finished her messing about, The suit around him suddenly loosened as it was no longer pressurised and he let out a satisfied. ”Aaaahh.”

Sigismund then sat there silently as he watched Jocasta’s doll perform her checks. The return to normalcy calmed his mind considerably and at the end, he had returned to his normal self.

Now of sound body and mind, Sigismund recalled something about Jocasta being here and asked. ”Wait, did you send a communication for a reason? Or was it just to check on me?” Although he wouldn’t admit it, he wanted it to be the latter, he was seriously missing his friend.

However, ”Of course I had a reason, I wouldn’t just call out of the blue, I have an apprentice to teach! My entire awake cycle is totally full right now! I bring news from the college, clarification, the Psionic college on Leondis’ moon.”

”Yes, I figured. What is it you need to inform me of Jocasta? I am still technically in a warzone and I don’t need back home politics.”

Jocasta’s doll paused for a few seconds and then moments later some information appeared on the communicator’s holo-projector Sigismund immediately leant forward. It was the young warrior, Apollo, fighting from numerous angles. It showed what looked like him setting up an ambush for- ”Oh he has signed up for expeditions? Interesting, I might have a way to benefit from this... Oh? He won? Has anyone ever won? I didn’t even win and that woman’s weapon... Is that?” Sigismund then saw the green eyes. ”It is! Hahaha! He beat her! No way! Hahaha! I knew I saw potential in the lad! Truly a fine successor he would be.”

Jocasta waited for Sigismund to look at her after being satisfied and once he did she replied. ”Yes, someone else beat their hunters, his sister. Orchid Lambdason, but I have little data on that, she fought mostly in the jungle away from the surveillance. But what you should find interesting is there. Do you recognise that woman, my king?”

Sigismund leaned forward to get a look at the pink haired woman in some of the video’s. He wasn’t sure who the woman was for a moment before something suddenly clicked. ”Wait, is that?” Sigismund couldn’t believe what he was seeing. That was the little shit that charged him fearlessly when she was only ten years old! ”They live?” He asked, bewildered as he turned to the doll of Jocasta in surprise, prompting the woman to nod.

”Yes, my King Sigfried Pallasus still lives and has also enrolled in the college this year.”