ORIGIN - Quis me amabit?

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Through the drifting snow of Ursa it moved, so cold this time of year, yet the Vindicator felt no chill, only the soft sensation of the small flakes of white landing on its marble skin. It didn't melt quickly - no heat rose from the core of the drone to turn the ice to water. Eventually it might build up, if it didn't move. But it was drifting over the snows, eventually reaching the caverns deep within the mountain that led to the Hive's sanctuary. It ducked within, passing by the guarding Praetors and Cleaners that ever-watched the entrances for intruders. But it was not an intruder, it never would be.

It came to rest in one of the many chambers of the Hive, where Drones were set to rest, and rest it did, becoming motionless in its spot, but otherwise unchanging. It had sent out a signal to the rest of the family, for one to come speak with it. The thoughts filtering through the link were troubled, tangled, too complex to go through anything but a one-on-one discussion. It needed...guidance. And this time, not from Mother, but from another of its lower kind, another Drone, created for a purpose.

Doubt had tangled and muddled its mind, and while it had clung to the sympathies of Doru for the last few cycles, it had returned here, now, to seek a more familiar hand.

@Alcina

And of course, among those Drones was Alcina. She had been there to welcome Vindicator to the greater caves when Mother first sent it out to the world. And as an elder sister, she would be there for them again. I will come, Vindicator, she lets flutter across the link, before turning from her previous course.

She too navigates the frozen caves, following their twists down past Praetors and statues of the foolish. And before long, Alcina would arrive at the same chamber that her sibling awaited her in.

Claws click against the chitinous floor, announcing her presence alongside the warmth of her link in the Hivemind. "I am here, sibling. You wished to speak? I will listen," she rumbles, laying herself down next to them. She is at ease, warm, inviting. She is eager to help her family.

@Vindicator

The Vindicator waited patiently for its sibling to appear, remembering the last time it had needed such guidance. It had been her then as well, when it first emerged from its chrysalis, fresh and new. It was a different being now, much different, many of its empty slates already filling, but if there was any Drone in Mother's Hive that the Vindicator it could say it was close to, it would be Zero Zero Seven Warbeast, Alcina.

It greeted her with warm affection as she settled down before it and it followed suit, slowly drifting off of its bit of levitation so that the points of its legs touched the floor. It stood there, balanced, at ease, and was silent for a moment as it considered how to approach this.

"This drone thanks thee for its time," it started, but it already felt so formal. More formal then usual, somehow. With a strange movement in its fractal mind that could be comparable to a clearing of the throat, it tried again. "Sister. The Vind-...I have been troubled. I hath known naught but love from thine family, from thine Hive. It is with love that I function, with love that I spreadeth Mother's will and offer her love upon others. However..I asketh of thee, Alcina...hast thee known love to one who is not family?" It was almost a pensive voice that echoed from the Vindicator, as if unsure if it should even be speaking these things within the halls of Order.

@Alcina

She is patient, letting Vindicator settle itself. It'll speak when it is ready. And so Alcina makes a show of being comfortable, yawning wide and stretching. All gestures showing that she is at ease. There is no danger in the halls of Mother. There is no shame.

"Of course, sibling," she nods, before letting Vindicator continue. She lets it spill forth its words and its matching silent worries. She feels its doubt, how it worries that it is committing sacrilege.

She picks up cube of clearstone - this one had been stacked in a neat little pile amongst others. Rotating it in the harsh light, Alcina stares into it, as she parses her words.

"...I have not felt love outside of Mother's family. No. But I have not exactly had the opportunity to speak with others," the warbeast admits. She was raised for war. She tries to keep the memory of sickening corruption and bloodstained sand out of the link, but it is still fresh in her mind.

@Vindicator

Disappointment, but not surprise, that this was no an experience they shared. Not in the way everything was shared between them. Alcina could look through and see its bond to Doru, perhaps, but would she understand it, if she was not in The Vindicator's place? It was unsure, and so it tried to open itself up to her more. Offering through their linked minds to step fully into the Vindicator's place. To feel what it felt.

The fracturing of the fractal, the imperfections of these emotions marring the perfect crystal of its psyche. The anguish it put the Drone in, for these were not thoughts of Order and Mother and the one family. It was selfishness, pure and plain. It showed her its child, Luminary, whom it loved but it was also not Hive. How could it love one so deeply who was not one of them?

The Vindicator had been crafted to be its namesake - an angel sent to the Gembounds to offer an olive branch. It had been made to be peaceful and empathetic so that it could better spread Mother's will through gentle offers and her guiding, holy light. But this was like poison in the system, spreading and infecting and leaving its mark. Or was it ecstasy, alighting the mind with joy and energy, only to fade away and leave it behind, broken and bruised and only wanting more and more and more?

But Alcina had not been created for this purpose. She was made for war. Would she understand or empathize? Was she the right one to talk to about this? Would she have made the same decisions in the Vindicator's place? These were all questions it asked through its emotions, not unkindly. And an offer to walk away, if it was too much. It would not be offended.

"What would Alcina do?" The Vindicator asked out loud, quietly, once it had shared these things, these doubts and feelings. "If thou art in The Vindicator's place?"

@Alcina

She takes the extended offer, to share in her sibling's feelings. Vindicator's emotions are strange and foreign, but also familiar. It is a different love than that of Mother's, but love all the same...

She taps a claw on the hard floor, slowly and rhythmically, as she organizes her thoughts. There's a large part of Alcina who would do anything for Vindicator, because they are family, regardless of how far it may stray.

But she feels that isn't the affirmation it is looking for. No, it wants guidance, not loyalty. "Hmmm..," she murmurs, before clearing her throat. "...What would I do? I think... If I were you, I would have been made to bring our gifts peacefully... Is it not a good thing, then, that you have become so close without any conflict? Perhaps in time you can bring them into the fold, into Mother's love? Slowly, carefully, ensure they are willing, but invite them to be family."

@Vindicator

Of course, it had occurred to the Vindicator already that this might be a good thing. In away, it had been created to be an infiltrator - it was not so single-minded and foolish to think that Mother had created an angel out of the goodness of her heart. Yes, the Hive was good. Yes, everyone should one day join with them. But some needed a certain kind of persuasion. It wondered if Doru was one of these - right now he did not wish to, but in the future, perhaps he would fold.

It could not see that happening.

Distress broke out at this realization that perhaps, in this way, it had failed. It was a failure. Mother had created it for a purpose that was not possible. How many had it even brought into the fold, anyways? None. It had succeeded in nothing, accomplished nothing, done nothing but fraternize with someone who was not them. And have a child with them.

"Alcina," it echoed, voice wavering with its agony, "What becometh of them if they do not? What would becometh of me?" A tremble in its melody for a moment, as if it were shuddering. "What if they art not willing, not now or ever? I hast invited already, and received only a refusal. I doth not seeth this changing."

@Alcina

She is quiet, sensing the turbulence in Vindicator's heart and mind. What is Alcina to do? She is a warbeast. She is no councilor.

But she is not dumb. Even soldiers need smarts. Military strategy is something she can understand. And maybe cold logic is what Vindicator needs instead of warm love. A different angle.

"Perhaps they are not one of Us. But if you have gotten so close to them in this way, they are, for now, allies. You have invited them once, so they know your allegiance. If they were enemies of Order, they would not have stayed," she states plainly. "Even if they do not stand with the Hive, they are one less in the caves that stands against us."

No grand victory, like what Vindicator imagines they are meant to do. But small steps count with time. Mother is always ready to play the long game, after all.

@Vindicator

Indeed, the cold stable truths are what calmed the storm that was threatening to unalign the fractals of the Vindicator's mind. It was not emotion, which it still struggled to fully understand, it was not love or a choice. It was a simple, black and white fact - even if they did not stand with the Hive, that was one less enemy within the caves.

Had that not been what the Vindicator had been created for, after all? Not to force Order down the throats of the unwilling, not to fight and destroy the beasts of chaos, perhaps not even to persuade new followers into Mother's love? It was...to befriend and spread alliances. The caves were hostile to Order, it had to remember that. And one less enemy was an ally gained.

It pain seemed to calm, but it was still unsure of things. "Thou art correct, better to have friends than foes, even if they be not of our minds." A brief pause. "Yet, there be one other matter that hath pestered my mind. Thou hast seen the child. It is of Order, yet not of Hive. Can Order be strong, without Hive? Or is it but a solitary fly, devoid of its queen to dictate its path? Were it not better to compel it hither, willing or not, for its own safety?" It didn't feel...right, thinking about forcing Luminary to do anything, but this was not Chaos, nor the way of the Gembound. This was Order. Commands were in their blood and bones.

@Alcina

For that, Alcina doesn't have an answer. She bows her head, staring down at the glassy floor. "...Order is strong, because we stand united. This is the root of your concern," she reaffirms, collecting her thoughts.

She knows Vindicator does not want to force its young one. She knows it wants to be patient, and wait for when they are ready. But they must see to Mother's vision. "It is not a decision I can make for you. But remember. Mother wants everyone to be in her embrace. And that is warmth and safety incarnate."

@Vindicator

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