Jes’Gald was a G’hom, a member of the elite Tekklar unit, the most fearsome and ferocious warriors of the Sardakk N’orr. He had been chosen to accompany the Envoy and select members of the Veiled Brood to the Legion summit on Arc Prime. Jes’Gald was fearsome even by the standards of his order, and accustomed to seeing humanoids cower in his presence. There was no better feeling than scuttling forward with his brothers to war for the glory of Sardakk, the Queen Mother, and grinding lesser beings beneath his scything forelimbs and spiked legs.
The Letnev in his quarters stood perfectly at ease, though, and why not? They were both numbered among the faithful, a bond that transcended petty concerns like species. Captain Palesque had inducted Jes’Gald into the faith shortly after their first meeting, when Jes’Gald had been assigned to make sure the “honored guest” didn’t wander off or get into any trouble. Now they were on board the finest ship in the N’orr fleet, making their final preparations for the summit.
Or that was the idea. At the moment, Palesque was trying to explain why the mere sight of a N’orr made so many species scream and flee. “It’s because you look like bugs, you see.” Palesque gestured with a glass. He was sitting on a mound of resin on the floor of Jes’Gald’s curved, cavelike quarters. “A lot of species have a basic fear of insects. They’re small, they infiltrate, they infest, they can appear when you aren’t looking, they have too many eyes, too many limbs, their presence suggests squalor and disease… I’m not saying that perception is fair , mind you, and I’m sure there are Letnev and humans and so forth who adore bugs, but generally… humanoids, especially, find bugs worrying. And you’re immense bugs. What are you, four meters long?”
“Your system of measurement is barbaric,” Jes’Gald said.
“It works well enough for us. Anyway, that’s why so many species have a negative visceral reaction to your lot. You’re giant versions of something we find disturbing even when it’s small. I don’t suppose you have any particular instinctive feelings about bipedal primates?”
“Such creatures never evolved on our world,” Jes’Gald said. “It is a shame. They would have been a valuable form of protein. Thank you for your insights. Should we discuss the next steps?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. Sorry. It’s easy to get distracted, when the voices of the guides are this faint.”
“Their voices become stronger ?” Jes’Gald was astonished at the idea. The whisper of the guides had already convinced him that loyalty to the Queen Mother and her envoys was of secondary importance and should be set aside in favor of devotion to the great work. If that voice grew stronger…
“Oh, yes. You can’t imagine.” Palesque smiled. “Won’t it be wonderful to share the sacrament with your envoy?”
The N’orr were a collective race, though not in the way many other species assumed. Their strength came from their unity of purpose and a capacity for cooperation that other races could only dream of. Some fools thought they were a hive mind – that the soldiers of N’orr were mindless drones – but they were wrong. The N’orr were individuals, bound together by common goals and values, and were all the stronger for it. “I want to share this joyous purpose with all my people,” Jes’Gald said.
“To the Legion, and the guides, and our glorious future, then,” Palesque said, raising his glass.