Thanks to everyone for reading! Please comment on any characters and universes you’d like to see in the future below the chapters. I can’t guarantee they’ll make it in, but I want to have some fun and fit in the audience's favourites if I can! Thanks again, and a huge thank you to my Patrons! I can’t make this content without support, and I’m super grateful for our supporters! This fanfiction is also available on my Patreon, I’ll always keep it free, so please visit! Our Patrons make this work possible, and if enough patrons want this novel to be a priority, it will be!

 

https://www.patreon.com/maizeblu

 

Now, on to the chapter!

---

 

“Are you ready, Venom?” Dan prodded the symbiote with his mind. The creature had been silent ever since he deposited his first clone, alongside a newborn symbiote, onto the surface of Zonama Sekot. “You seem off.”

 

“We are ready… but the connection to the living planet disturbs us,” Venom rippled under Dan’s skin. “Her will is beyond us, she has joined our collective…”

 

“All part of the plan, little guy,” Dan soothed the symbiote. “Your people tend to be a bit… rambunctious, if left unchecked. Sekot is just giving your kids a bit of an education.”

 

The planet respected life to a fault. Her influence would push all those connected to the symbiotic hive in that direction. Her added willpower was also a direct benefit. Venom’s will supplemented his own, and now the venerable mind of Sekot stood behind him.

 

“We dislike her,” Venom whined as Dan signalled Ultron to land the ship. “She smells of flowers and fruit…”

 

“What planet is this?” Vergere leaned closer to the display. “It seems to be a non industrial, pastoral world?”

 

“You won’t need to worry about that,” Dan clicked and the screen returned to darkness. “The only one getting off this time is Venom.”

 

Ultron’s test results on the planet's air were disturbing. The only member of their group that was immune to the pheromones was Dan’s resident symbiote. Even kryptonian biology has some kind of reaction to the stuff.

 

“Now, remember, Venom,” Dan encouraged the grumpy being. “The Killik hives are very friendly to outsiders. Once you've bonded with a higher level insect, you should be able to command the entire bunch.”

 

Dan would scatter a dozen symbiote clones and let them multiply amongst the hives. In a few months, Venom should have the whole race within his control. The only limiter was clone reproduction speed. 

 

“We remember,” Dan sensed the symbiote’s eyes roll. “Seize control of the bugs, use the clones to control their pheromone production, and move a population of various hives to Garnib.”

 

Venom’s copies could multiply, but they couldn’t create unique children like his original could. They divided using biomatter, or the energy of their host, so the plan hinged on his clones getting enough food.

 

The scout landed in an empty grassland. The door opened and several black lines spewed forth from Dan into the ground. As quick as it lowered, the ramp closed and the ship returned to the skies. They had a dozen more Killik worlds to visit, all home to ancient hives. It would take a week or more to finish. After that, he had one, final plan to game his systems quest.

 

---

 

 

“Your knowledge of the galaxy is astounding…” Vergere gazed in wonder at the galactic map that Dan combed through. “How do you have such information about the unknown regions? There is even data on the satellite galaxies, beyond the hyperspace wall.”

 

“That wall is less solid than you think,” Dan muttered as he zeroed in on a location. “At least two invaders will pass through it in the next sixty years… here you are!”

 

The display focused on a mud brown world. Green oceans covered half its surface, while the continents were populated by titanic fungi. Taurill, home of the species with the same name. Another hive mind, this one would be far simpler to deal with.

 

“Set a course, Ultron,” Dan sat back in his chair and cracked his back. ‘Once we’re finished there, it’s time to head home!”

 

It had been over a month since he’d seen May. They spoke every night on the com, but it wasn’t the same. He missed her smell, the tilt of her smile. Vergere shambled closer, eyes on the viewport as Taurill popped into view.

 

“Another quick stop?” The cooperative Sith squinted at the world. “Or can we go out and stretch our legs?”

 

“We’ll be taking a walk this time,” Dan laughed as he led the way to the ramp. “This species we’re looking for has to be resonated with, they would likely move to kill any Venom clones without much fuss.”

 

“They could try,” Venom grumbled in his ear, a complaint that brought a smile to Dan’s lips.

 

“There is no try,” Dan walked down the ramp before the ship even landed. “Now, keep an eye out for any sea-monkey looking things, there should be a ton of them.”

 

---

 

 

“You were right about their numbers…” Vergere edged back, toward the ship. “Are you sure they’re friendly?”

 

“Pretty sure,” Dan shrugged, eyes on the legion of Tauril in the fungal trees around them. “But if not, we can make it to the ship pretty easy.”

 

They had been on the surface for less than a minute, before the first grey furred creature swung into view. It was followed by a continuous surge, until thousands of the eight legged simian shrimp filled the jungle canopy. They watched Dan’s group in silence, countless oversized eyes in tiny skull-like heads.

 

“Greetings to the Tauril Overmind,” Dan made a short bow to the creatures. “I’ve come to make you an offer, a chance to spread across the stars and learn the secrets of the world!”

 

A rustle, the shifting of uncountable tiny bodies. The forest swayed as more and more Taurill clambered into sight. They piled onto their brethren, furry pyramids that blinked at Dan and Vergere.

 

“You've certainly gotten their attention,” the Sith twitched as her hands reached for a lightsaber that wasn’t there. “Maybe we should just return to the ship…”

 

“Do what you want,” Dan waved her away, eyes locked on the hoard before them. He pointed to the skies and continued his offer. “I know you’re aware of the greater galaxy, I can help you fulfil your ambitions. Work with me and a Taurill colony will exist around every star!”

 

The simians had piled taller than the trees, a mountain of coordinated flesh that ringed Dan and his vessel. Vergere jogged toward the ship, fear in her eyes. A tingle brushed against Dan’s mind, the lightest touch of a feather.

 

“I dream of such a thing… but all who have come before you have lied,” The Overmind whispered, countless voices overlaid into one. “They take only enough to stay alive off world, too few for me to truly see the stars.”

 

“Most of them didn’t understand what you are,” Dan smiled as he walked toward the Taurill mountains. “The greater galaxy still considers you to be semi-intelligent animals. I might be the only one alive who knows the truth.”

 

The Taurill closed around him, tiny three fingered hands on every surface of his body. Eyes peered close, while noses sniffed in his ears. A claustrophobic nightmare that Dan did his best to ignore.

 

“I’d like to form an alliance, between your people and mine,” Dan pressed on as the hoard explored his form. “Our numbers are small, but one day my species will fill this galaxy, and beyond.” 

 

He breathed a sigh of relief as the Taurill withdrew, back into their impossible towered formations. Every eye focused on Dan as the Overmind’s voice trickled into his brain.

 

“If your people will fill up the stars, what room will there be for me? Why would you need us then?”

 

Dan smiled and ignored the urge to wipe his skin free of invisible insects. The excessive contact had been a test of his resolve to ally with this unusual race. He took a breath and continued his pitch.

 

“The resources my people need are very different from your own,” Dan pointed to the yellow sun above. “We only need the right sun in the sky to live a happy life. At most, we’ll one day compete for real estate, but I’ve even got a plan for that.”

 

Dan opened a small corner of his mind and pushed an image free of his labyrinthian defences. A vision of an artificial world, grown around a star until it could jump between them. An endless supply of living planets that could protect their people and flee from greater threats.

 

“Is such a thing possible?” The overmind sighed at the shared imagining. “You still haven’t said why you would bother with me? The technology in that dream had nothing to do with us.”

 

“I have a lot of reasons,” Dan shrugged, a smile on his lips as the Taurill held as still as stone. “But the biggest one would be, you’re fundamentally a good being. From what I know, you hold no ill will to anyone. All you want is to understand the universe.”

 

A chitter ran through the hoard. The wave came and went, as if it had never been. The Taurill dropped from their human towers and moved to inspect the scout ship.

 

“We agree to your alliance, but you’ll need a larger ship to fulfil your promise.” The Overmind’s mental tone carried an infectious excitement. “I wish to smell the soil of another world!”

 

“Not a problem,” Dan laughed and pointed to the sky, where five of Ultron’s carriers descended from orbit. “Your ride is already here!”

---

Thanks again, and a huge thank you to my Patrons! I can’t make this content without support, and I’m super grateful to all of my supporters! This fanfiction is also available on my Patreon, I’ll always keep it free, so please visit! The Patrons make this work possible, and if enough patrons want this novel to be a priority, it will be! Updates for this series will be at five a week, a chapter part monday-friday, with bonus chapters whenever I can get them written and edited. 

 

https://www.patreon.com/maizeblu