The hivemind is conquering for me?

After saying goodbye to Caleb, we were walking through the Thanatos when Janine asked. "Are you not saying goodbye to Lady Kathrine?" I thought about it for a moment, but decided not to. "Nah, we said goodbye last night and again this morning if you catch my meaning."

Janine turned her head and then punched me playfully in the shoulder. "Yes I know what you mean, you don't have to make me jealous." She said playfully.

As we walked through the ship, the merc waved farewells to the both of us once more as she made the rounds last night and we left with no problems.

Making our way towards the transport Kathrine had left for us, the driver was currently watching tv on the built in monitor, when out of the corner of his eye, noticed us coming.

He proceeded to scramble out of the car and opened the doors for us just as we made it there. "Apologies for the wait." He said fearfully as Kathrine explicitly told him not to upset her companion.

"What wait? Pal you should get back in the vehicle it should be freezing out here. I don't need the opening and closing, just do the automatic thing when we get out ok?"

The driver closed his eyes and let out a breath of relief as he opened the door, his client was not an asshole and he will sleep happy tonight because of it. "Of course sir." He said and ushered us inside.

Once we were inside and the vehicle took off, Janine and I made small talk for a while until she brought up something interesting while over the sea. "You know, I don't think I have ever used private transport before."

"Really? what do you mean by private though?" "This for example, VIP and special service flyers and such. If I was to travel this planet on my own, I would have to take the trains and the shuttles as private hires usually require identification and that is obviously an issue for me."

I nodded my head understanding. "It must really suck to be of the Sepiida, no offence." Janine scoffed. "Trust me, no offence can be made if its true."

After that, we went back to our regular random chit chat until we crossed the equator border and began to descend.

...

Keyla was bored out of her mind. She was currently on a walking patrol around the area of the club to make sure some semblance of peace was kept. Ever since mother and aunty had begun their little war together to keep themselves occupied, Keyla had been put in management alongside Samantha, who was now her genetic superior.

As such, she decided to leave most of the maintenance stuff to her friend and she took over security and chose the simplest job until she was needed for some murder, torture or eating of evidence. etc. etc.

Scary murder thoughts aside, her small stature and large kind smile brought peace to the pedestrians who recognised her from the club as an infectious ball of happiness.

It was while she was lost in thought, her walk had brought her back onto the street the club entrance was located. As she was about to begin her route once more, she noticed a flying vehicle making a descent to right in front of the club.

Keyla checked the time. 'Weird, we don't open for another couple hours.' She thought before another one took its place. 'I wonder if the noble is on the list or not. If they aren't, I could sneak them inside and have a little feast.' It would not be the first time she had done this as she was an expert at covering her tracks.

The thought of a mid afternoon meal made her hasten her steps, but when the door of the vehicle opened and she saw who stepped out, her heart missed a beat.

Keyla froze for a moment. In her mind she began to think tactically. 'Ok if I play this right, I can sneak him in and have him all to myself until Mother comes back.'

Her body however, betrayed her as she began running and screamed. "APOLLO!"

I turned to face the sound of the person shouting my name and a bright smile appeared on my face upon recognition.

I had a short time to react and raise my arms to lift her up as Keyla ran towards me like a small cannon ball.

As I lifted her off the ground, She wrapped her legs around my waist and gave me a very tight hug. "Oh my stars, I missed you so much. It was total bullshit that Mother sent me on a mission before you left and I couldn't say goodbye, I still haven't forgiven her even if she is my mother. How have you been? Where did you go? What did you do?

Did you have fun? Did you miss me? Does anyone else know you have come back yet? Does-"

I placed my hand over Keyla's mouth which she proceeded to lick, but I ignored it. "I will answer everything inside, In the meantime can you make accommodations for my friend here, she will be staying with us for a while."

"Friend?" Keyla asked in confusion as she finally looked away from me to my side and saw a woman wearing a helmet. Keyla took a second to sniff the air and cocked her head sideways. "A Sepiidan? Apollo, were you given one because of your Title?"

Janine was taken aback. "How did?" I interrupted her and told Keyla. "Keyla, this is Janine my close friend, Janine this is Keyla, one of the nicest and open people you will ever meet. And to answer your question, no Janine is not my wife, in fact she is gay and does not find men attractive at all unlike the rest of her species."

Upon realising the Sepiidan was not a threat to her tasting Apollo again, Keyla smiled at the helmeted woman while still attached to me at the waist and said. "A pleasure to meet you Janine, any friend of Apollos is a friend of mine and don't worry, no one here cares about your race, now lets get inside and inform Samantha."

As we entered the club, Janine was looking around impressed with the interior. "Apollo, no offence, but It was to my understanding that the south of this planet is considered a shit hole. How come your place is so nice?"

I chuckled at her query and responded. "I thought the same thing when I came here. It turns out you can avoid a lot of regulations and inspections by being even less than a mile away from the equator. Basically this is a place nobles can come to and be able to release their inhibitions."

Then Kayla, who was relegated to simply holding my hand, said. "That and its much easier to operate our side businesses without planetary law enforcement interfering."

Janine raised her eyebrow under her helmet at that statement. 'Are they involved in Illegal activities?' Janine was not bothered if they were, she was simply curious.

Once we arrived at the bar area, the lights were on and the staff were cleaning. It was then I spotted a familiar man scrubbing the floor near the corner. "Hey Letho." I called out causing everyone in the bar area to turn and pause upon seeing me.

Janine was a little creeped out, but once she saw who I addressed she was mildly shocked. 'A fellow Sepiida?'

Letho was surprised, not only that Apollo was back early, but that he personally was called out to. He stopped his cleaning and ran over hastily. "Greetings to you fa-" he stopped upon realising a stranger was here and brushed his horns. "-Apollo, It is good to see you back. Did you need me for something?" He asked in anticipation.

I then proceeded to turn my head to Janine. "Hey hot stuff, can you take off your helmet?" I asked with a smile. Janine was still uncomfortable with the thought, but decided to trust me as she removed her helmet.

As her silver hair descended down her back, Keyla let out a gasp and said. "Wow Apollo you were right, Hot stuff does not even begin to cover it."

Janine grew flushed at being complimented by such a pretty human girl and smiled meekly as her confidence was currently attached to her helmet.

"Sorry if this seems a bit racist on my part, but I was wondering since you are both Sepiidan's, that if you could show Janine to a room upstairs and help her acclimatise by answering any questions you are allowed to answer."

"Racist? Fa-Apollo you are funny, come on miss Janine, I will take you to the room directly below Apollo and Lady Sophia's."

Janine looked at me with lost puppy eyes, but I smiled and nodded to her letting her know she will be fine. She seemed to trust me completely and followed her race-kin over to the elevators.