"There must be a problem with the hearing on that darker shell," notes Starscream, her shrill voice thoughtful as she gently lifts Dallesh with one hand and absently strokes its head with a finger. "Or you just misunderstood me. How else am I to test the blond shell with your reactions if you're not in it? Now stop dragging your non-existent feet and get out of there."
Starscream looks down at the creature with a slight half smile, her finger moving slightly as she scans it and reads its reactions. This one seems to be hers now, but she's not letting her guard down. Not with the way the yeerk social system works. It's annoying to be backstabbed while you're trying to concentrate on something else.
The little parasite (or photosynth, in this state) probes her finger with sensory appendages of both touch and taste. Three's watching apparently casually, but he's tense. Even other Controllers seldom handle their fellow Yeerks so directly.
Starscream doesn't look up as one of her drone assistants reports the finishing of the tasks that she's given it. She acknowledges and calls it into the room, then turns her head to the yeerk technician. "Take the bucket and your diagrams and follow that drone, will you? There are a few more tests I'd like to run."
Dallesh nods a little and starts to obey, but Three stops it with a hand on its arm. Five is still completing her infestation, so the questioning falls to him.
Of course it tastes different. This is a different time and place, and it was made for a different people. But the sweet and spicy flavor of the sandwich and its filling is still strangely delicious.
//Well?// Starscream asks him, then takes a peek at what Dallesh is doing through the room security cam.
//Dallesh, your friend is getting rather agitated. Let the poor thing know what's going on,// she transmits, then tosses over her shoulder to Three, "There's beer in the meal room."
"Alright, Five," she steps back. "Walk around, let's see how well you manage."
Dallesh pauses. //How should I do that? It-// a slight pause as it looks in the bucket and remembers that there are two people there, //doesn't have a host.//
At the instruction, Five promptly swings its legs over the side of the table and rises- too fast, as it happens, because it wobbles back and sits down involuntarily. Five looks up scowling, and gives a curt nod at Three's enquiring look.
The Yeerk second lowers his sandwich and turns to Starscream. "Which way?"
//Still... I doubt it would try.// Not unless it could repeat the procedure for interested superiors.
Five decides to go for a little stroll around the room, considering the question. "No," she decides finally, almost reluctantly. "Not part of our division."
"And that is only materials and technology that are available in your own time and place, save for the sensory nest. Are you always a little weak with manual dexterity?"
It nods slowly, looking up. "Some traits stay constant through all hosts to a degree. But I'm better at some other things," Five adds. Evaluations proved it so!
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Three holds back a soft snicker as Five scowls and begins to detach. The drone's face goes slack.
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"(Very well.)" Five obligingly slithers into the new shell when placed there.
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"Where are you sending them?" he wants to know.
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//Well?// Starscream asks him, then takes a peek at what Dallesh is doing through the room security cam.
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And meanwhile Dallesh is having a high old time with its bits of wire and components. It's on its second attempt at assembly now.
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"Alright, Five," she steps back. "Walk around, let's see how well you manage."
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At the instruction, Five promptly swings its legs over the side of the table and rises- too fast, as it happens, because it wobbles back and sits down involuntarily. Five looks up scowling, and gives a curt nod at Three's enquiring look.
The Yeerk second lowers his sandwich and turns to Starscream. "Which way?"
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"Good. Good. Feel free to test it out." Starscream subspaces the datapad and pulls out the scanner again. "So, the other one, someone expendable?"
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Five decides to go for a little stroll around the room, considering the question. "No," she decides finally, almost reluctantly. "Not part of our division."
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Starscream blinks slightly. "Would being part of your division make it expendable?"
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Five looks round at her. "It might mean I could say it was."
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For a strange dream.
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Compared to her own body the drone shell is AI.
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