Admiral Taklibia was a diploid, a pairing of minds in a single form. Technically, the name should have been triploid, but the alien parasite that powered the technology was not sentient. When first enabled, a century ago, a rush of married couples had tried it only to find that compatibility when two separate entities did not ensure that the same would hold when combined. In actuality, platonic relationships seemed to work best in combination, and some individuals had chosen the lifestyle in order to merge their talents. The admiral had been born of the pairing of a mathematician with a military strategist.

In appearance they were simply a metal shell, ovoid in form, that hovered on an antigravity field and could extrude metal tentacles or limbs as needed. Most wore their sigil on their shell; the admiral’s was a purple slash over three red diamonds, underneath the golden wavy line that signified their allegiance to the Holy Hive Mind.

“Captain Larsen,” the admiral said, their voice smoothly modulated as always, to the point of expressionlessness. “My companions and we have come to see the establishment which you have created. It is the talk of the fleet, your artistry and retirement.”

Panic tugged at her sleeve at that phrasing. So many possible ways for the Holy Hive Mind to begin an attempt to reclaim her.

She let none of that show now, standing in her restaurant, which she and that crew had built out of virtually nothing. Her restaurant, the key to the future, a future that did not involve the Holy Hive Mind.

“Admiral,” she said as evenly as if her own voice were machine modulated. “It has been a long time. What brings you to TwiceFar?”

“You, of course!” Admiral Taklibia said. A tentacle formed and gestured around the room. Lassite was showing the party toward the room where they’d be ensconced, as far away from the table designated for Lolola as possible, she noted with approval. The soldiers jostled one another as they followed after him, tossing jokes back and forth.

“Come, let me take you to join your fellows,” she said with a half bow.

The tentacle undulated dismissively. “They are half drunk and ready to devote themselves to your food. But we, we were hoping for a little private conversation at some point?”

Definitely Hive Mind business, she thought. She bolted a smile on her face. “But, of course! Though tonight is very busy. Perhaps when you are readying to go?”

Taklibia hung in the air, metal shell gleaming as a ghost oozed around it, seemingly without the admiral’s notice at all. She wondered if the spirits were visible to the diploid or if their spectral nature prevented the admiral from perceiving them. Diploids were notorious for being hard to affect with magic, one reason the admiral had been so successful in the Holy Hive Mind ranks.