Imperatrix
Malich stood before the changeling Queen's Cell, marveling at the creature through the slightly blue tinted glass.
"Hello." the being said, her yellow eyes glaring intently at the pony, measuring him up and down. Her head tilted slightly downward, and her sickly yellow mane shifted slightly, enhancing her hideous, yet some how, attractive face.
Malich found the being as repulsive as he did fascinating. She was grown, a fully grown queen! In the short span of a month, Project New Wave had progressed at a pace far exceeding his expectations. She was showing signs of superior intelligence beyond what any of them had ever hoped for in her short existence. The dragon's blood they'd given her as physical nurishment had more than aged her well, especially with its infusion of gold particals. Not enough to make it lethal, but keeping the count along the same lines as the trace amounts of iron every other being had in it's body.
"You wished to speak with me?" Malich asked, keeping his voice neutral and businesslike.
Now it was just a game of trying to figure out how she controlled her brood and manipulate it to his own ends.
Imperatrix nodded. "I've been in contact with your research staff, be careful of that Elsa one, but the way. She's a little..." She stopped and chuckled. "Unstable."
"Indeed."
"Aww, you're no fun either." Imperatrix sighed, obviously feigning feelings hurt. "Why doesn't anyone ever want to play my games for once?"
Malich's brow furrowed, this was not how he'd expected this encounter to go.
"You said you were in contact with my subordinates. What do you mean by that?"
Opening an eye, Imperatrix gave a small and devilish smirk. "Let us just say that some of your employees aren't as... professionally chaste, as others?"
Malich frowned at the statement, what did sexual activity have to do with her and... his...
The realization hit him like a crossbow bolt and the stallion cringed as a few very disturbing images came to mind. Imperatrix burst out into laughter upon seeing his display of disgust and proceeded to boast of how he'd fallen for her prank. "Oh, you should have seen your face! Could you imagine though!?"
Was this what he was called in here for, just so he could be mocked by a Tapio damned test subject.
The ashen earth pony breathed a few time to regain his composure, watching as Impatrix pulled herself from her giggle fit and wiped a mirthful tear from her eye.
Malich stood from his place and made way for the door, having had more than enough of her already.
"NO! Don't leave, please, I'm sorry!" She begged, though Malich kept on walking, he'd reached the door before she said something that stopped him dead in his tracks.
"I can tell you how I do it!"
He stood infront of the door, contemplating if he wanted to walk out to make a point that such disrespect wouldn't be tolerated, or stay and listen to what she had to say.
"I can tell you how I control my brood! Just... please don't leave me alone... Please?"
Malich's sympathy got the better of him and he slowly turned around and marched back to the glass. Imperatrix's face lighting up at his return. "I'm sorry, it's just kinda lonely in here, you know?"
The insectoid rubbed her right foreleg nervously with her left. She looked genuinely apologetic and sad about her behavior.
Flabbergasted, Malich tried to process exactly what he was observing. According to reports, Imperatrix hadn't said much of anything to any of his staff unless she could see them. They'd tried verbal communication on multiple occassions but gave up the venture thinking she was to young to understand them.
That was until Elsa demanded to speak where she could be seen. She'd entered this very room before the other scientists, and a few security griffins, managed to restrain the black unicorn from going directly into the queen's cell. That was when the Imperatrix first spoke, not only did she speak, but she asked questions and used vocabulary and concepts she had no business using.
At first, Malich was outraged. He'd authorized no instruction or education for her, but all of his scientists swore up and down that none of them had taught her anything. So how? Did she assimilate the knowledge from her host? No, her host was a Zeborican, they barely spoke Equestrian, or knew the things she knew, so how?
"So, ummm. I guess you're kinda wondering how I can talk like this, huh?"
Malich's eyes narrowed. "Telepathy."
Imperatrix beamed and nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! I can read your guyses minds, isn't it cool?"
'Cool? This is one of the greatest discoveries of our time! Cool doesn't even begin to describe it.'
"Who's that?" The queen asked, tilting her head. "That kinda sounded like your voice, but different."
"Pay it not mind, Imperatrix. Now, about your telepathy..." Malich cooed.
Imperatrix gave a thoughtful look before turning her nose up. "Nu uh, I've changed my mind. If you want me to show you how to do it, you have to do something for me first."
Malich bit his tongue to stop a venom filled curse. This changeling, this queen, she acted as if she was a fucking child! Which made sense, she was what? Two months old? Honestly though, was she just testing his patience of did she honestly intend to share her knowledge?
Having read his mind, Imperatrix replied that she fully intended to cooperate. She was just lonely in her cell and the fear she'd been feeding on had drastically subsided due to the scientists coming to understand her. The mare was taller than most ponies, her black, chitnis covered body and grotesque design were certainly inducing of disgust in uncertainty, but not necessarily fear anymore.
Sighing, Malich pondered the delema. The Zeboricans were all dead, now. A new shipment would be arriving soon to strengthen her small brood, but there wasn't enough known about the insectoids to determine just how much "fear energy" they needed to feed on to stay alive. Reports from the scientists declared that they'd initially felt a little fatigued during her spawning, but the more they came to study Imperatrix, the less fatigued the felt, leading to the conclusion it wasn't the emotion of fear they fed on, but the energy of those feeling fear.
The scientists weren't afraid of her anymore, not when they sat in protected rooms away from any threat of her and her drones. The executive preferred it that way, the last thing he needed was sub-par performance on his staff's part because of them being traumatized.
"I'll be right back." The pony said, making way for he door. Imperatirx protested, deciding that she'd tell him what he wanted to know if he didn't leave, but Malich wouldn't heed her this time. He'd get the answers he wanted soon enough, but he needed to make sure she didn't go hungry and die on him. All of this would have been a waste if their changeling queen had died before they'd had a chance to truly utilize her.
"You two." Malich barked at the two griffin guards standing outside. "With me."
He turned back and walked into the observation room. Imperatrix's eyes widened with happiness at seeing him again, as well as the two others with him.
"Open the door."
Both griffin's eyes widened. "Sir, are you sure you want to-"
"OPEN IT! That's and order!"
"SIR!"
One of the guards unlocked several locks that held the door to the cell securly in place, halting at the final lock and looking to Malich for any sign of second thoughts.
The stallion looked to Imperatrix, who was practically beeming with excitement. "I warn you now, these two are armed with dragon scale armor. Your magic will be all but useless against them. We know how to kill queens like you, we've done it before. If you make one false step, you're dead. Understand?"
"Uh-huh!" The queen chirped, backing away from the door.
Nodding, the griffin guard unlocked the final latch and opened the door. The second griffin moved in quickly, aiming his crossbow directly at Imperatrix. His breathing was heavy, his tallon resting within the guard of the trigger mechanism. Malich entered after, the final guard bringing up the rear and aiming his own weapon.
As hoped both guards were vigilant masks of calm and determined, both willing to kill the insect should she make the slightest of wrong moves. Malich was intending to use himself as the feeding source by putting himself in this situation but the sad fact was, he wasn't afraid, he was excited. Excited about being in the same room as a changeling and slowly gaining knowledge of her secrets.
He knew his mercenaries, they were trained under some of the most brutal conditions his sick and twisted architects could think of. Some speculated the training regimant they undertook to be borderline cruelty. Changelings were one of the many enemies the mercenaries were forced to study, so they wouldn't be able to feed her either, maybe he should try-
"I'm full!" Imperatrix said with a satisfied smile.
"What?"
"I'm full of fear energy now. Thank you!" She beamed widely.
Malich frowned and looked back at his escorts, neither of them looked winded. Both had just as confused looks on their faces as he did.
"But my drones are starving right now, could you please go help them?" She asked, her smile fading to wide, pleading eyes.
Imperatrix's lower lip protruded in a sickeningly sweet pout. Her eyes began to mist, and her body slumped into a position of submission and pleading.
Malich had every intention on feeding her drones, her generals, but intially planned to use them as leverage against her. However, the pouting, pleading look upon the queen's face was absolute, none could resist it.
"Very well."
"YAY!"
Malich felt his cold heart warm a little as the mare pronked up and down for joy. She was a foal, a big, black, odd looking, chitin plated, controlled an army with her very thought, foal.
It was kind of ironic to him, but not really. She may have been young and naive now, but if allowed, her growth would only mean farther assimilation of knowledge. It was extraordinary how one so young had such a developed mind, even if she was only using it as means to play pranks and feed her own... or was that just her way of giving him a false sense of security? Playing dumb and happy while secretly watching for his weaknesses.
No doubt she was looking through his mind now, which did disturb him greatly, he'd need to get some answers and quickly.
"I'm a stallion of my word, now I expect for you to uphold your end of the deal. So long as you tell me how you're able to to control your brood, your minions will be fed."
Imperatrix stopped mid pronk and turned to look at him. "Tell you? Hmmm, nope!"
Malich's lips pressed in frustration, was she really going to change her mind again.
"It'll be much easier if I just show you!"
On a flying carriage bound for his office in Unitas, Malich smiled contently and relaxed in his chair. Today was a great day. It was impossible to explain in words exactly what Imperatrix had done, but he'd seen it. She touched his mind, and in doing so, allowed him to look through the mind of her drones. It was quick, almost a split second, but in that split second, time might as well have stopped. He could see everything, feel everything. His senses were no longer restricted the five he and every other being were so accustomed to, but more, so much more. Feelings he never even thought possible, like feeling the insects in the dirt below the facility, the water wells hidden miles and miles away. It was invigorating for as long as it had lasted.
Imperatrix agreed to cooperate with the scitentists in their attempt to pinpoint the frequencies in which her telapthy worked. As expected, it wasn't purely magical in nature. Some scitentists declared it not magical at all, since she'd also read the minds of the griffin guards who bore anti-magic dragon scales on their person.
Malich thought it to be something akin to the intimidation aura. It was magical-ish in nature, but... not. Dragon scales had no effect on the aura, so perhaps it was something like that?
'Who cares? We've made progress, we've made... progress.'
Malich sighed blisfully as the wagon began to descend. He didn't care if he was about to go back to that hell hole of an office, today was a good day, a good day that nothing on this world could ever spoil.
Malich slumped in his chair, his good mood utterly soiled as he read and re-read the small note he'd been given.
His assistant, Silvia, stood before his desk, having just finished her explanation of what happened in Canterlot and what had brought her back to the Federation.
"It's an unconfirmed death, sir." The griff reminded. "Luna herself said that-"
He words were silenced by the vice president raising a hoof.
Malich internally berated himself for trusting his brother to Conno and such a small group of sentinels. Sin had demonstrated an ability to get into trouble beyond what they could manage to handle. It was stupid to assume he'd have stayed where such a small squad could keep an eye on him. With everything the pony had done both at home and in Equestria, it was nothing short of a miracle he hadn't been the target of a political attack already.
The stallion had hope though. Sin's Occlumency should have more than shielded him from Luna's dream hacking, so her inability to track him there didn't mean much to him. One of the political malcontents had been found dead in the castle with no explanation as to how he'd gotten there. It was fair to assume the stallion had something to do with Sin's alleged assassination, and he highly doubted "suicide" was his true way of death, especially since no autopsy was ever examined.
Still though, this meant that Sin was no longer being tracked by any of his agents, and with the progress of Project New Wave, that would need to change. The plan was close now, so close he could practically taste it. Imperatrix was cooperative and had made some suggestions about instruments to measure her telekinetic output for measure. Once the method for her control was attained, all that was left was to breed her army.
With the new program to harness gold infused dragon's blood, the process should take little time in the grand scheme. Though, that did also leave him to figure out how he'd handle the Equestrian relief efforts when they came. No doubt they'd lead in with a military spear head to push past his blockade.
'Focus! Worry about that later!'
Malich slammed the piece of paper down onto the desk and ordered Silvia to gather up a unit of no less than one hundred to be sent to Equestria to find his brother. A unit comprised of tracking Diamond Dogs, combat ready unicorns, stealth pegasi, and a single Black Ops Tribune to serve as the field commander.
Silvia's breath caught in her throat and she began to question if the situation really warranted such a durastic . Black Ops were ruthless. Hoof picked sociopaths on a good day and operated outside of the Triple M. chain of command until their mission was complete.
Her protest died as soon as she saw the irate glare in Malich's steely blue eyes.
Pulling out a parchment of demand, Malich wrote out the order, choosing his words very carefully on how the Tribune was to handle finding his brother and what to do if and when he was found. He briefly considered it and decided to exempt the Equestrian government from harm should Sin be arrested. If nothing else, at least he'd be able to keep track of him better if the pony was placed in prison.
The order finished and carefully looked over to ensure no loop holes, but enough flexibility for autonomy, Malich handed the order to Silvia and told her to head to the appropriate barracks to gather the mercenaries. He would be along tomorrow to personally sign off on the Black Ops Tribute, as per protocol. A signed piece of paper was too flimsy to call them in, and with good reason.
Once alone, the executive sighed and shook his head. Today had been going to so well too, why couldn't the universe just let him be happy?
'Because you're an evil ass hole.'
Malich frowned.
I'm not evil. Not that such a thing exists anyway, I'm just pursuing a goal. A goal that will piggy back off of a devistating event, but the event was a long time coming. It's not my fault it'll happen, I'm just capitalizing off of it.
'Yea, you're capitalizing on a situation that will leave millions dead. I'd call that pretty evil.'
The executive rolled his eyes. The idiots were going to die anyway, the way things were going was the result of their own choices. Him gaining through their idiocy wasn't what he'd call "evil" so much as immoral oppertunism. Of course, with his ultimate goal, it would be remembered in history as the greatest act of altruism every taken.
'Assuming it works, which there's little to no guarantee of.'
That was true, but Malich didn't dwell on that.
His primary concern was the destruction of the cycle that plagued most every country in the world, and had already plagued his own twice. Yes, millions would die, but what did that compare to for the billions he'd save? War, racial killings, government abuse, mass poverty, ideological democide.
Ending such things would not come without heavy cost, but Malich believed he could end them. Not creating a utopia, mind you, but ending some of the worst problems this world had to offer.
What was a few million dying today, who were going to die anyway, compared to the beginnings of world peace tomorrow?