Non-parasitic Core-species females usually take a short time to complete their genetic breakthroughs and emerge from their cocoons; an overly long evolution period would leave them vulnerable to predators or being hunted by their own kind.
Males, however, required four to five days.
Males relied on females for survival, which greatly reduced external dangers, but the risks inherent in pupation itself were enough to kill a weak male with low physical fitness.
Fortunately, Gela had been fed so well by Sakdi that he was quite robust, no longer as prone to complications as males in other environments.
It was only after Sakdi accidentally twisted the joint of a bionic tail in the wrong direction for the third time that Arthur, who was sitting nearby, finally spoke.
"You seem restless. Are you worried about your partner?"
Over the past two days, Sakdi had been handling the management of the energy planet as usual and supervising Angon’s military training. The tight schedule meant he couldn't stay at the nest all day, so he had summoned a rotating guard detail to surround the nest so securely that not even air could leak through while he was away.
The leader of the Armed-species, that tail-flicking fellow, had been silent since their last communication. Judging by how hurriedly he had left, Kleiman had clearly thrown himself into his journey.
Clark and Kleiman were still in a standoff, facing each other from their respective home planets, but a clash was only a matter of time.
The current Grey-wing tribe was like a pot of boiling oil; a single drop of water would cause it to explode violently.
But whether by accidental omission or intentional design, the other party had not immediately reclaimed the Alpha battleship that had delivered the goods, nor had they revoked Gela and Sakdi’s deep-space communication rights.
Thus, the ship remained docked at the starport, still carrying a human who had come from afar.
In a sense, the Core-species had lucked out.
Once a ship was in his hands, getting it back wouldn't be easy; he was the type who only took and never gave back. Trying to pry money out of Sakdi’s pocket was harder than defeating the man himself in the Great Sacrificial Grounds.
However, this also reminded him that he should take some time to build a rapport with Arthur.
They had brought back enough human supplies from Kamlan that there was no need to worry about the man starving on the ship. But leaving a guest there without a word after returning home was hardly the way to treat someone.
When he finally found the time to visit the forgotten guest on the battleship, the first thing the Core-species did was toss out a whimsical proposal.
"Do you want me to make you a tail and wings?"
Facing the young man’s complicated expression, Sakdi looked quite calm. "I assume you'll be heading to the Grey-wing tribe's core star system later? I hear the environment there is similar to human-habitable planets—that's why it was chosen as their core territory—but you won't be able to join a swarm of Zerg looking like a human."
He looked at the other with a half-smile. "Even if you promise me you'll stay on the ship and won't go looking for Clark, I wouldn't believe you."
Arthur smiled.
"I indeed cannot stay quietly on the ship."
Human minds were much more flexible than those of the Armed-species, and he was quite open to eccentric ideas. "Your perception of objects still relies on scent glands, right? Temperature and pheromones are also an issue."
"That’s easy to handle. I’ll get you one that has a temperature and can wag."
The Core-species snapped his fingers. This overly human gesture made Arthur watch him for a few seconds.
The black female had already begun tapping away on a light screen to create a prototype. "I can even add a strip of LED lights for you."
"No need for the lights, just a standard one is fine, thank you."
The young man’s polite smile was fixed on his face. "Could I have a silver-grey one?"
"I think black looks best," the Core-species said without looking up, then paused for a second. "White isn't bad either."
"I prefer silver-grey."
Simmons held a strange persistence in odd areas. Sakdi glanced at him and nodded. "Fine, you're the one using it anyway."
And so, they began the project of hand-crafting a tail.
The Core-species, who had been discouraged by the cocoon incident, desperately needed a new project to prove that his aesthetics and manual skills were actually fine.
Although Gela seemed to love that little nest and had obediently chosen it as his pupation site, Sakdi suspected there was a heavy dose of "lover's filter" involved.
Real cocoons were actually very exquisite.
Spiral patterns would coil around the surface of the small pupation chambers, their shapes regular and emitting a metallic luster. Vein-like patterns would wrap around these small nests, which hung suspended from the walls.
A male would curl up inside, fitting perfectly in the space required for pupation.
Instead, he had produced a tattered sack.
"You've connected the interface for this synthetic muscle backward," Arthur sighed.
The young human sat nearby helping, his fingers nimble and his speed nearly as fast as Sakdi’s.
"From what I know, examples of such deep affection between a pair like you and your partner are quite rare."
The young man wore a device over the bridge of his nose, using small tweezers to adjust the details of the components one by one.
"Most males seem to... have a very difficult time."
"As a human, what do you think?" Sakdi asked.
The guest before him was a singular existence, a bundle of contradictions. They were like two completely opposite cases: one who grew up and died in human society only to become a Zerg, and one who grew up among the Zerg while carrying a human identity.
"Do you hate the Empire?"
"One cannot hate something they do not remember."
Arthur adjusted his slightly unstable equipment and glanced at the other. "Have you heard of an experiment that took place on the Old Earth? An experiment where a chimpanzee was raised as a human."
Sakdi didn't know, so he shook his head.
After humanity migrated to space, there had been gaps in cultural civilization. Moreover, he was just an ordinary person; it was impossible for him to keep all knowledge in his head.
"Those scholars, or perhaps researchers, found a chimpanzee infant and placed it in a human family to be raised as a human. Consequently, the chimpanzee naturally believed itself to be a member of humanity."
His blue eyes gazed gently at the parts in his hands. Arthur always wore a smile and never seemed to get angry; he was incredibly easygoing when interacting with anyone or any creature.
"When the experiment ended, what do you think happened to that chimpanzee?"
"It would be unable to return to its own kind," Sakdi said, quietly observing him.
"It believed itself to be a human."
However, Arthur did not continue that topic.
He opened his right hand under the light, revealing a patch of scarring. This was the first time the clean-cut, handsome young man had shown a hidden flaw.
"In the beginning, Clark didn't think that much of it; he just raised me naturally. He provided the best material comforts and a secluded residence. I lived with the Zerg and naturally assumed I was one of them."
"At that time, neither of us felt anything was wrong. Clark had no plans for me to return to the human race."
"Until one day, he was injured. When he came back, his wound was still seeping blood."
Like dark clouds veiling a blue lake, the young man’s lashes lowered, his expression turning blank.
"I wanted to rush forward and hug him, and then I touched his blood."
A female's blood was somewhat acidic and corrosive.
The spiral patterns common in Zerg architecture weren't just totems; they were byproducts of their innate biological nature.
This corrosiveness would evaporate and dissipate as the blood coagulated and dried, which was why Arthur had been able to grab the other's leg initially without incident. But fresh blood was indeed destructive.
"So he understood. He was also lethal to me."
"He began to think about how to send me back to human space to live out my life."
Arthur stared at the half-finished bionic tail in his hand. He slowly stroked the silver-grey outer plating with a faint smile.
"You've only seen him in his proper, spotless state, haven't you?"
Sakdi recalled his meeting with that high-ranking Zerg; the man was indeed so tidy that one couldn't find a single fault.
In their few communications, he had also witnessed the other in blood-stained settings. He remembered that the female would immediately take something from a subordinate to wipe himself clean.
At the time, Sakdi had thought it was just the overbearing reserve or germaphobia of a high-ranking Zerg from a Core-gene tribe.
But in truth, the Zerg didn't have such hangups; they ate raw flesh and devoured alien beasts.
"So when you ask if I hate the Empire, I cannot answer that question."
The young man smiled and withdrew his hand.
"I have not spent a single day within the Empire, so I have never harbored the slightest hatred for it."
"My life began in the Federation and ended with my father's departure. I hope the Empire can be stable and eternal, bringing long-lasting peace and prosperity to this galaxy and to humanity, so that those hardships do not happen again, and so those children do not have to grow up in tears."
"Please don't misunderstand; I love humanity dearly. It is something to be proud of. But at the same time, my soul can never return to a race where I do not belong."
His blue eyes looked at Sakdi. The Core-species heard the other's voice, calm as if stating a simple fact.
"It has nothing to do with species, race, or the nature of the relationship. When you love something more than yourself—whether you love a person, a Zerg, a duty, or a belief far more than you love yourself—you will no longer look back at the path you came from with agonizing uncertainty."
"You will find a new place to rest."
"Even if one turns into cosmic dust, life will still have its own destination."
"My soul returns to his side."
***
When Sakdi returned to the nest, night had once again completely shrouded Ja.
Finishing his work, the Core-species waved his hand to dismiss the female guards stationed around the nest before stepping inside.
Next to the small sleeping area, a large cocoon hung on the wall.
It had to be said that the female's craftsmanship was indeed lacking; only two or three days after completion, the work already showed some fine cracks. Fortunately, the overall structure was quite sturdy.
Through the gaps, one could see that a pupa had already formed within the cocoon.
It was a pure white, very beautiful pupa.
Unlike the brownish-black pupal shell Sakdi himself had crawled out of, the white pupa looked like an exquisite work of art.
It lay motionless within the nest.
The nest, which wasn't large to begin with, felt somewhat cold and lonely.
The expressionless female sat down in the nest, leaning his head against the cocoon, and remained silent for a while.
Then, he reached out and gently tapped the surface of the oddly shaped little nest, letting out a barely perceptible sigh.
"Wake up soon."
His hand pressed against the rough material.
"I'll take you to see a wider reach of the stars."
"To see this universe."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 仿生尾巴 | Bionic tail | A prosthetic tail designed for Arthur to blend in. |
| 仿真肌 | Synthetic muscle | Material used in the construction of the bionic tail. |
| 连接元 | Interface / Connection element | Technical components of the bionic tail. |
| 旧地 | Old Earth | Refers to Earth in the setting's history. |
| 联邦 | Federation | The human political entity Arthur grew up in. |
| 帝国 | Empire | The human political entity (likely the main human faction). |
| 核心星域 | Core star system / Core territory | The central territory of a Zerg tribe. |
