...Because she's a threat to our continued existence now?Why does it seem like everyone go from leave well enough alone to totally murder her?
We can't just delete the interaction from her mind because?
Welcome to questing, we are murder hobo heroes at its finestWhy does it seem like everyone go from leave well enough alone to totally murder her?
In this case we are all minds directing an ever hungering swarm, no heros hereWelcome to questing, we are murder hobo heroes at its finest
[x] Corrupt her
[x]Leave Alone
Omake: Mental Warfare
The Cerebrate was not happy at the moment. The secrecy of the Swarm had been breached. Something that was unacceptable at this juncture in time. This creature needed to be dealt with quickly. But it was more than that. A greater problem had been discovered with the new information. A potential breach in the operations of the Swarm.
This creature was, but one of many. It's mind said as much. These Asrai creatures were a problem waiting to happen. Their melding ability as it was called an unacceptable risk. From what it could tell it was a purely biological process. There were no psionic elements to it. That didn't make it any less of an issue though.
This wasn't even the first time this kind of thing had happened. The Terran ghosts had skimmed through the hive mind before. As had the Protoss to forcefully gain information. Now these new creatures represented a new problem. Being able to extract information from theoretically any swarm member they could reach. They would not always be easy to handle either. Information from her mind revealed elder specimens who were far more rational and much more dangerous. Much harder to get rid of if need be. This one was just a foolish child.
This needed to be rectified immediately. So as part of it handled the juvenile the other parts furiously tried to come up with a solution. Obviously finding a way to defend against future breaches was necessary. This issue was how to do it? So it dove deep down into its memory. Searching for anything of use.
Eventually it reached something of value. The memories of an infested Terran. An engineer of their kind to be exact. Or maybe it was coder. It didn't care particularly about that part. What it did care about was the data. It felt this could have potential.
Apparently the Terrans had something called electronic warfare. A mechanical equivalent to psionic clashes between users. Something almost entirely confined among themselves in their petty disunity. The Swarm did not use electronics and the Protoss technology was managed through psionic energy. Still it felt this could be of use.
The idea of it was to subvert, damage, or defend their systems from outside tampering. The former through use of viruses or some kind of code. The second out of similar methods. The last using some specialized bits of data called firewalls, passwords, and so on. The information from the Asari indicated use of it among council races as well.
Perhaps it could use this for the Swarm. Created some kind of ingrained psionic command or mental defenses into it's units. Some kind of mental hazard to keep intruders out of their shared intelligence. Preventing anything not of the Zerg from accessing the hive mind. At least making it much more likely to happen. It wouldn't be easy given the difference in nature. Still it would be worth the effort to do so.
@Planetary Tennis
If that's the case then it is better to take her and kill the team yeh? Then we'd get the Asari Mind Meld and thru genetics and to get that they all need to die. But even those that are calling for her mental\physical death are saying to leave the team alone.Welcome to questing, we are murder hobo heroes at its finest
[x] Corrupt her
[x]Leave Alone
Omake: Handling a Pest
The Cerebrate metaphorically scowled at this annoyance that had cropped up. At least the portion of it currently dedicated to this did. This pitiful creature had the gall to try and access the hive mind. Ignorance mixed with idiocy leading to the current situation. Now it had to deal with this creature quickly. Lest it return to it's allies and turned over important information.
There were a number of ways it could handle this. Though two it could think of were currently unavailable. Infesting the nuisance was not an option. The Overlord unfortunately did not have such a capability. Not to mention the others would be sure to investigate. Followed by an attempt to try and destroy the source of the infection. Leading to the Swarm being exposed.
Nor was it able to simply crush this pest. Leaving it brain dead was a tempting option yes. However doing so would likely cause an investigation. These Asari held substantial influence among the council. Finding out about something like that would motivate them to try to destroy it. The fall from above might be able to mask it. Or it might not as these creatures were supposed to have advanced medical abilities. They may be able to deduce the real reason for her death. It might simply look like the Swarm was incompatible with melding. Or it might trigger an aggressive attack.
That still left it with other options. Not without risk unfortunately. Though they came to various degrees.
They could simply have the Overlord drop her. Leading to die on impact with the ground. That might not work out though. These Asari had abilities that could at least allow it to survive. at the same time this shuttle might be able to catch her. Leading to it discoloring knowledge of the Swarm.
Another would be to have the Overlord kill her. This was it's favoured option. Wild creatures after all were known to be dangerous. Especially ones that were unknown and severely startled. Of course there was a high chance they would retaliate. Likely killing the Overlord and potentially others around it. Maybe causing the nearby other Zerg to go rampant as a side effect. Blowing their state of secrecy.
The next one was to corrupt her. This was potentially a high risk and high reward option. It could use her as a spy to gather more information. Preparing for the coming battles against this council. Then again there was no guarantee it would work. Even with the data in its mind it could still be exposed. Cultural and behavioral norms were hard to replicate after all. Then there was the melding ability to consider. Leading to further complication if it was uncovered.
The last was to abduct her. The most difficult and risky of the options. The shuttle would likely attempt a rescue in that case. Potentially leading them back to the hive. Where they still didn't have fully functional anti vessel weapons. They might contact others for reinforcements as well.
Ugh a difficult decision considering possible consequences. It carefully weighed pros and cons. Debating on how to proceed.
@Planetary Tennis