>>5197375“Julia? I’d like for you to stay with us as part of the Distraction Team.” You decide with a nod. “You'd help us immensely on the front lines.”
“I’ll d-do whatever I can to help!.” She replies with a hopeful smile as Dorian turns to her.
“What would you say to Laoc, after this?” He forwards, and Julia smiles.
“It’s a d-date.” She affirms, popping up on her tip-toes to give Dorian a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Ma’am?” Snowbird suddenly intones, and it takes you more than a second or two before you realize she’s addressing you, of all people. “Francine and the defectors appear to want a word.”
“Pardon me a moment, I’ll be right back.” You say, leaving Dorian and Julia staring into each others’ eyes while Rath just stands to the side with a shit-eating grin, and as for B’ni, well…she’s decided to find a deadly river the most interesting thing in the world, at this point.
You meet Francine and the others halfway between the distraction team and Pendra's caravan, with Snowbird walking just behind and to the left of you in lockstep .Francine’s nonplussed, while Cassandra’s kept her usual serene smile even in the face of Pendra’s frustration, clearly evident in the twitching of her chitinous form.
“Darling, I have good news and bad news.” Francine brusquely declares, throwing her hands wide.
“Seems to be the order of the day.” You sigh. “Hit me.”
“It appears that the Hope fragment’s replication effect extends to not only constructs, but to Amalgams and Relics as well.” The good doctor explains. “We’ve been able to determine a nascent pattern in the replications that closely resembles fractal geometry, and relies on direct physical contact between the shard and the item or person in question. We had to pull back, so the patterns have yet to be properly quantified to be of much use, I’m afraid.”
“Well they *could* have, if someone hadn't insisted on interrupting me.” Pendra scowls, while Francine just levels a withering stare at her former colleague.
“You started vomiting miniature versions of yourself, Director. I thought it might be prudent to cease your ‘experiment’ at that point.”
“I’m going to take a wild guess that prolonged contact leads to some unfortunate results?” You ask, and it’s Cassandra who happily provides the answer.
“Indeed, though it appears to run a bit deeper than that, dear.” She explains calmly. “The stone copies whatever’s in contact with it, using whatever surface area available to turn the surrounding biomass into said copies. Now, for a Hive Mistress like you or Francine, constructs spawned in such a manner are well and truly yours to control, though doing so swiftly exceeds your individual ability to manipulate and process information regarding the swarm, leading to severe disorientation and the high possibility of cerebral hemorrhaging.”
“Was...was there some good news, or-?”
(Continued)
