"What you're telling me is that this Adam Spencer not only killed many bounty hunters in our guild building on Terrana Five, but he then went on and destroyed that same building, after which he went on to defeat six TISF ships, including a cruiser?" A male Nagareen asked from a holographic screen where his face could be seen, frowning.
"Yes, director, he not only defeated six TISF ships but turned them into space dust." The female bounty hunter guild leader replied.
"How is such a thing possible? The data we have on his ship shows it as being only medium class."
"With regards to the destruction of the guild building, I believe he used a missile launcher from within a cloaked ship after witnessing it myself.
As for the TISF ships, I did not see them firsthand; however, my informant tells me that he somehow combined the gravitational shockwave of seven seismic charges into one, thus reducing them to space dust."
"Do you believe he planned for that, or was it just some lucky coincidence?"
"That's impossible to say with any degree of certainty, sir, as I have never heard of such a thing, have you?"
"No, which leads me to think it was just pure coincidence and luck that they won.
I'm far more interested in the fact that he destroyed one of our guild buildings and seems to possess a ship that can cloak."
"A lieutenant of the TISF did warn me that his tech might be more advanced than ours."
"A lieutenant, please, what can a lowly lieutenant know?"
"But what about him wielding a Universal Force Staff?"
"Were you born yesterday? It's obviously one of those fakes that were going around a few years ago.
Forward me all the information we have on Adam Spencer and his ship. I will look it over before deciding on an appropriate bounty reward for him."
"Should the grand guild master not be informed of this?"
"No, there is no need to waste the grand guild master's time on something so trivial. The Sandanar Galaxy and those surrounding it fall under my jurisdiction, and I will be sure to fix this promptly by killing that young punk who dared to destroy our building before claiming his ship."
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"So tell me, granddaughter, what was it that you wished to discuss with me that required us to be alone?" Rowena asked.
After deciding on their next destination, Stacey had asked Rowena to join her in her room so that they might discuss something in private, leaving Adam, Lorelie and Tephe in the mess hall.
"It's regarding the time when I fed on Adam and his blood," Stacey replied with slight hesitation.
"Is this also the reason why the two of you looked concerned when I mentioned that he would donate his blood if he ever visited a Brood world?"
"That's correct. I have reason to believe that Adam is… special."
"Oh my dear, of course he is special to you," Rowena said with a kind smile.
"No, I don't mean in that way, I mean his blood is special."
"Oh?" Rowena replied as her interest grew.
"After I ran away and ended up on Trillion, I made a close friend, and eventually I tried to feed on her; however, it failed."
"Failed as if your bicuspid teeth didn't elongate, and when you bit this friend, blood shot out everywhere?" Rowena asked.
She knew what her granddaughter meant because that was what happened when any part Brood who couldn't feed attempted to do so and failed.
"Yes," Stacey replied.
"And yet it worked with Adam?" Rowena asked.
"Yes, I had never tried again after what happened to my friend, and I never planned to try again; however, during… Intercourse with Adam, my Brood instincts seemed to take over.
According to him, my eye colour turned even redder and my bicuspid teeth grew, and before I knew it, I was feeding on him.
I didn't even realise it at the time, and it was only after it was over that I remembered what happened in the end.
"Well, you not realising what happened is not surprising, it is something every Brood goes through when they first start to feed, over time your mind will adapt and you will gain greater control over your feeding.
However, the fact that your bicuspid teeth grew with Adam and not your friend is curious."
"That's not even the most surprising part," Stacey said in a slightly lower voice.
"Oh?" Rowena asked with interest.
"Adam's blood changed me."
"You mean it strengthened your life force, allowing you to live longer? It's impressive you can already feel that." Rowena replied with an impressed tone and smiled happily at her granddaughter's talent.
"No, I don't mean that, I mean it made me more Brood."
"What do you mean?"
"It's probably easier to show you, Specter. Can you display my bio scan from when I first came on board?"
"Affirmative." After Spector replied, a holographic screen appeared before the two showing Stacey's original bioscan data.
"As you can see, I am seventy-five per cent Terran and twenty-five per cent Brood since I'm your grandchild."
"Ok," Rowena replied, wondering where this was going.
"Now, please show the bioscan data after I fed on Adam."
A second screen appeared, and as Rowena read the information, her eyes widened in shock.
"After feeding on Adam, I'm now sixty-eight per cent Terran and thirty-two per cent Brood. Also, according to Adam, the size of my wings increased slightly while feeding on his blood."
"Show me," Rowena said in a stern voice she rarely used before going around behind Stacey.
Stacey nodded before allowing her wings to appear behind her as Rowena began to study them closely.
"Hmmm, and you're saying that they're bigger than before you fed on Adam?"
"Yes, my wings have not changed in size since I reached adulthood."
"That's how it should be, my wings, for example, have not changed in thousands of years, and yet yours did," Rowena replied before she went into deep thought as she sat back down on her chair.
"Could it be? But that's not possible, that's only a legend from when the Brood and Terran races first made contact; however, their blood has been diluted since then." Rowena began to mumble to herself.
"Grandmother?" Stacey asked, attracting Rowena's attention again.
"OH, sorry, I was lost in thought. I'm going to need time to consider this, as it's not something I personally have ever come across before; however, is there anything else that happened that you think I should know?"
"Well, after I finished feeding on Adam, we both collapsed."
"Collapsed?"
"Yes, according to Spector, Adam collapsed because of blood loss, and if I didn't stop when I did, he could have died," Stacey replied with a concerned look.
"I wouldn't worry about that." Rowena replied with a warm smile before explaining, "Your love for him stopped you."
"What?" Stacey replied while blushing slightly.
"It's quite common among those who feed for the first time; there are normally only two outcomes when you feed for the first time without supervision.
The first is what happened with Adam, which is that you managed to stop before you killed him; the second is that you would have killed him.
Before you get all worried, allow me to finish." Rowena said as she saw that Stacey started to panic slightly and was about to ask a question.
"As I mentioned before, control over your feeding will come in time; however, there is still a level of subconscious control. If, for example, you had fed on a random guy you didn't know, then you would most likely have killed him since you had no feelings for him and didn't care for him.
However, the first one you fed on was Adam, someone you have feelings for and from how you fed on his neck, plan to take as your mate." At this point, Rowena stopped and smirked at Stacey, who was blushing even harder before continuing.
"Because of your feelings for him, your subconscious mind stopped you from killing him. It's something seen quite often with young Brood who have just gained the ability to feed; they choose their partner and so manage to feed on them without killing them."
"As for you collapsing, that is also not entirely unexpected, young Brood often collapse after their first feeding in order to allow the body time to use the blood's energy in extending their lifespans; however, in your case, it used the blood's energy in a different way."
"Yes, along with my wings, apparently my natural eye colour got slightly redder, as did some of my hair change from black to red."
"Fascinating, I have heard tales of similar experiences from long before I was born. Unfortunately, those Brood have long ago entered eternal slumber, so there is no one I can easily ask about this…. Unless."
"Unless what?"
Rowena looked at Stacey for a moment before showing a loving smile and saying, "Don't concern yourself too much with this for now. Allow me, as your grandmother, to look into it since I failed to be around when you needed me most in the past.
Also, continue to feed on Adam, and please keep me informed of any more changes you experience. In fact, why not let me observe the next time you feed on him?"