Len has a Plan

Len gave him a mental slap that made the man break down and moan on the ground. It seemed that the hypnosis had worn off thanks to the transformation.

"Language, young man."

"Urgh.. what kind of monster are you? " Fawk groaned in pain.

Len thought for a moment, flipping through the knowledge of Fawx and the medical officer.

"Well, I'm glad you called me a monster and not an alien," Len said slightly amused.

"I know about a ton of aliens, but nothing like you." the captain said and laboriously sat up again.

Although he was confused and angry, there was no notion to call for help or activate security measures. he was mostly confused and angry.

"Four centuries ago someone like mee was still known as a ghoul. however, I can't find any information on ghouls in your memories... Maybe vampires?"

When Len started mentioning fantasy monsters, Fawx remembered those superstitious ideas from old novels. It was not that humanity had completely forgotten, the captain had heard of it but was never interested in it. This explained why Len had a hard time finding it in the man's memories.

"Are you really trying to tell me those things exist? Next, you tell me magic is real," he said sarcastically.

"Oh my, then what about superpowers? Aren't there people able to use telekinesis and control the elements? Isn't that magic?"

"Those can be explained by science!"

"Not 700 years ago, when I was still a young ghoul. Magic is just science you have yet to understand. It was a popular phrase back then." the ghoul mentioned amused.

"Then...is it true? The blood-sucking?"

"Yep."

"And the... immortality?"

"Well... for me, yes. I am technically immortal in the truest sense. I would even survive it if you pierce my heart or crush my head. You on the other hand... Let's just say don't let someone crush your skull. If you follow that advice, you are immortal."

Hearing the ghouls weird caused a small glint to appear in Fawx's eyes. Ah, yes. Len was already used to this reaction. It was the more prevalent one when people heard about immortality.

Although his kin made from ordinary humans had an unwavering subservience, it didn't mean nobody was unwilling at the start. There were typically two reactions:

Megalomania from attaining powers an eternal life.

Indignation to have been turned into a slave and maneating monster.

Both calmed down after a while. The second could be dealt with, mostly because Len had lived more than long enough under the foot of someone else, to empathize with them and know what to do.

As for the second.

"Yes, eternal life, at the small price of eating human flesh or blood."

This caused most people to backpaddle. Those who didn't calm down were maniacs and Len got rid of them immediately. They were the kinds of wolves that would ruin his ranch's business.

Fortunately, Fawx belonged to the first category. His enthusiasm was severely dampened by the prospects of living as a cannibal.

"And they have to be original human, like my sheep. That's why we can't return to earth, Fawx."

"The colonists...? What are you saying? We have to bring them back or the human race is doomed."

Len sighed, seeing Fawx react like this. However, it was nice to have a conversation with someone who was not forced to immediately agree with him on everything.

"You are misunderstanding something, Fawx. Humanity is doomed IF we return to earth. The poor souls on this ship will only be subjected to cruel experiments or absorbed into the tainted gene pool of earth."

"... Then what is your plan?"

Len could see many thoughts and doubts run through the mind of the captain. Keep the colonists as frozen rations until they run out. Raise humans like cattle on a space station. There were more dystopian ideas, but he somehow evaded the most obvious one.

"We finish the mission of the Ankara. Well, maybe we don't go to Hurble-79. However, we can look for a different planet that fits the bill and start a colony there."

"A colony...are you serious?" the other asked in surprise.

It was hard to explain, so Len transmitted his thoughts to Fawx. In Len's opinion, there was no need for any kind of dystopian society that the captain had envisioned. Although the ghoul had lived for 300 years on earth and watched it become something straight out of a science fiction novel, he was a man of the early 21st century.

He believed that humans would strife better if given as much freedom as possible. The kind of control he thought of was much more subtle and non-intrusive. The ghoul had no interest to shape humanity into a specific form and he had no great ideals he was following.

All the ghoul wanted, was for his food to thrive happily and have the power to get a snack once in a while. He did not need giant blood farms or human meat factories like the stuff from a vampire's fantasy.

Len was satisfied with a fresh liver or arm once in a while. The antiquated medicine on the Ankara was already sufficient for this not to be a problem. With the modern medicine brought by the Retriever, it became even less problematic.

People wouldn't even know that one of their organs was exchanged, or that their blood samples would go to Len's private refrigerator. There were many ways for the ghoul to embezzle his food from the populace without becoming some dark overlord.

Yes, free-range human products were his goal.

Everyone would be happy. Everyone would win.

Everyone except the current populace of earth. This was still a doubt in Fawx's mind. There was no need for Len to make a move to clear the man's doubts. He had already started making excuses of his own.

Len was right, even if he brought these people back to earth. It was sacrificing the hopeful lives and futures of 10 000 people, for the low chance of salvation. Fawx remembered what the current earth was like.

People were still messing with their genes left and right, for their individual beauty ideals or life goals. The low chance of salvation for people who had not learned their lesson.

Facing a kind master and the chance of eternal life, Fawx knew what side to chose. Who cared about being human? The captain of the Retriever-33 quickly embraced his new existence as a superior ghoul.

"Now that this is cleared up, let's talk about our steps from here on out." the progenitor said with a satisfied smile.

Over the course of a few days, the ship was completely under Len's control. Aside from the captain, he turned nobody into his kin. The high-ranking officers became servants, while the rest of the crew came under their subliminal hypnosis.

Although the Ankara was not as advanced, the Retriever-33 came with its own set of problems. The security of the systems was far more developed than that of the Ankara. Len could not officially become captain of the ship, because administrative rights could only be changed with the permission of the Earth Federation.

The Retriever also had to keep constant contact with Earth to make sure it was not stolen. The ship could also be tracked and remote-controlled if it came close to a higher-ranked earth ship or space station. A higher-ranked official could even remotely lock every personal on the ship out of the system.

"We need to get rid of all of this as quickly as possible. At least the tracking device and communications."

"That will take several days." the captain of the maintenance crew stated ponderingly.

"Can we buy that much time?"

"The higher-ups are getting impatient. I already reported that we found the Ankara before we got into contact. And we already spent a few days taking over the crew. They will get suspicious if we keep stalling."

"Then we will get on our way to earth and change course once we are ready to cut the connection."

From the knowledge Len had absorbed, he knew that he would take roughly 4 weeks to return to earth with several pauses in between the space jumps. They would act obediently for now and run away once the technicians finished their work.