14. The Dream

I fiddled with the devices, and attempted to locate where they had been sent from. I was getting frustrated with the tech, as technology is not my forte. I roared in frustration, and left the fancy tech to the Engineers. I decided to wander the Home Nest, checking out the various areas. My throne room was in good shape, and was being well maintained. I went to the nursery next, and was eager to find that my brood-mother template that I made based off the Geonosian Queen was effective at laying eggs and nursing brood.

I also checked in on the food stores and the Soldiers training. all was going well, even the Engineers were busy upgrading the fleet. I was exhausted, so I returned to my quarters and decided to rest.

as I drifted off into torpor, I began to dream. I found myself on a strange dry planet, covered in dust and sand. That was when I sensed the presence behind me. I turned my head and saw... him. A young boy, barely seven years old. He was small, yes, but his aura... his potential... he was a potential threat, and a potential Master.

"Who.. What are you?" It asked us.

"We... I am Lady Ashla. Daughter of Darkness, and Heir to the Ancient Sith Empire. Who are you, Nymphling?"

"I'm not a Nymphling, I'm a person, and my name is Anakin."

"Well, Anakin, have you ever craved power, or wanted revenge?"

"No, not really."

"Very well. If you ever change your mind, channel your anger and hate. I will hear your call, wherever you may be, and I will come. You will know what I mean when the time comes."

Tatooine, Anakin Pov

I woke from my sleep, covered in a cold sweat. It was a strange dream, and deeply disturbing at that. The strange black creature was clearly evil, and I could sense it. Its aura was dark and violent, filled with hate and blood-lust... it scared me.

Home Nest, 3rd person pov

"Seren. I would speak with you. Alone.

"What is it Brother Hoden? What could trouble one so steady and strong as you?"

"Memories, Dear sister. Memories of the Old Masters, of when the hated Light-Bringers that mother calls Jedi hunted the our ancestors and slaughtered countless Hives. These creatures, Sister... do they still exist? And if so, will they hunt us down again?"

"We are creatures of Shadow, Brother. Mother will Protect the Swarm, even if it means going to war against the Light-Bringers and their madness."

"Still, the fact that the Light-Bringers exist after all this time... it frightens me, sister Seren."

"Brother Hoden. You are as stubborn as the stone you embody. Your element is earth, just as I am water, Furen is fire, and Solen is air. We are the embodiment of the more destructive side of these elements, just as Mother is the embodiment of all the Old Masters wished to accomplish. She is Darkness and Death given physical form. We are who we are, Brother. No amount of Light-Bringer Magicks can change that. Your worrying only distracts you from your duties to the Hive. You must have faith that Mother will protect us."

"We must have faith. for without our Mother and her will, we would be lost already. I know this, Sister, and yet I cannot shake this feeling of impending doom."

"Have you been taking your assigned rest periods? Entering torpor, or getting enough to eat?"

"I don't dare to sleep. That is when the nightmares come."

"Tell me of them, these 'nightmares'"

"They are of the four of us, and of Mother, on a strange planet where metal buildings cover the entire surface. we are being hunted, chased, by humanoids wearing strange white armor, all with the same voice, the same face, as well as several dozen Light-Bringers. Solen and Furen try to fight them off, so Mother and us can escape, but they are cut down by the enemies' sound weapons. then you fight them, and kill many with your acid rain before you too are killed. I fall shortly after, and that is where I always wake up, with my death, and that of the rest of you. I do not know if Mother survived the encounter, in my nightmares anyway."

"Was it day or night?"

"We were too far down for it to matter. the shadows where thick. I am hoping Mother survives, if my nightmares become reality."

"... I see now why you have not slept in some time, Brother. the clarity of these nightmares may mean they are a possible future. I will think on this. In the meantime, know that mother does not intend to leave the Nest anytime soon, and be at peace Brother. We are all Safe in the Great Nest.