Kuta rubbed their head, then turned their attention to a bowl of sweet potato soup that had been set out for them. There were a lot of emotions going through Kuta’s poor, battered brain right now, but there were three emotions that stood out: guilt, hunger and horniness. The first was due to a horrible, complicated mess, but the reason behind the other two emotions were pretty simple. It turned out that there was actually medication that could block the use of telepathy, but it only came in tablet form, took at least a few hours to kick in and had a weird collection of side-effects.
Admittedly, the medication wasn’t for Rethans, it was for Vohra about to undergo the change from juvenile to adult, to stop them giving themselves “telepathically induced brain haemorrhages” as they essentially formed cocoons and tripled in size
That didn’t really apply to Rethans or most other species, but, well, the medication had worked. Kuta currently couldn’t use their telepathy. And, aside from the hunger and the horniness, it was… relaxing almost. For the first time in decades, Kuta’s mind was quiet. They didn’t have to concentrate on blocking everyone else’s voices out. They weren’t picking up stray thoughts and emotions from other people. In fact, Kuta didn’t even notice that there were people outside their hospital room. They were too preoccupied with the soup. Which was pretty basic, but it was briefly satisfying Kuta’s hunger.
Kuta was genuinely considering seeing if they could get this medication outside of these exceptional circumstances. Having to constantly worry about their telepathy slipping up had always been a massive part of Kuta’s life, and the opportunity to not have to worry, even if it was temporary, to give themselves a break, was very tempting.
A hushed conversation and harsh thoughts on the other side of the door would have distracted Kuta, but they didn’t really care right now. However, the door gently clicking open did catch Kuta’s attention.
“Hello, Kyr Kuta!” Ritlir beamed as they entered the recovery room and closed the door behind them. “How are you doing?”
Kuta looked up, then lowered their head. “Hello, General.”
Ritlir blinked and tilted their head to one side in confusion, briefly wondering why Kuta was being submissive. However, they quickly worked it out and waved their hand dismissively. “Oh pssh, no need for titles, Kuta! We are friends, and I would not be a General if not for you! We can talk as equals, it is not a problem. Plus, I have good news.”
“There is no good news, Ritlir. I killed a lot of people…”
“In self defence. Was not even technically you anyway, according to the Skyavok operative, it seemed like a combination of both your telepathy and their telepathy. Also, thanks to the Skyavok, we have managed to do some genetic testing and, somehow, Siona Kaldieridos is not related to you.”
“B-but…” Kuta tried to climb out of bed, but had forgotten about the belts around their legs, holding them in place. There was a heavy desire to make sure Kuta didn’t leave, and, while Kuta had been transferred back to Threa, the Rethan home world, they had been forced to wear a blindfold, so Kuta wouldn’t try to escape via a shadowjump.
“Yes, I know, the Skyavok operative said that the progenitor of the clones claimed to be your child, but the genetic testing proves otherwise.”
“They had fangs and telepathy though.”
Ritlir shrugged. “There are three different Psykolakos families with many kids, but only one of them consists of higher-caste Rethans. However, I am the only Psykolakos in my family who is permanently cheery, but my cheerfulness matches that of one of the other members of a different Psykolakos family. Genetics are traceable, mostly, but via luck and randomness, traits can crop up in different places at similar times.”
“But-”
Still smiling, Ritlir pulled up a chair and sat down. “You do not need to worry about this one genetics thing. General Vaksavar does, as does General Hetret, but here, you are fine. They probably just inserted some Vohra brain juice into the poor thing or something. Anyway, how are you?”
Kuta didn’t answer. “What does the Master of Generals have to do with this?”
“Um… They found Ethranios and Hertanios DNA in the clones. The Hertanios DNA is probably where the fangs came from, now I think about it, but the queen-caste strips you described is 100% Ethranios DNA. Problem is, we have no idea where they got this genetic data from, outside of MAYBE the Yisinic Cycle.”
“But that Temthan cult was destroyed?”
Ritlir shrugged. “Well, I have soldiers working on it all. I mostly came here to see how you were doing. I assume not great, since I have asked twice and you have avoided the question both times.”
Kuta took a long, drawn out breath. “I think you can understand why.”
“It was self defence. You did not go into that mission to explicitly kill anyone. You were forced to do what you did.”
“Hmph. No. I deserve to be locked away forever. Litvir was right, I am a monster with no real sense of control.”
“You mean Livtar, the General of the 606th Legion, yes?”
Kuta glanced at Ritlir, frowned, then nodded. “Yes. Livtar. My head is a mess right now. The vast feelings of guilt, on top of the side effects… I can eat food in an attempt to get rid of the hunger, but I really, really, really wish Retvik was here right now. Somewhat sad that I cannot even watch his last match, apparently it was a good one.”
“I am glad Retvik makes you happy. Nothing tops my success in getting Relkir and the Keeper together, but you and Retvik do make a close second. I hope Sini would be proud of me.”
“Hah… Sini outright asked Retvik to have kids with me at some point, and after all these years, I am… somewhat considering it. And since we also got Rethais to end the bloodline traditions and you an I convinced Relkir and Gath to date, I am sure Sini is proud of you.”
“Speaking of which, I do not know if you heard, Relkir wants kids.”
Kuta blinked. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. I am sure Sini is very, very proud of you.”
Ritlir’s smile turned into a massive grin. “I appreciate that. I know you are upset and stuff, and I know you cannot leave this room, but is there anything I can get for you? Food? Drink? An L-Class Skyan to fix your side effects?”
Kuta shook their head. “The only thing I want right now is my important communicator.”
“The one you keep in the drawer in your desk.”
“Yes.”
“Why is it important?” Ritlir asked. “I mean, I will fetch it for you, but I want to know why it is important.”
“It is the communicator I used to use to converse with Arkay. I also have some other contacts on it.”
“Like what?”
“Retvik’s details, plus the contacts of the rest of his Dessaron team, plus the Skyavok who taught me how to use my shadow powers.”
Ritlir shrugged. “Fair enough. I can understand why you freaked out about all of this though. You are a powerful, enigmatic being who has done their best to try and protect the universe from themselves, and, this time, it did not work out. Anyway, I shall fetch your communicator. Is there anything else you need?”
Kuta thought for a moment. “Hm. Not so much need, but want. I would like some solid food, something more filling than the gallon of soup I have already consumed. But I also want to know if I can take some of these anti-telepathic tablets home with me. You have no idea how… calming it is, not having to worry about accidentally reading someone’s thoughts all the time.”
Ritlir smiled as they got up. “I will see what I can do. I hope you feel better. And, as a reminder, this is not your fault.”
“That is what Arkay said.”
“Well, the Oath Keeper is right.”
Kuta lowered their head. “Thank you, General.”
“No worries, friend.”