"He's not much for social niceties or talking to," he heard Kaerin say, then turn to him, hoping to entice him into answering the sub female.
Jinyue wasn't rising to whatever bait that was. For one, their conversation had been oh so rudely interrupted by the person. Also, the sub female seemed odd. His reaction to seeing him was off-putting, and he couldn't place why.
He was not in the mood for socialising with anyone anymore after the brief progress and promise of information ceased, so after some casual niceties from the sub female and the general, he took his chance and moved away from them or at least tried to, before Rin decided to follow him, then Cody too.
"Why do you not like people near you?"
"Take a guess, Rin", he said, tired of the pointless get-to-know-you questions. He noticed how shocked he seemed to be, with how abruptly he stopped and stared. His eyes also changed shape. They dilated like a cat's, and the iris was prominently round, unlike the usual slit state. If he had some fluffy ears, he was sure they'd be arched back. It was an interesting sight.
"Are you okay?" asked Cody as he hovered near him.
Jinyue took that opportunity to book it. He still felt tired from the fight and would much rather eat.
Rin brushed off Cody with a quick I'm good then hurried to catch up to him after whatever reaction that was cleared from his system.
"You know my real name, or part of it, can I know yours?" he asked as he ran passed him and blocked the path ahead.
Jinyue was determined to ignore him now, with his social batteries all dead. He turned back swiftly and walked in the opposite direction in a half run.
"Running doesn't help you know," he said as he attempted to hold his arm and stop him, only to miss. "Listen, I know we both don't trust each other well, but since we are here, you might as well be in the know, since the insects are swarming this place... It's dangerous for a male. Plus… need information too. It's a win-win situation. Help me out here."
All of those facts were true…and hammered into his brain with the constant repetition, and Cody seemed to agree as he quipped up a small, "he's right, you know,"
Jinyue glared at Cody, who, at the very least, had the decency to look ashamed for siding with an outsider once more. He couldn't deny the truth.
"You could have asked Cody or asked instead of the spar."
He was, in fact, ignored.
"How does the blue mineral work?"
Yeah, fuck that. That's something he couldn't answer without risking himself by explaining how his powers worked. He may as well lie.
"It reacts once exposed to magnetic waves, then amplifies and releases the power. I stumbled upon it by chance when scavenging," half-truths weren't all that bad after all. He seemed to want to question it more, but the logic was solid. Jinyue instead moved on quickly and asked.
"…why are you still here?"
"As I said, we were subjugating an insect infestation for the galaxy, then the plan didn't go along as we had expected…we are expected to be rescued once backup comes,"
"A whole general!?"
"It's a failsafe."
"hmm"
"What were you going to say about what I did."
Rin glanced at Cody, then at him, almost as if asking if he was trustworthy, then sighed and answered, "Do you know how your abilities work?"
"Yes… a little bit,"
"The others didn't sense your mental strength while you healed me… I have an SS+ physique…"
What does that have to do with all of this? Of course, he didn't say that out loud, so he kept quiet, not giving anything away. Cody answered it for him.
"YOU DON'T MEAN HE'S AN SS+ MALE!"
Now what on earth… why was Cody gushing and talking all that much? It had been a while since he was reduced to such an utterly frazzled state for a robot. He still didn't get the importance since he already knew that he was unique. It shouldn't be a shock to him since…
"SS+ Males don't exist,"
Yeah, that tracks. He could only wonder whether Rin would give him up to scientists to experiment on him. He also seemed curious about his physique and how that came to be. His face crunched up unconsciously, same with his spine and tail straightening up.
"Don't worry, I won't say anything to the others I promise,"
Hard to believe, he'd rather be left alone.
"Why…?"
He had many whys to ask. Why help me keep my lies? Why protect me from your teammates?
Kaerin didn't bristle at it. Instead, something in his expression shifted. The teasing persistence from earlier—that competitive edge from their spar—faded into something else.
"I've never favoured males from the dominion. I'm guessing you don't want to go there because of similar reasons."
That hardly counted as anything to Jinyue. What else was he gonna say, that he is different from the rest? Was he interested in him? Was this some convoluted ploy to make him fall in love with him and have a personal soother due to his position and how out of the loop Jinyue was from the Dominion? He, however, said something else that made him pause.
"I also don't get soothed by males from the capital, my physique doesn't allow it, so I developed Corruption Syndrome(Cody let out the most dramatic gasp a robot could produce) and can lose control and be killed off at any point, not many people know this." Rin continued, tone even. "I would not have said that in front of the others, enemies are surrounding me everywhere, even within my army. It's not something that can come to light, or I'll suffer along with my colleagues."
Jinyue crossed his arms loosely, studying him. He frankly knew next to nothing about that, despite all the lessons Cody threw at him. "You seemed functional enough even before all this"
"I am," Kaerin replied. "For now...thanks to you."
"The insects we were subjugating before the crash," he said, "they were not behaving normally. Exposure to the blue mineral accelerated their mutation rate. They also…" He paused. "Destabilised my mental scape."
Jinyue didn't react outwardly.
"A general who cannot control his mind," Kaerin continued, "does not remain a general for long."
Inside, however, the pieces rearranged.
There it was.
Precarious.
His position, his authority, his reputation—all of it balanced on stability and secrecy. Same to himself yet different all the same.
"We are not similar,"
"I know that… you are in a worse place than I am… maybe you can call it pity if you don't believe I genuinely don't want to help after telling you all of this." Kaerin's gaze sharpened slightly. "When you touched my mental scape, I expected mutual destruction. Or incompatibility. I sensed neither, which is a feat in itself."
Cody hummed softly, as though analysing the exchange.
"The others," Kaerin added, "won't accept anything else even if you show them your strength, and some of them are already suspicious of you."
Jinyue's tail twitched once behind him.
"And yet," he said evenly, "you're still here. Not dragging me to a containment cell."
Kaerin's mouth curved faintly. "If I drag you anywhere, it will not be to a containment cell."
The implication lingered a fraction too long. Jinyue ignored it.
"You admitted something to me," Kaerin said quietly. "So I admitted that to you. My condition cannot be public. If it is, I lose command. Possibly more."
"And if I am SS+," Jinyue replied, "I lose autonomy."
They understood each other. Mutual leverage. Neither could expose the other without consequence. Kaerin inclined his head slightly. "Yes."
The honesty unsettled Jinyue more than denial would have. After a second, Kaerin shifted topics.
"When rescue arrives," he said, "The others will want you escorted to the Imperial Capital."
Jinyue's expression hardened instantly.
"No."
Kaerin blinked once. "I don't know if you noticed but...they might not give you an option, especially if I decline. They'd just think I want you to die you know…male zerg hater and all."
He gestured randomly at that last part and directed his hand towards him.
"I have no interest in living in a gilded cage."
Kaerin paused, then tilted his head slightly.
"…A gilded cage?"
Cody stepped forward helpfully. "A confinement structure made luxurious to disguise imprisonment. Young master Lan taught me the phrase."
Kaerin looked between them.
"You believe that is what awaits you?"
"Yes."
"High-ranking males are protected. Respected. Provided for."
"Owned with wealth that's all." Jinyue corrected.
The word hung heavy.
Kaerin did not immediately deny it; in fact, he seemed shocked and almost validated. It went to show how rare his radical views were in the dominion. Having Rin support him just a little felt refreshing. He'd been too used to Cody gushing on how he could have as many sub females and females as he needed and their wealth because of his appearance and strength, a bit too much.
Instead, he studied him with renewed intensity. "You speak as though you have experienced such confinement."
"In another life," Jinyue murmured.
Kaerin did not press more than that.
Instead, his tone shifted again—subtler now.
"If you do not go to the capital," he asked, "how do you intend to survive your heat?"
Jinyue stiffened.
Kaerin watched carefully.
"You have not exhibited signs of entering one," he continued. "Your pheromone output is shockingly low. You appear… almost of age."
Pheromones…what is he a dog? And almost? Almost age for what?
"How old are you?" Kaerin asked.
Jinyue's jaw tightened. "Irrelevant."
"I can tell you mine," He couldn't even object before Rin's lips twitched faintly. "I am forty-one."
Jinyue almost stumbled mid-step.
Forty-one?
He had been thirty-nine when he died. His mind stuttered. He looked so young, though, not even older than twenty-two.
"You're old," he blurted, unwittingly, with nothing else to say.
Kaerin stared at him, thoroughly offended.
"I am the youngest general in the Dominion."
Doesn't change the fact.
Cody chimed in cheerfully, "Zerg lifespans average between eight hundred and one thousand years, depending on physique classification."
Jinyue turned slowly. "Excuse me?"
"Indeed," Cody continued. "General Rin's is biologically in early adulthood."
Jinyue stared at Rin.
"You're… forty-one."
"Yes?"
"And that's… young?"
"Yes!"
Silence stretched.
"You're telling me," Jinyue said slowly, "you're pestering someone younger than you by decades."
Kaerin's brow arched slightly. "You haven't even answered my question. And you say that as if that's relevant. We are the same age group."
Jinyue ran a hand through his hair. "I never asked."
Cody tilted his head. "Young master Lan has not previously inquired about average Zerg lifespan metrics."
"I can see that," Kaerin murmured.
A slow dawning realisation crept into Jinyue's thoughts.
"If you're in early adulthood at forty-one," he said carefully, "then what does that make me?"
Rin perked up, interested in the situation too. Cody's optics brightened.
"Based on physiological indicators and clan markers," he said, "you are classified as a juvenile nearing maturation."
Juvenile.
The word hit harder than expected. It seemed all so childish. He had built corporations. Destroyed rivals. Negotiated with men twice his age….Now he was apparently a glorified teenager. He was not pleased at all...Huh, lately that's all he was feeling.
"I am twenty," he said flatly at long last.
Kaerin went very still.
"Twenty," he repeated slowly.
"That is correct," Cody confirmed.
Rin's face twisted in concern.
"Your first heat should have manifested by now," he said carefully, then went on.
Jinyue rolled his eyes this time. He took everything nice he'd said back. Another Cody…great, just what he needed. Send another mother hen, why don't you, universe? Why was he even surrounded by such people anyway? Couldn't they just accept he was stronger than he looked after everything they'd seen from him?
"….Stress delays heats…."
The nagging continued on and on and on.
"….strength decre…. Mood swings! Is that why…"
Who even said he'd get mood swings just because of a missed heat or a heat away from people? This was pissing him off more than the nagging boot-licking subordinates he'd once had. Cody seemed to agree with Kaerin and joined him in the impromptu lecture. He was sick of it; he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I have already had my heat."
"…"
Cody nodded. "Confirmed. Young master Lan experienced and survived a full cycle. I found him at the end of it."
Kaerin's gaze snapped back to him, all the more shocked and seemingly depressed. Jinyue couldn't believe it either. Why was he sharing such details with a stranger anyway? He must have been lonelier than he had once thought.
"You endured it alone?"
"Yes."
Kaerin's jaw tightened.
"That was reckless," he said quietly. "You can fix our communication devices. Why not do that for yourself?"
Jinyue shrugged.
Kaerin's voice dropped lower. He had that look on his face, saying, 'Is this what others go through with me?' obviously he was facing the consequences of his actions. He must have been in denial since he repeated once more, "Isolation during the first heat can cause psychological fragmentation. Permanent damage."
"I survived," Jinyue answered with another casual shrug. By then, they had stayed in the hall for too long.
"Yes," Kaerin said. "But you should not have had to."
The words were simple yet extremely heavy. Never had he ever been told that in his previous life. Even by Ming Yin. Jinyue studied him again. It was… oddly considerate, actually, unsettlingly so.
"You still require companionship even without your heats," Kaerin continued. "Even if you survived the first."
"I managed."
"That does not make it optimal."
Cody nodded again. "Companionship improves stability, longevity, and cognitive health."
"I am not interested in discussing my reproductive schedule," Jinyue muttered, "…or people"
Kaerin's mouth curved faintly. "You may not be interested. Biology is."
Jinyue shot him a glare. The tension shifted subtly; it was not as hostile but rather charged. After a moment, Kaerin exhaled quietly.
"Okay, if you truly wish to avoid the capital," he said, voice lowering again, "I can assist."
Jinyue stilled.
"How?"
"I can create an opportunity for you to run away."
"You'd do that?"
"For strategic purposes. And that would drastically lower my paperwork."
That last statement sounded a bit too eager if you asked Jinyue. It genuinely seemed like a reason to help him escape. He was starting to understand this female Zerg slowly, and it was a really unflattering sight for a general.
"And what strategic purpose do I serve?"
Kaerin met his gaze steadily. "You stabilised my mind."
There it was again.
Leverage.
"And?"
"And I find you… interesting."
Jinyue raised a brow.
"Intellectually," Kaerin clarified smoothly.
Cody's optics dimmed suspiciously.
"I would not mind maintaining contact," Kaerin continued. "Perhaps even… becoming friends."
The word felt foreign in his mouth. Jinyue considered it for all of two seconds.
"Friends," he echoed.
"Yes."
"I do not recall applying for companionship."
"You did not," Kaerin said calmly. "I am volunteering."
Jinyue looked unimpressed. Cody, however, was staring at Kaerin very narrowly. The robot's internal systems hummed faintly. about the general's pheromone fluctuation had shifted.
Before Cody could comment—
CRASH!
*******