Thunder had returned to the Moon, where he joined Rusteater, Splitter and Anoona in watching as Ret and her newly hatched Gen 3 sisters devoured fifteen million Newmen in a gargantuan vat which had been designed specifically for this purpose.
Not only did it have to fit fifteen million prisoners, but it had to withstand the feeding frenzy of the Gen 3s, who were Powerful enough to generate flares of charged energy that could strip flesh from bone.
The vat had been built in the large crater to the east of Menstra and was at the centre of the housing facility that was built for the Gen 3s.
They didn't need much space, but they generated a lot of heat when they metabolised, and so had spaces where they could stay without hurting anyone accidentally.
One of the Gen 3s walked up to the transparent viewport through which she was being observed, and she softly placed her blood-soaked hand on the glass.
The lunar Ani walked up to the viewport and gently placed her hand on top of her daughter's.
The two completely ignored the screaming Newmen who were being slaughtered in the thousands.
"Go on. Eat up before Ret finishes everything." The Ani smiled, prompting her daughter to nod and turn back to the massacre where she feasted as well.
What made Gen 3 Betas special was that they were mostly inorganic.
Their carapaces were made of Bio-Metal complexes, their muscles were nanoscopic pneumatic tubes, and they could withstand temperatures ranging from -150 K to 5000 K. They could also survive in the vacuum of space and, while they had incredibly high Ostraka, most of it was used keeping their cells alive in the furnaces of their bodies.
It wasn't as simple as saying that they were stronger than Gen 2s; they could just withstand more extreme conditions and had been created by Anoona's wrath.
They were what she planned to use in future orbital bombardments, and once they reached the surface, they would then be able to consume an entire planet's population whole.
That said, not all of them were built the same.
Ret was among the most powerful in terms of Noetic Presence; her sisters averaged at 7ML, compared to her 10.5ML.
The Ani thought about her eventual attack on the Newman fleet proper.
One thousand two hundred and thirty enemy ships remained, and the Bio-Web projected she would lose about two hundred children.
A heartbreaking number.
The Ani comforted herself by thinking that it was all just part of the cycle of life and death.
And as for the issue of the self-generated Noetic Shield, not much could be done about that quite yet, since there was no way for Anoona to share her Noetic power with her younger or weaker children.
While it was virtually impossible to harm even one of her children on Earth, it took a lot of mental focus and energy to keep a personal Shield once one was out of that protective bubble.
And while normal bullets wouldn't be enough to break the focus of any of her children, explosives were different.
These were strong enough to send residual pulses of force through the shield.
Anoona had yet to figure out a way around this.
It was inevitable that her children would have to fight beyond her swaddling Bio-Web, so they wouldn't all be able to be indefinitely protected.
The Ani gnashed her teeth, and this made the Gen 3s freeze.
She sent out a positive ping, letting them know that everything was alright, and they continued eating.
"Time for the big one." Thunder hummed, shaking the air a little and prompting Rusteater to scuttle across the room where a 3D holographic display showed a map of the galactic civilisation of the Newmen.
He zoomed into the Earth's solar system, allowing everyone to see where the invading Newmen fleet was.
A week had passed since the complete counter of their offensive effort, and they had since begun a slow retreat to the edge of the solar system and were currently flying past Saturn.
Faster-than-light travel still wasn't possible for individual ships, so they were moving relatively slowly.
Anoona wondered how far they were willing to go because the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, was several light-years away. A trip which would take them decades.
And while the Newmen were long-lived, that sounded incredibly tedious.
"We could send a fleet comprised entirely of Hawks—" Rusteater was interrupted by one of the nearby Thetas who was in charge of radio communications, whose head poked out from behind his console,
"Mother, another transmission from the Newmens. They are asking once again for a chance to establish peace talks."
"Tsk. Didn't they launch nukes at us a week long ago?" The Ani clicked her tongue, prompting Thunder to gently pat her back.
"Regardless, they will all die. Now, you were saying?" She asked an amused Rusteater.
"We have modified Hawks that could catch up to them, and I'm confident these two blockheads could take care of the rest."
Splitter hissed at Rusteater's words.
"You make it sound so easy. Have you tried cutting a large ship apart?"
"No. Also, if you can't do it, then just say so and I'll call Ivory." Rusteater raised his nose, making Splitter glare at him.
The Ani let the boys argue all while her main body went about her day on Earth.
She took a deep breath of Terran air and deeply sighed.
Her shoulders felt a little heavier thanks to the Earth's stronger gravity, but she grew accustomed to it again almost immediately.
She sat on a patch of greyish grass near the hive and was greeted by a handful of Thetas who were working on something nearby.
They all waved at her before continuing their work, which was to cover up a hole which Ivory and Thunder had made when they were play-fighting.
Anoona never had a sibling, but she understood the joy that they got just from spending time with each other.
Scalpel, who was now overseeing the Betas on Earth, since Thunder and Splitter were gone, approached Anoona as she sunbathed.
"Mother." He deeply bowed, growling in a voice that would have scared the living daylights out of anyone else.
"Yes?" Anoona cooed.
"I have nothing to report, although I do have something I'd like to suggest." He kept his head lowered.
"Go on." Anoona allowed.
"I heard what happened up there, and I may have a solution to the issue of the inexperienced Betas."
Anoona remained silent, letting him continue.
"A gauntlet. An arena in which they can draw out their specialisation." Scalpel stood upright and spread his long limbs, stretching his vicious claws dramatically.
"After the battles above conclude, I think that all Betas should be recalled and tested. This will undoubtedly give the younger ones the experience they need to avoid walking headfirst into grenades."
Anoona nodded before patting on the spot next to her, prompting the giant warrior to sit by her side.
"Alright. We can do that. It was evident during the most recent battle that just because you all have access to the Bio-Web, doesn't mean you're all personally and mentally equipped to deal with war."
Scalpel nodded at his mother's words as he sat next to her.
"You have my approval, but where would you like this gauntlet to be held?"
"Here," Scalpel answered as Anoona began to dissolve, sending her son a positive ping and encouraging him to pursue his goals.
"Then so be it. Talk to Sabhuku about the construction of an arena, and you should be good to go before long."
Scalpel bowed as Anoona manifested in the Nursery, where she found Dahlia teaching Prythvi how to speak.
"No! It's chapel, not apple!" The giant Delta whined as Prythvi idly fiddled with her now dirty dress.
Dahlia had also gotten some accessories, made by Prythvi herself.
The Delta now wore a poorly constructed crown of flowers, a shell necklace and was littered with dried splotches of paint.
Dahlia turned a scornful eye at Anoona, who completely ignored her daughter as she picked Prythvi up.
"Come now, why the mean look?" Anoona gleefully asked while tickling Prythvi's cheek.
"Oh, I dunno. Maybe it's because my brothers and sisters are all out helping repel the Newmen while I'm stuck here babysitting!" Dahlia hissed, making Anoona turn to her.
"If it truly upsets you that much, I can assign you to the moon."
Dahlia's expression softened a little, and her eyes fell.
"It's not that... I just feel like I could be doing more."
Anoona understood her daughter's feelings, and while she would have insisted on keeping Dahlia in the rear, it was true that her siblings were risking their lives for the sake of the colony.
Anoona walked up to Dahlia's elytra and gently placed her hand on it.
"Long gone are the days when you used to feed your brothers. Perhaps the time has come for you to stretch your legs." Anoona muttered before walking up to Dahlia's face.
"Alright. Gather some of your sisters and prepare for metamorphosis."
"And Prythvi?" Dahlia's brow knitted with concern.
"Let's go give her to Ivory." Anoona grinned, sparking the light of mischief in her daughter's eyes.
"Yes, let's."
Dahlia followed Anoona, who still gently held a wide-eyed Prythvi, into the Sorting Bay, where countless Thetas could be seen lazing about.
Among them was Ivory, who was splayed out on a crate, snoring away.
Anoona walked up to the crate and kicked it, startling the sleeping Beta.
"Which one of you idiots keeps kicking my box—oh, hey, mom." Ivory nervously chuckled while crawling off the box and lowering her head.
"Must be nice being stationed on Earth, mmm?" Anoona smiled as Prythvi tried crawling out from her embrace.
"It is! I've never been more motivated!" She forced a grin, prompting Dahlia to give her a chop on top of the head.
"We literally saw you sleeping."
"Ow! Hey! It's not my fault, nothing happens around here!" Ivory rubbed her head as she backed away from a stern-faced Dahlia.
"Anyway, I have a new job for you." Anoona hummed softly.
"Oh?" Ivory's four eyes widened as her mother handed Prythvi to her.
"You'll be in charge of nursing this little one from now on."
"What? That sounds even more boring than my current job." Ivory groaned as Prythvi curiously poked at her carapace.
"I know, but think about it like this: she sits in your arms as unshaped clay. Through your guidance and warrior spirit, she may grow to be something you can be proud of. Just as I am proud of you."
Ivory's eyes widened.
"So... I'll be able to make her a warrior?" The Beta's eyes shook a little.
"Lead her along the path that will be best for both of you."
Ivory nodded as her eyes brightened.
"Don't get any funny ideas. She's really delicate." Dahlia cautioned, only for Ivory to roll her eyes.
"Maybe, but warriors come in all forms. I mean… look at Thunder. All shell and no brains."
"You're one to talk."
"Excuse me!"
Anoona chuckled as she dissolved, letting the sisters go at it.
She then manifested in Sabhuku's office, where the Theta was hard at work, coordinating the more mundane goings on of his siblings.
"Mother." He greeted while jacked into the console on his table via a silk thread connected to his left arm.
The Bio-Web worked just fine without needing a physical connection, but some found it easier to interact with it via a machine interface.
In the same way that a human could potentially learn binary, it was much more convenient for that information to be repackaged and made more digestible.
This allowed him to get more work done, but Anoona was worried about her boy.
He had been working for so long that she thought he deserved a break.
"Are you busy?" She asked.
"Always am, but if you need something, just say the word." He nodded.
"I was actually going to ask you if you wanted anything."
Sabhuku's eyes narrowed.
"Mmm... Firstly, you needn't worry too much about me. My job is fulfilling enough, but if I had to choose something... C-can I... Can I have a hug?"
Anoona's heart melted at her son's request.
She immediately walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his large frame.
"Aww... You can have as many as you like and never hesitate to ask for more." She sweetly hummed.
Of course, she didn't mind.
This was the culmination of what she and her children were fighting for.
This is what made those early days of darkness and suffering worth it.
And to think...
A lifetime ago, she had once forgotten what it felt like to earnestly hold someone.
Sabhuku let out a soft croak as he held his mother.
"Oh, there is something else. You eventually plan on assimilating Mars and the other planets, right?" He asked as he let her go.
"Yes?"
"Why don't we wake up the Gen 1 Thetas? They could help with our Terraforming efforts."
"Ooh... Good idea. And it has been some time since I saw those boys, so let's evacuate the Hive and wake them up."
Sabhuku nodded, and it wasn't long before the Hive was emptied, with the area around it being crowded by the Hive's residents.
Sabhuku then joined Anoona on the hill where she was born, and the two watched the ground crumble as the firstborn Thetas rose from the ground.
[Good morning, mother.] 07 rumbled as he stood to his new height at seventy meters tall.
[It would seem as though we weren't needed to defend the Hive.] 07 droned from far above.
"Yes, your siblings did a wonderful job keeping us safe, and now it's time for you to build them their new homes in the stars."
[I look forward to it.] 07 said as his brother rose to stand by his side.