The hivemind is conquering for me?

"The River? Apollo, they aren’t going to let a boat go down the river uncontested. And it is too wide to cross, the odds of us being spotted is too great." Skaja said, but I shook my head.

"I wasn’t talking about swimming it. Look, Rivers are natural deterrents, nature is scary at times. And judging from the image here, it’s quite a fast flowing river, so we would get thrown downstream. But, now hear me out, Considering this planet has no Hydrostatic equilibrium and as a result the gravity is out of whack, I assume we have grav-gear available?"

"In abundance!" Willow chimed up from the side of the room, a bit too enthusiastically.

I took control of the map and pulled up the stream to a rocky sloping that led down to its banks. "We enter here. It’s just far enough that it is out of sight of the Drakoshi thanks to the slope. We then walk the half a mile underwater with the grav-gear equipped so we don’t get swept away. When we emerge, we will be here, directly next to the wall. Our chances of being spotted are marginal compared to all over points of ingress. It is also the closest side to our Knight allies, so double points if things go tits up."

The Guy who interrupted Skaja the first time then spoke up. "Ok, sounds good... But I think you are forgetting the fact we need to breathe? I don’t know about you, but I cannot hold my breath underwater and walk for half a mile. I will have to surface at some point."

I proceeded to give the man, who was wearing a modified Phalanx pattern armour, a baffled look and replied. "Do you have a helmet with that armour?" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He gave me a look that signified ’obviously’

"And when you wear that helmet, can you survive in a non-pressurised environment for a time?" I asked, and the man looked irate.

"Are you an idiot? Of course it can. All standard issue phalanx can last two hours in space before their suits run out of oxygen. Why are you- Oh, my bad. Yeah, that works."

I nodded at the man before Skaja took the room once more.

"Alright then. We have our initial plan structured. Being the type of op this is, Tasks will be assigned at a later point, for now. Get prepped. We leave in three hours."

...

"Apollo, your idea was tactically insightful, I am impressed." Nerissa said moments later. I smiled and waved my hand at her playfully. "Oh hush, you shouldn’t be trying to make me blush before combat."

"No, Apollo, she is right." Gabrielle commented as she and some others walked to my side. "The Spartari Codex of war does not support the action of Aquatic combat, as we are biologically bad swimmers compared to other alien life after all. I have never even trained for aquatic combat and I am incredibly well trained. I doubt the Drakoshi would think we would use it either as I am also with your thoughts now about water making defenders assured of their position."

"I thought you were a big scaredy cat when it came to water though? That’s what you told me anyway?" Lena asked and I shook my head.

"I am fine with water." I then proceeded to stare into space before me. "It’s the ocean I have a problem with."

I’d never recover from what Nukumi showed me...

"Enough though. I need to prepare and wake up the snake. I hope you are all prepared for what’s to come, especially you two, have you had enough sleep?" I asked, addressing Rhea and Willow. The two proceeded to look between each other and laugh.

"Are you kidding? I haven’t had enough sleep since Euc 4. But what we have had will be fine." Rhea commented and Willow walked up to me and hugged me tight.

"Plus, having our ’friend’ by our side is a morale booster; I feel refreshed just being close to you." She declared. I then wrapped my arm around her casually. My action made the air in the tent turn freezing, even with my Thermokinesis on until we separated.

’That was odd?’

...

After two hours, I was ready. I had prepped my gear, woke up the sleepy snake and gone over contingency plans with Onyx for worst case scenarios. As I was sitting around idling with Nerissa, Skaja walked over to me and asked.

"Apollo, can I have a word?" Her voice seemed conflicted.

I looked at Ness before returning to Skaja, worried about her tone. "Sure? Is everything alright?"

She must have realised what I noticed and coughed. "*Ahem* Sorry, yes. We-I! Have been thinking, when the Phalanx turns up tomorrow, you should take leadership and have me as your council."

My eyebrows narrowed, confused, upon hearing that? "What? Why?"

"Apollo I am not blind you have a charisma about you. You have an infectious personality, and, I won’t lie, you are good to look at. Plus your battle IQ is phenomenal. Not just because of that in there a few hours ago." She pointed towards the planning tent with her thumb.

"You manage to fuck up my squad mostly using your brain during your test on top of being an anomaly of strength. Plus, you are now somehow a sentinel? That’s huge. The Phalanx don’t really like us Psionic users. Be it jealousy or mistrust. But a sentinel? That packs some serious weight. Just knowing a Sentinel is on their battlefield? That is something that will boost morale."

’Oh no, it’s happening already! RESPONSIBILITY! Curse thee Nerissa for getting me this title!’ I gave the Nymph a sharp look before turning back to Skaja.

"Are you sure it’s a good idea though? What about your squad? They respect you, would they be ok with we me leading them? I mean, we get on well, but.. You know."

Skaja nodded. "They’ll do what I tell them, even when they don’t like it. They are loyal to me. And If I pledge my loyalty to you, that will follow. But it’s why I suggested after the sabotage. So they don’t get lost in their thoughts before this mission."

A gauntlet then grasped my shoulder and gripped tightly. Nerissa was looking down at me, her purple eye slits felt extra piercing as she spoke. "Apollo, during our time together, I have rarely asked anything from you. Please. Accept this offer. It is in your best interest to do so."

I kept my gaze with Nerissa for a moment before turning back to Skaja and gave her a lopsided shrug. "I guess I have no choice now. Alright."

Skaja smiled. She then conjured her spear into her hand, planting the butt end into the ground and thrummed her chest with her fist. "Good choice, war leader. I, Skaja Bloodshield, daughter of Tora Bloodshield, pledges her service to you, Sentinel Apollo. A man who has bested me once before in battle. It will be my honour to act as your war council. To fight in your ranks. To spill the blood of our enemies together. Hahh~" She closed her eyes and let out a comfortable sigh after her speech, before looking back at me like a burden had been removed from her shoulders.

"I must say, I am looking forward to working under someone again. I’ll go call the higherups and explain the change. Hah! When this gets back to grandma she is going to throw a cow. A wielder of the spear working under a man... Sorry, I got distracted. Leaving now, war leader."

Sithrik suddenly popped her head through between my legs and looked and flicked her tongue out in the direction of Skaja. "Sssmart female, to pledge fealty to a king such as yourself is natural, Apollo. Even if this isn’t your territory, it makes sense with your strength."

"Mhm. We’ll see. I think I’ve been duped though. She came looking conflicted and left looking relieved." I then turned to address Nerissa but she began hastily walking away to follow Skaja.

I gave Sithrik a look and then suddenly realised she was pressing her body against my own. "Um Sithrik... Now really isn’t the time."

She then proceeded to apply even more pressure to my region, clearly doing it on purpose.

"Or iz it the perfect time, my king?"

...

Nerissa followed Skaja intensely and when she found the opportunity, she grabbed Skaja and pulled her into a tent that was empty. Skaja tried to defend herself, but became instantly confused as Nerissa put her hand over her mouth.

Nerissa then spoke as she removed her helmet. "I felt her when you summoned the spear. And your mess-up of using ’we’. This fragment is coherent. I beg you, let me speak to her. Please, it’s about my goddess.

Skaja still looked baffled at seeing a green skinned woman in front of her, but then, her eyes began to glow green and her hair turned amber red. The moment they began to do so, Nerissa removed her hands from Skaja and dropped to one knee.

The moment she did a powerful voice washed over her.. How she missed it, even in this microscopic version.

"Put your helmet on, you daft Nymph, before you get Lynched. Skaja isn’t ready for my avatar state yet, so we only have moments. Especially since I am not whole and am still aggrieved by having my wielder surrender her command to that... Kisser. Ugh. So, what is it you need to know about my sister, Nerissa?"

Nerissa felt her body prickle with elation. Her kin knew about the fragmented form, but none had ever gained cohesion so far. She felt it flicker for a moment when Skaja summoned the spear... This was to be celebrated, It really was her... Or a portion of her. The Goddess...

Artemis.