Sean Bean was dying.
It was the name he had given the bean-shaped pet-alien almost a century ago.
100 years had passed in the blink of an eye and the Ankara had now left the vicinity of earth's solar system far behind. Sean Bean had become a real companion... pet to Len as the decades went by. Although the undead never needed company, it was nice to have someone listen to his monologues.
Seeing the bean-shaped being wreath in pain as its organs started to fail, gave Len an idea. Over the past century, he had managed to find and isolate the supernatural virus that caused vampirism. He called it Porphyric Hemophilia and the mutation that caused ghoulism.
He had been able to improve his initial gene treatment to mutate his own pathogen closer to Porphyric Hemophilia and was able to consume the vampire's body parts without fearing being overtaken by it.
Now he was something completely different. With the consumption of the vampire flesh, his evolution reached its peak and he gained a few abilities of a vampire without inheriting their weaknesses.
he was unsure of what he was at this point. A Vampire Ancestor? A primordial ghoul? in the end, he decided to simply call himself a progenitor. The first of his kin.
Len was still in the middle of exploring and practicing these new abilities. Somehow, he instinctively knew how they worked, but he needed the practice to control them. Turning into a swarm of dozens of bats or wafts of mist did not come naturally to him.
Sean Bean had been a good subject for his hypnosis training. Another reason why he made a good pet. Seeing the bean dying in its little prison reminded him of the other ability of a vampire. Would it work on an alien?
The bean was dying anyway, so it would not hurt to test it. For the first time in a century, the ghoul fully opened the alien's pen. Sean could only watch the crazy monster's fangs coming closer and sinking in its nape.
The rest of the act was pure instinct. After sucking some amount of bitter alien blood, he cut his palm with his claw and forced a drop of blood into the bean's tiny mouth. The magic in his veins followed his intentions and Len could feel the creation of the bond between a master to its slave between him and Sean bean.
The once severed limbs regrew and the bean's beans taint returned to a more healthy color.
At the same time, he got access to all of sean's memory, knowledge, and he was able to read his thoughts at will. he got all excited seeing it had worked this easily. Finally, he had become a master! Not only that.
It had worked on an alien. It did not only work but he was also not restricted to the human race. This opened another great possibility. Maybe he could just turn the rest of the crew into his slaves and have them take care of the Ankara, while he went on space exploration with his new butler and pilot.
After succeeding in assimilating the powers of a vampire, Len wanted to see, if he could go even further. Could absorb alien races to further grow his power?
There was no need to rush things. he still wanted to research the little slime fungus and the alien technology. And then...
he halted for a moment.
"Yeah, why not...?" he mumbled to himself. The bean, still confused with the situation, could only watch its master rush off. The progenitor ghoul suddenly had a great idea. if he woke the technicians and turned them into his slave, he could put them in charge of researching the alien tech.
In the meantime he could play around with- research the fungus and see if he could gain something from the creature. And later, he could simply harvest the knowledge through the link of master and slave.
it didn't end there, he could also leave the bothersome ideas he had to them. Like upgrading the Ankara once they understood the alien technology. ln not only hoped to shorten their journey. If they could improve the ship to rival galactic standards, he could fly anywhere with his food supply on board.
He kept wondering as he entered the crew's room in cryogenics. A few pods were already empty, as they were chosen as the brave sacrifices that would ensure their safe journey.
-Ankara, list the best technicians, engineers, and physicists for me.-
-Yes, Captain- the ship computer answered.
Many of the names were not new to him, as they were those he had spared on his pursuit of knowledge. Len did not wish to lose their genius back then, now he had the option to make them his servants.
He could get their knowledge and preserve their genius for the future. It was a great compromise.
...
S. Skinner woke up with a slightly muddled head. however, he immediately remembered where he was and the caus for his confusion. Yes, he was on the Ankara on the way to Hurble-79. That he woke up meant, that the colony ship had reached their destination!
2000 must have passed... it was a tight feeling in his chest when he remembered all those he left back then. Everyone he ever knew on earth was dead and he was about to start a new life on a new planet.
Hope pushed aside the little regret and melancholy that had snuck up on him. A new world! One of the first 10 000 that would found a new seed of humanity. Pride swelled in his chest.
When he stepped out he face a tall man. He was buff with almost sickly pale skin. All thought of hope and pride made way for a more instinctive, primal fear that his mind could not really fathom. Skinner shivered, but not from the cold of the room.
The man's scleras were black, surrounding light-green irises. Skinner could only look up into the man's face. Unable to move, like a prey facing an overwhelming predator. It felt like he was drowning in those terrifying eyes.
A minuscule smile formed on the man's lips.
"Welcome to the family," he stated, revealing inhumanely sharp fangs.
The man stepped forward and Skinner was unable to react. In his stupor, he only felt a piercing pain in his nape and a seething pain that suddenly spread from the place he was bitten. His oh-so brilliant mind could not make any sense of what was going on, as the room slowly dimmed before his eyes.
When skinner opened his eyes again, all he felt was a deep emptiness inside him. As if he lost something. he lost something and something else took its place. When he looked up he saw his master for the first time.
His master? Yes, he was his master, there was no doubt. How was this the first time? Master was always his master. He was S. Skinner, servant of his master. This thought filled his chest with an unbelievable feeling of satisfaction.
Looking around, there were others who served his master. He felt their connection to him and his connection to them. They were family. This deep bond, too, filled him with happiness. He had never felt this connected to another person.
Never? What did never even mean? there was nothing before his master.
...
Len didn't know if this was how a vampire felt when he created servants or familiars, but the ghoul felt exhilarated. h could feel their boundless loyalty and reverence as they looked at him. Was this how he looked at his master when he was first turned?
No!
These were different. Even much different from the bean. He didn't feel such a connection with Sean. Was it the difference in physiology?
The people, researchers, technicians, engineers, everyone he turned had not changed much from their human appearance, but he could feel how strong and loyal they were. This wasn't the end. he could feel that he could freely share and access their knowledge at any point in time.
Not just servants, or drones, or slaves. They were family and like an extension of himself.
Truly, there was nothing stronger than family.