Matters of Mind [✱32]

Posted on Sun Aug 30th, 2026 @ 9:58am by Lieutenant Commander N'Tgni Creon & Polyphron & The Undermind & Grandmaster M'Hum

1,298 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: UnderMind [4]
Location: Brain Bug's chamber - Abandoned Underground Facility, Dreizhen III
Timeline: After 'Bugging Out'

Creon entered the Undermind’s chamber without fear, and the door automatically closed behind her. Polyphron’s experience helped with this. She had walked into certain death before. Often with even less of a plan than they had now. “One brain, hot and fresh.” She said to the dark room.

"Approach." M'Hum commanded, hidden in shadows to the side. "Kneel before the great Undermind. Soon you will be relieved of the burden of isolation." The great quivering creature he referred to was unambiguous, it sat in the centre of the room, a great pink lump atop the dais, supported by a handful of attendant bugs, simple black and red creatures without apparent weapons, mere servants in their hierarchy.

Polyphron noted the irony of the remark given the current blending, but it was obviously something neither could comment on.

"Let's get this over with." Creon said, approaching the tumourous great lump of the undermind and kneeling about a dozen metres away. "I've had about all the Vulcan pontificating I can handle for one lifetime."

"As you wish." M'Hum responded.

Before her, the Undermind approached, the skittering of the little legs of its atteandants brought it forward, until it was in reach of N'Tgni. It was quiet, but its eyes betrayed awareness, watching the woman, then looking back to M'Hum, as if for some kind of affirmation.

After some silent exchange between them, the Undermind crossed the distance, and the horrific spike it slayed Palamas with emerged once more, unfurling in preparation to strike the Commander, and drink the contents of her skull.

N'Tgni did not falter or yield, she stood up as proudly and fearlessly as one could on their knees, and indicated to Polyphron that now was the time.

With Creon's jaw open, Polyphron made her way through the Romulan's soft palate and sprung out against her lower jaw, slithering around the fearsome proboscis, and boring into the organ it emerged from. Within, her instincts took control, and she felt the presence of neural clusters and nerve pathways, burrowing towards their source like a shark swims towards blood miles away.

The Undermind recoiled and shrieked as the symbiote crawled up its proboscis and into the orifice it emerged from. As Polyphron dug into its flesh it writhed and made ever-worse sounds, crushing more than one of the bugs supporting it with its rapid movements.

"No! What have you done!" M'Hum cried out, logic failing him, as he drew a knife from his belt and lunged at Creon.

Creon stood and easily sidestepped the elderly M'Hum's strike, throwing a high kick into his jaw with more force than she knew was necessary in a single movement.

The Vulcan fell to the floor, almost limp from the strike. For all his practice in martial arts, he had not been in actual fight for centuries. Despite the pain that washed across him, he was mostly unharmed.

"I've introduced a new lifeform to your precious Undermind. A creature with millennia of genetic experience lording over others. You might think that this brain bug is something to write home about when it comes to command potential, but you never heard of the Goa'uld before." Creon took a few steps closer to the quivering grandmaster. "Let me tell you, M'Hum, they make your Vulcan touch telepathy look like polite suggestion."

"Your blasphemies have no power here. Whatever abomination you have hidden within you will be consumed by the great Undermind." M'Hum leaned up on one elbow, turning back to face the Romulan and his shrieking divinity.

“Shut up for a second.” Creon said, turning her focus back to the foul brain.

Finally it settled, and its anguished writhing ceased. All eight of the eyes on the front of its face glowed in the distinct Goa’uld fashion. It looked around for a moment, as if seeing for the first time, and the great spiked proboscis retracted.

A voice appeared in Creon’s mind, directed but directionless. A choir of unknown voices speaking in a single thin whisper. I am here. I control it. It is vast. Ancient.

“Polyphron?” Creon asked aloud.

Yes. It is strong. But I am stronger. For now.

“Can I help?” Creon asked.

No. Only I can do this. Its awareness is vast. I can feel the bugs everywhere. All over the planet. I can see them attack Shitau.

“Call them off. Have them surrender.”

I… I can’t. They’re already fighting. They won’t stop. It doesn’t control them exactly. It just guides them. Gives directions. Receives information. I could try and order them to different places. Confuse them. Distract them. But the focus required to.. to control them in isolation. The Undermind could retake control.

“What about all of them, could you give a single order to all of them?” Creon asked.

I think so. Yes. It doesn’t require the individual focus.

“Have them attack each other. Make them think the other bugs are their enemy. Turn them against their own.” Creon said as the idea came to her.

I’ll try. There was silence from the telepathic voice for a time. Yes. Yes it’s working. At Shitau, and elsewhere. Places I don’t know. Even the creatures that supported the great brain seemed to be trying to harass each other, though they lacked the offensive weapon of their kin. And the artillery bugs. I’ve ordered them to charge their shots and hold them. They’ll explode.

Rumbling explosions, muted by the thick earth between them sounded for a time, one after another.

It worked. The telepathic voice said after a while. There’s almost none of them left. Just a few in isolation.

“I don’t know if you heard that M’Hum, but it looks like your Divine Harmony has been replaced with regular harmony. The bugs are dead.”

“You lie.” He snarled.

She tells the truth. This time the voice was heard by both of them. This is over, M’Hum. Starfleet will reclaim this planet. I see what you have been doing. How you fed your Vulcans to this creature. Taught it how to use their plasma to create storms in the atmosphere. But now I know how we can reverse it. You have lost.

A muted look of devastation came across the Grandmaster’s features.

Commander, I am beginning to lose control. I need to separate myself.

“Okay. Come back. My neck is yours. Until we get back to DS13, anyway.” Creon told her.

With that, the symbiote emerged once again from the Undermind’s orifice, and leapt across to Creon’s shoulder. She took the bottle of water and washed her off once more, before Polyphron once more blended with her.

“I’m never going to get used to that.” Creon said dryly. The Undermind seemed to lounge groggily.

“You will pay for what you have done here, Romulan.” M’Hum said as he witnessed the blending.

“Yeah. Maybe there’ll be a medal.” Creon responded indifferently. “We’ll come back for you when we get a chance.”

Without further dialogue, they left the room the way they had entered.

Before long, the Undermind had recovered. M’Hum moved across to it, and kneeled in front of it.

“I have failed you, my master.”

The Undermind slid its spike out once more.

“I am unworthy of such an honour, my master. I thank you.” He closed his eyes, feeling something approaching happiness for the first time in centuries. Soon, only a withered corpse-husk with a puncture in the roof of its skull remained of the Grandmaster, alongside the Undermind, cold and alone.

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