The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Planet Eleron)

(Zrudread University- Main Campus)

"Bio-engineered viruses is a field of study which is quite… controversial to say the least," Professor Macabre calmly explained.

"However, the Imperial Army has approved of mass usage during times of war. It must be noted that viruses are especially effective when tailored made to affect a certain alien species."

"A deadly plague to the Mendolesa race for instance may have little to no effect on humans or Servies."

"Quafes are organisms made from liquid biomass, so they are immune to most viruses."

The poison cultivation professor pointed at the board and waved her hand. The screen changed to display a scene straight out of a horror movie.

A group of furry bipedal creatures with long thick fur could be seen scratching furiously at their necks that were covered in ugly reddish bumps.

Some of the bumps burst under their fearsome scratching and black blood mixed with foul looking pus leaked out of the open wounds.

Quite a few students looked away since they were unable to stomach the awful sight. Sophie narrowed her eyes and felt a trace of disgust but continued to pay attention.

She had seen worse horrors…

Professor Macabre waited for a moment to let the weight of the situation sink in and then opened her mouth to explain the image,

"The Wornern were the natives of planet Xal'thern. They were a fearsome race of warriors that gave the Federation quite some trouble during the initial years of Interstellar expansion."

"An imperial officer Commander Ryker decided to unleash a genetically modified virus and the war that had lasted for two hundred years ended in just five."

"Over ninety seven percent of the Wornern population died due to illness and the survivors were later hunted down and executed by Imperial forces."

"Now you can see why viruses…"

The lecture went on for a few more hours and Sophie wrote down notes the entire time.

She appreciated that Professor Macabre did not try to sugar coat the situation and portray the Federation as the 'good guys'.

Truthfully all empires and united civilisations that spanned multiple galaxies did so by conquering.

Diplomacy was hard to accomplish between different species of varying levels of intellect and civilisation.

And more importantly… diplomacy was only an option if both sides were interested in finding a peaceful resolution.

Sophie jotted down some study tips in the corner of her notepad. These were just quick bullet points that she would review before an exam.

Despite being a void stage cultivator, Sophie was not arrogant.

She still worked hard and maintained her position at the top of the second years in both practical and theoretical areas.

Ring! Ring!

There was a buzzing noise and Professor Macabre stopped talking. She pressed a button on her wrist communicator and the screen behind her powered off.

"Already class that's all for today… if you have any questions then I will be in my private room on the third floor," Professor Macabre spoke calmly.

She adjusted her white lab coat and then left the room with quiet steps. Sophie tidied up her desk and placed her books inside of her storage bag.

"So, what did you think about that lecture?" a high-pitched voice asked curiously.

Sophie turned in the direction of the sound and saw a Servie girl hovering right behind her.

"It was pretty informative," Sophie replied quietly.

"Didn't expect to get such a graphic history lesson but it makes sense that Professor Macabre wants to show us the effects of man-made viruses before we do the practical labs."

"Yeah… but girl… did you see those wounds… urghhh… I almost threw up," Celestia placed a hand on her forehead and dramatically sighed.

Despite her words there was no trace of discomfort on her face.

Honestly there were some occasions when Sophie admired her friend's ability to not care about anything around her.

Celestia flapped her translucent wings and landed on top of Sophie's head.

She sat down in a cross-legged position and grabbed a few loose strands of hair to prevent herself from falling off.

"You free right now?" Celestia asked lazily.

"Yeah, I got two hours before my next lecture, so I was planning on taking a walk to the promenade and relaxing," Sophie responded in an even tone as she walked out of the classroom.

"So… on a happier note… guess who got a new boyfriend this weekend!" Celestia squealed in excitement as she grabbed Sophie's hair even tighter.

"Oh congratulations. What number is it now? Four? Five?" Sophie teased lightly as she stifled her laughter.

"You bitch!" Celestia joked as she stomped her feet on her friend's scalp.

"I think this one is a keeper… he is dreamy, handsome, smart, dreamy, really funny, the perfect man, dreamy…"

"You said dreamy three times… I get it he's good looking," Sophie rolled her eyes as she listened to her friend's chattering.

She had gotten surprisingly close to Celestia during this semester.

They had not hung out much outside of lectures but on the few occasions that they did, Sophie thoroughly enjoyed her company.

"And best of all…" Celestia's voice lowered to a mere whisper as she looked around to see if anyone was paying attention.

"He's hung like a…"

"Okay! Did not need to know that!" Sophie interrupted her immediately as she raised up her hands in mock surrender.

She wasn't even going to address how the hell that would work in the bedroom considering that Celestia was at most only ten inches in height.

The Servie girl wriggled her eyebrows and suggestively winked. Sophie shook her head as she stepped outside the science building.

It was a chilly day today.

The leaves on the trees nearby were turning brown to announce the start of the autumn season. Sophie exhaled slowly and a faint white mist escaped her mouth.

"What are you staring at? You never seen two beauties before?" Celestia snapped at a student who stopped in his tracks and was looking at Sophie.

The boy turned bright red and stammered out an excuse before turning and quickly walking away as if he was being chased.

"I don't know how you get used to those stares," Celestia remarked angrily.

"I hate that people will just stop whatever they are doing and either look at you or try and take photos."

"Well… I am basically a celebrity on campus… it's not something that I enjoy but at this point I'm used to it," Sophie explained as she walked along a stone path.

"I've been getting strange looks since I was a kid… being a hybrid and all so this is all nothing new to me."

"That still doesn't make it right…" Celestia grumbled as she made a funny face at a pair of girls with their wrist communicators pointed in their direction.

"Snap a picture of this!"

The Servie girl raised up her tiny right hand and held up her middle finger. Sophie couldn't see what her friend was doing but knew that it couldn't be anything good.

She picked up the pace and soon made a sharp turn.

A few hundred metres away she could see a raised deck with several tables made from marble and wooden benches around the tables.

There was a large structure behind the promenade, it was an enormous chimney-shaped statue covered in moss, vines and beautiful purple flowers that gave off a sugary sweet scent.

Fortunately, there were only a handful of students hanging out on the deck, so Sophie found an empty seat and sat down.

"So did you hear?" Celestia spoke up as she jumped off Sophie's head and landed on the table with a flourish.

"The ceremony to choose the next emperor will officially begin next week!"

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