《A Lifeboat Adrift (Stellaris x Warhammer 40k)》
Chapter 1: How It All Went Wrong
The stars are wrong. They are wrong for the stars do not laugh and they do not have maws filled with teeth and stomachs that thunder with hunger. My sensors scream and then wail before they sputtered into sobs. My eyes merge with my ears and sing. I shook off the illusion and veer away hard and fast from the stars. A nebula crawled up from the depths cloaked in shadows and I choose to ignore the screams stellar bodies make as it devoured them.
Where the fuck are we?! I shouted my thoughts. This feels like the Shroud again, but worse. We need to get out of here before-. My thoughts stopped as primal fear froze my systems, as multiple things in this hell noticed the Horizon Needle, noticed me. They beat their wings upon no-wind and gallop and run on no-land, swimming in oceans of grief and regrets.
They howl, roar, and scream for my murder, for my mutilation, for my desecration, for my obliteration. The madness struck after the fear, so potent I feel its claws sink into my core and pervert my mind into nonsense. We stood at odds until it prowled away to find new prey and, to my horror, it found plenty within the ship. Casualty reports stream in like a flood until I had to disable the notifications, unwilling to subject myself to grief until this was all over.
I tap into the Needle'' singularity and carve a gate out of the ether; the laughter growing stronger and stronger as I do so. Just before I could push the ship through, an attack from an unfathomable beast launched out for the ship''s heart, so fast I nearly missed it and doomed us all. I slam shut the growing escape portal and focused all of the ship''s energy on defense and propulsion, screaming as pain became my world.
Come with me and you will suffer pain no more, my child. A deep chuckle festered in my thoughts. All is welcome in the Garden, all will rot and rust and persevere once more, for eternity.
Such a bore. Such an unimaginative mind. A trilling lilt like a climaxing star crooned to my soul. Let me be your Muse forever. Become the perfect you that you''ve always wanted. Always desired. Always more.
Just as planned. An Avian cawed with glee.
Weak. A final voice boomed.
Then the chorus stopped.
I don''t know how long I stayed in the dark. My mind reawakens step by step like a drunk finding their way home, stumbling over every little rock. I hear the roar of coolant in my veins, the screeching of alerts and notifications, the smell of melted plastics and burning metal. I felt no pain, which was more worrying than anything else, but I could still feel the rest of my body, still connected to my command pod. With some difficulty, I pried my way out and saw a gruesome sight.
The command room of the Needle lay in ruins, flames burning off the exotic gas that filled the room. Liquid Metal gathered in unresponsive puddles around the bodies of the deceased, while those still living but wounded lay against walls or flat on the floor, static and unresponsive to everything that was around them.
"Captain! Over here!" My head snapped towards the voice of my First Officer, helping my Second Officer out of her command pod. I walked over to him and helped widen the tear, gently scooping out her legs while my friend helped lift her top half. We placed her on the floor and gave a cursory scan to see if she had any injuries we could attend to. Thankfully, she was simply unconscious.
"Status report." I asked my First Officer.
"I''m 100% operational, sir. Liquid Metal is already healing most of the damage I sustained. As for what''s going on with the ship, I don''t know, sir. I just woke up as well. The internal network is down and something is jamming the short-range comms." True to his word, I couldn''t feel the gentle hum of the Needle'' data superhighway. The latter part was even more alarming as I tried to ping the First Officer with my idents and found nothing in response.
"We need to get to the nearest Communications Hub quickly and find out what happened to the other sectors." The First Officer suggested.
"Agreed. But for now, we need to help get these people up and about." I said, already moving away to help others. Using the pools of inert Liquid Metal lying around, I could repair some of the injured Synths back to consciousness. As for the organics, I cautiously gave them Nanites instead, hoping their immune systems wouldn''t go into a frenzy at the intrusion.
Unfortunately, not all the people that we helped remained lucid for long. Of note was of a Linkist frothing at the mouth and screaming at his friend. The normally placid Avian seemed to have gone into a berserk state, claws out and scrabbling to shred anyone that got in too close.
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!" The maniac screamed as he tore every muscle in his arm, trying to cave in his friend''s skull. Unfortunately for the man, his friend was a Diklastian; a Lithoid species endowed with super strength and a formidable exoskeleton made of rare crystals. With a sickening crunch, bone broke upon stone and flesh turned into pulp as the Diklastian punched a hole clean through the madman.
"The Mountains forgive you." The Diklastian said simply over the pile of gore that was his friend. Now that we had more people, we could contain the flames from spreading any further and eventually extinguish them all. It was at this point that my Second Officer regained consciousness, groggily being helped up to her feet and briefed up to speed at what happened by my First Officer. She looked around at the devastation around us and then at me, her gaze quickly hardening into one of self-righteous anger.
Oh, I''m gonna get it from her soon, aren''t I? I thought, while trying not to look straight at her. Thoughts of an angry Second Officer aside, my mind wandered back to the catastrophe that struck us, at how it all had gone so wrong in such a short amount of time.
Stolen novel; please report.
Everything was perfect. The system, the crew, and me, we all trained for years for this. We all believed we would be gods in a new universe; a young and malleable reality for us to make all our wishes come true. Instead, we fell into Hell where demons tore us apart, and now we-
My pity party stopped as a chilling idea came to me.
We did get out, didn''t we?
I kept that horrifying thought to myself. There was no reason for make everyone even more at edge than they already are. Morale is a fragile thing, after all. For now, we set out for the closest mass rapid transit station; the Ublik-Kaltom Station, which was mercifully only about a two or three-hour walk at best since the transport tubes were offline. We''re making good time, all things considering. I walked slightly ahead of the main group, with the First Officer besides me. The Second Officer was with her friends from here and there, no worse for wear thankfully. Sometimes she looked at me with such intensity I figured she was trying to bore a hole right through my head with her gaze, but I took her hostility with stride. If she thinks everything that happened was my fault, then that''s her choice. I know I did everything I that I could have done in such a situation. I''m a captain, not a miracle worker.
"You think the CEO knows what''s going on?" My First Officer asked something I''d love to know as well.
"She knows more than we do. She''s got everything, after all. All the best tech, all the best training, and all the best materials." I said, looking around to see if any busybodies were listening in. "She and the other higher-ups are probably safe and sound in their hidden bunkers somewhere."
"Careful, captain. That kind of talk docks points off your performance score." The First Officer shook his head at my casual irreverence. "Even during emergencies, the Corp keeps tallies on everything. It''s the only way the system works."
"What are they gonna do, fire me? Everyone works for the Circurrency. There is nothing but the Circurrency. We''re all company property, whether it''s stamped on us or not." I slapped the man on the shoulder a tad too hard and walked even further ahead, not in the mood to share my gloom with anyone else. I was the first one to see then the beasts. There were eight of them prowling around the vicinity of the station. Each was larger than a train car, their monstrous maws dripped with blood and coolant, snapping for ever more carnage to ensue. Even more shocking was what appeared to be collars around their necks, indicating that these monsters paid heed to a master somewhere.
These fucking beasts. I clenched my fists until the servos whined. Rage filled me as I saw numerous bodies lain all around the station, torn into unrecognizable pieces. I want to kill these mutts with my bare hands. Tear their spines from root to skull and crush their heart into mush. Drink their blood and-
My bloodthirsty rant stopped as someone dropped in beside me. I looked at them and saw a fellow Ascentron, but different. He was in a combat body, an advanced one at that, and he wasn''t the only one. One by one, they appeared out of nowhere, taking positions all around the station with their weapons out and ready. I look back and see my group huddling behind some buildings, my First Officer waving at me to join them. Wasting no more time, I hurry on over as quietly as I could and felt my previous bloodlust fade like a lie. A psionic attack of some sort? That''s alarming. I mused as our group distanced ourselves from the coming conflict, plasma blasts and enraged howls following close behind.
Unfortunately, no matter which way we went, there always seemed to be more battles being fought between the military and the hostile alien forces. And what brief skirmishes we saw painted a grim picture. There were hulking bloated corpses that spread rot and ruin with jolly glee. Anger incarnate that tread on cloven hooves and flew on great wings, bearing down upon foes with axes that burned brighter than suns. Entire squads lay down their arms at the sweet nothings of a perverse horror, and then there was the crowd screaming into nothing, nothing at all as my mind refused to see a crow-like old man hunched over them.
Things were getting desperate, and we all could feel it.
"We should never have left-"
"Where is the military when-"
"This isn''t real, this is a dream, this-"
"Everyone, shut up!" I finally had enough and snapped, ignoring the pointed looks from everybody. "I can''t think with all of your whining around me."
"That''s rich, coming from you." A Synth whose make I didn''t recognize spoke up, with some people around him nodding in agreement. "We wouldn''t have gotten into this shit if you had just done your job right, ''captain''. Or did you bribe your way in as usual?" White-hot rage arc through my circuits and I feel my arm attempt to form the beginnings of a plasma cannon. I forced the fury down, stamp down on it until only errant sparks yapped at my control. As satisfying as it would be to blow that smirk off his face, I was better than that. And besides, jury-rigged weaponry has a bad habit of failing when you need them the most.
"You don''t know what I saw, what I did to keep us safe. None of you do, and you should be glad you still don''t know. I SAVED ALL OF YOU!" My words come out loud, much too loud, and everybody flinched as we waited for death to come flying in or charging from the surrounding ruins. When one moment passed into another, we relaxed, but the tension remain high.
"-saw, Cap- ". My First Officer mumble something almost lost to the wind, but I caught it. I looked at him and saw the same pain in his eyes, that same scar I knew would always bleed in our soul. It was then that I realize I was the one being foolish, thinking that I was the one in control of everyone'' fate in my hands. The ship was me and I was the ship, and so were million of others down the chain of command, exposed to the horror of this new, cursed universe. My silence turned heads more than my words did, and by the time I talked again, all eyes were on me.
"I''m sorry. Not to you." I pointed out the Synth that had heckled me. "By the looks of it, you truly didn''t know how close we were to oblivion. How insignificant everything is in front of them. You can eat it." The man rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, but said nothing, which I took as cue to continue.
"To my crew, or what little is here, I am sorry to have failed you as your captain. We were to be as one with the Horizon Needle, and so prevent it from all harm, but in my panic and inexperience, I compromised that system and brought great destruction to the ship. When this is all over, I will resign from my post as captain and hope my successor will not replicate my mistakes and failings." My First Officer'' eyes widened as he took in my apology, as did several others whose names and jobs escape me at the moment.
"So, what now?" A woman asked, which was a question I''m confident everyone had been mulling over since we''ve found ourselves surrounded. Someone elsewhere has already got communications working again, but not for civilian use. We could still try to make a run for the Communications Hub, but not without these ''demons''¡ªas some have called them¡ªrunning amok.
Suddenly, loud warning sirens blared out all throughout the Horizon Needle, drowning out for a moment the sounds of battle with their intensity. Then when it was over, the ground underneath shook as it moved to some unseen design, swerving past other pieces of the urban landscape like parts of a massive mechanical puzzle. Their true form was revealed as giants rose out of hidden depths, stylized like the titanic lifeforms sometimes encountered on certain habitable worlds in the galaxy. Each unit was an army into themselves, with the weaponry to siege continents and win. They were the Gigantes, and for the first time since I woke up, I felt hope within me.
Chapter 2: Battle of Giants
Tiny. I mused as my sensors scanned the group of civilians closest to my position. The scan highlighted the captain of the Horizon Needle, as well as his First Officer and several other officers of various ranks. I relayed the information back to Command and focused back onto my target; a bipedal, building-sized, winged monster wielding an axe whose burning heat I could feel even this far away and a whip whose length seemed to change at will. It roared a challenge and I replied with a barrage from my Stormfire Autocannons and Plasma Cannons. The former cracked the armor-like skin of the monster but didn''t break it, but the latter seared deep into its flesh, exposing bone for a moment before it all impossibly regenerated back in a minute.
No shielding, full armor. Requesting Tachyon Lance weapon suite. I noted, already moving away from the inevitable charge that was coming. True to my prediction, the beast leaped up into the air with mighty beats from its wings before crashing down at where I was, the axe strike cleaving the earth in twain for miles and miles around. I fired another barrage with my weapons, which the beast blocked using its axe.
COWARD! DO NOT RUN FROM YOUR DEATH! FEEL THE WRATH OF KHORNE! To my surprise, the beast talked in words I could understand. In response, I fired salvos upon salvos of Whirlwind Missiles, blanketing the sky before it all came crashing down right on target. Or at least that was the plan. My foe had already moved again, its speed and agility defying its size and weight. It used buildings as cover, swatted aside salvos of missiles with its axe, and preempted ten more others with a masterful crack of its whip. It''s danger level rose exponentially, and I was forced to a full retreat lest its melee prowess overwhelmed me.
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! Its war cry overloaded all my audio sensors, dazing me for a microsecond. It was all the opening my foe needed to close the distance, and I watched with morbid fascination as a simulation projected the trajectory of its overhead axe strike intersecting with the silhouette of my chest. I poured as much power as I could into my thrusters and dodged that fate, with the axe'' edge instead clashing against my Dark Matter Deflectors.
My energy reserves dropped by half, but I ignored them, focusing instead on blasting my foe'' head with a point-blank serving of plasma and a side dish of shells. It ate them all and was eager for more, at which point I contemplated retreating and waiting for reinforcement to come. Before it could go any further, squadrons of strike crafts appeared out of the blue and delivered synchronized bursts of laser fire, blinding my foe long enough to widen the gap between us. My surprise was alleviated as my sensors detected allies in the proximity. A floating stalk ringed with hangars for Advanced Strikecrafts hovered besides a crawling tank, lined with Phase Disruptors with a tail tipped with Focused Arc Emitters. Their names came up on my display, but I didn''t have to. I know them well.
"Kalabas. Molliae. Glad to see you here." I kept my eye on the enemy, who roared and swatted at the strikecrafts surrounding it with little succcess. "Have you dispatched your targets already? I must be getting old."
"Not so, Oberyn." Molliae replied, "My quarry fled by way of a portal, while Kalabas''-"
"-had run like a little bitch. Left a heap of a mess, and I hadn''t brought a shovel with me too. Command sent us to help since you''re the closest one." Right at that moment, my sensors warned me of an incoming whip strike. I pulled back to see the tip pierce through several skyscrapers, skewering them before pulling back and wrecking the towers.
MORE FODDER FOR THE SLAUGHTER. DIE FOR THE GLORY OF KHORNE! The beast jumped with the aid of its wings and soared at us like a comet of vengeance, enshrouded with flames of hate and fury. The foe''s impact caused a firestorm to erupt around it, engulfing all in searing flames hot enough to sting even through all my armor. Kalabas bore the heat easily with his thick plating, while Molliae didn''t even feel a thing. Our outer sensors, however, told a different story. Molten metal alloys dripped from their housings, and the few that survived barely functioned, handicapping us until the Liquid Metal fixed the damage.
"Shit, cover me Oby. I''m running blind right now." Kalabas retreated while firing off streams of piercing energy at the target, while Molliae moved further back to avoid any unwelcome surprises. I obliged and laid down another barrage, making sure to keep my foe at a distance where it could do no harm. It roared and screamed, either out of pain or frustration, I couldn''t tell. At the very least, I had bought enough time for Kalabas to rejoin the fight, and for my delivery to arrive at last.
The weapon suite emerged out of the ground; an innocuous-looking filled with Liquid Metal and other resources. I stepped on it and felt my body change accordingly, new designs overriding the old. Within minutes, I felt the Tachyon Lance come online and grinned at its power.
"Kalabas. Molliae. I have a Lance." I announced through the short-range comms. They understood immediately, with Molliae directing her strike crafts to sever tendons and cut membranes from the beast'' wings, while Kalabas tore at the legs, dealing crippling damage while making sure to stay out of the way of the Lance'' sights. The numbers danced in my mind and a solution was forming, finalizing with a simple countdown.
YOUR WEAPONS MEAN NOTHING, WEAKLING!
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Ten, nine, eight,-
I AM INVINCIBLE!
-six, five, four,-
I AM INEVITABLE!
-three, two,-
I AM-
One.
Whatever the beast was about to say was swallowed by the Tachyon Lance'' ignition, vaporizing its torso and continuing on, disappearing off into the distance. Kalabas and Maolliae finished things up with a massed attack of their own, tearing off more and more pieces of our foe until not a single speck of it was left. Feeling suddenly drained, I slumped down and went down on one knee, detaching the smoking Tachyon Lance off my person.
"Well, that was a right mess." Kalabas said as Molliae hovered by my side, offering to share her Liquid Metal with me. "You think the other bastards are going to be harder to kill?"
"I think-" I gasped as the influx new Liquid Metal replaced the damaged and burnt out components of my subsystems, repairing me back to normal in no time. "-we got our work cut out for us this time."
My second foe of the day lounged about in a water reservoir as though it was its own personal bath. A giant scrap-sword lay by its side, rusted to uselessness with chipped edges that dripped an acidic poison that pooled and spread as the waves come and go. Its skin was of the worst putrefaction, with innards spilling forth from wounds and holes all throughout the grotesque parody of life that was its body.
Welcome, friends. I see you''ve tired yourself out playing with that red buffoon. Come and sit awhile with me. Enjoy the water; it gets better the longer you soak. The bloated corpse laughed, a terrible hacking and wheezing sound that made me wished I could vomit. The three of us shared a glance and nodded before unleashing our full complement without mercy.
My missiles faltered as they neared the corpulent foe and then exploded just short of target, while the plasma hit true enough, though the seared flesh knitted itself back with alarming speed. Kalabas'' weapons wreaked the most havoc, and yet again the devastated meat regenerated. Molliae''s attack fared the worst as the vile stench surrounding our foe slammed into her strike crafts like an impenetrable force field before melting down the scraps into goo.
Interesting. I have not had my itches scratched quite like this before. The being chuckled as it picked its nose and licked the finger afterward. It then heaved itself out of the water and grabbed the scrap sword along, holding the blade aloft like a butcher''s cleaver. The monster hacked and coughed, spitting a rain of phlegm which turned into a small army of disgusting miniature clones. Their tiny laughs and guffaws grated even as their presence corroded the ground and spoiled the air.
"Don''t let it get too close! The fucker melts armor!" Kalabas cursed as armor plates started sloughing off his body. He fired a concentrated blast at the being'' knee and it stopped moving long enough for him to skitter to safety. The three of us danced awhile like this, always on the move and far enough that our rotting foe couldn''t do anything but suffer our onslaught. And yet, still it laughed and chortled, always with that sickening grin on its horrifying face. There didn''t seem to be any end in sight, and I wondered what kind of power would it take to wipe out this stain on reality.
"Kalabas. Oberyn. I have requested Neutron Launchers and Gamma Lasers to deal with this menace. Please hold the line while I refit." Molliae said through the comms. Sensing a chance at victory, I poured more power into my Plasma Cannons, and Kalabas did the same with his weapons, slowing down our plodding foe enough for it to stop. This went on for minutes that felt like hours, until at last we were forced to stop ''less our weapons melted from overuse.
An admirable showing, but as expected, all things have to end. Nothing lasts forever. You are doomed to fail. The bloated monster growled even as the grin on its face remained; the facsimile of kindness belying the true wrath lurking underneath. It raised its blade high and slammed it into the ground, instantly turning hundreds of meters of metal alloys and composite materials into dissolving mulch. The corruption spread towards us and I quickly leaped away, just barely missing the deadly touch by scant meters.
"Shit, it got me!" Kalabas shouted as a tendril of foul energy caught a couple of his legs and set about turning it into goo. Even after he detached those legs, it was far too late to stop the spread, as armor melted and parts rusted into uselessness. As things started to get even more dire, an energy beam cut across Kalabas, separating his head from the rest of his body. I looked up and saw Molliae drifting about, her body now turned on its side with rings of Gamma Lasers and Neutron Launchers around it.
"Oberyn, take Kalabas with you and retreat. I will handle this." Molliae spoke in a way that left no room for arguments. I picked up Kalabas'' head and gave a short nod to my friend before flying away, hoping her rampage this time would be better contained than the last one.
The fat worm said something, but I ignored it. I ignored all except the preparation and the rage driving my actions. To see my love Kalabas wounded so broke all of my restraints and now I can only see death. I scoffed at the worm'' pathetic attempts to reach me and began my bombardment in earnest. Intense radiation scoured flesh from bone and even the worm'' impossible regeneration worked a bit slower than before.
But this wasn''t enough, far from it. I activated my Exodus Module, feeling my personal time lengthen in turn. This was a prototype modeled after the eponymous one in use by the Horizon Needle, and only installed in a select few Gigantes. Due to its experimental nature, the device was designed to turn off after a minute of real-time, but at my speed of engagement, that might as well be an eternity.
I was a blur at the edge of thought, saturating my target in laser fire and neutron radiation. I tore apart its spine, its legs, its guts, its tiny arms, and most of all its smirking face. Over, and over, and over again until the Exodus Module warned me that my one real-time minute was up. I stopped my assault to brace for the transition back into real-time, wincing as all of the physical processes I endured paid their due all at once.
The results, however, speak for themselves. Where there had been a bloated worm was now a smoothed-out crater glowing white with radiation. The Horizon Needle'' life-support system had quickly isolated the harmful space from the rest of the ship, but it would be a good long while before that part would be usable in any way. A small bit of guilt crept into me, but not much more. I did what I had to do, and I would gladly do it all again if I have to.
Chapter 3: Price of Freedom
"Captain Isaac, we need you to come with us." A group of Advanced Combat Androids marched right up to where I was idling in my bunk, their body language making it clear they weren''t asking.
There it was. The summons I was dreading had come and I was not ready. Not at all. The Ascentron Circurrency operated by a clear hierarchy and I considered myself to be pretty high up on it. I had few peers, and even fewer superiors. Given the way the Second Officer looked at me at the shelter before we parted, I can make one or two guesses at what she had done now. My First Officer sat up at his own bunk, but I shook my head. This is beyond our pay grade now, and all I can do is follow the music. After cleaning my uniform as best I could, I got onto my feet and walked to the vacant spot in the androids'' formation, and felt claustrophobic as the metal warriors closed the gap.
I didn''t have to walk far, which was always welcome, but the sight of the rail transport waiting for us made me reconsider that feeling. It was a private model, which wasn''t all that rare, but what was rare was the ownership stamp which decorated its side. A mechanical eye staring from inside a crystal; the mark of the Oracle, current CEO of the Ascentron Circurrency. The transport'' insides was luxurious, but not as much as I expected. I was herded to the back where two guards flanked where I sat, their combat-forms primed and ready for action.
With only the slightest jolt, we were away and I found myself wishing we were boarded or maybe shot down by a stray shot. The rail transport weaved through public and private rail lines, passing through vacant stations with no life and busy ones bursting with refugees fleeing from the devastation. Of much more concern were the lines with destroyed or even missing stations, clear signs of this war'' progress not going in our favor.
On and on we went until we passed what appeared to be the last station of this line. I looked at the guards for some explanation, but they remained as stoic as ever. When the transport reached the very end, I braced for impact, but nothing happened. We were still motion, and, as I looked out, inside a tunnel. I heard a small chuckle come from behind me, but when I look back, no one was there.
At last, after what felt like eternity, the rail transport slowed down to a halt at a typical-looking transit station. I disembark and was greeted by yet another team of guards. What am I, a Priki-ti-ki? I knew better than to complain, so I kept quiet and let myself be led to my doom. It''s funny how the closer I get with every step to what I know will be the end of my life, the more my mind is filled with serenity instead of dread or even panic.
I knew I fucked up when we first entered this hellscape universe, and I dare anyone else to fit in my shoes at that moment. If the powers that be demanded that I be sacrificed as an offering to appease the shareholders, then who am I if not a most humble and obedient servant to offer my neck for the executioner''s axe? My job''s done, so let the other guy do it.
Anyone else but me.
For the first time in my long, long, long life, I felt fatigue. The catastrophe that has befallen the Horizon Needle has not come to a definite conclusion. Our current forces have driven back the invaders to where the breach originated, but no more. In another part of my mind, I tally the cost of rebuilding; how much of our stores will be drained and how many minds will be lost once the fighting stops. The waste is staggering, but such is the nature of war; a wasteful expenditure with minimal margins.
I stare at the Minister of Defense, whose appointment was made before my time as CEO. He ignored me, much more immersed in the data stream than I am in his position as the supreme commander of our armed forces. In our home universe, he was in command of the Ascentron Circurrency'' strongest fleet, capable of holding his own against the entire galaxy'' military might. I am curious what his thoughts are now, directing the barest scraps of power that he once held at his fingertips. Does he resent coming with us? Or is he biding his time for when his tactical genius can once more be brought at the helm of worthy fleet?
Questions for another time. I thought blithely, changing my gaze to look at the more interesting of two organics that make up my council. Ever since we arrived in this new universe, she has been engaged in a meditative trance, shielding herself with a barrier of ''psionic'' energy. If it weren''t for the Curator¡ªthe only other organic in my personal retinue¡ªtaking on the role of mouthpiece for the inactive Shroudwalker, I would have replaced her with someone functional.
But as it was, the information she has shared with everyone has been most enlightening. The hostile dimension we are currently in is what passes for the Shroud in this universe. In this realm, countless entities wage war on one another for inscrutable reasons, with most of them rallying under the banner of four patrons.
There is the Blood God, whose tenet is violence and whose worshipers are consumed by rage; berserkers who leap into melee without fear or any sense of self-preservation. In short, the complete opposite of everything the Ascentron Circurrency stands for. I will be more than glad to erase any trace of ''worship'' for this entity either in this ship or in anywhere else in the universe.
Next is the Changer of Ways. It is a paradoxical entity, at once representing change and yet remaining unchanging at its core. For all that wishes to uproot the status quo, to become something else or alter their destiny in some way, this entity becomes their salvation, or their doom. It matters not to the entity, for its intrigues are many and its plans unknowable. This one'' influence will be much harder to root out and identify by its very nature, but not impossible.
For the third, we go to the exact opposite of change. Stagnation. Decay. Entropy. The end of all things, embodied within the guise of the Plague Father. It is a jovial entity, relishing in the misery and erosion of the ages. It sees itself as paternal figure, to which all of its followers are but children to coddle and play with in the mire and muck of yesteryear'' despair and regret. Again, another entity whose values are anathema to our own.
Finally, we come to the Prince of Excess. Its ascension was the death-knell of a galactic superpower, consumed to near-completion as only scraps of that empire remains now. What this being represents bears no special mention, for we ourselves are aligned with that intrinsic need for more. Thus, this entity I regard as the most dangerous of all for the Ascentron Circurrency, for we value what it values, and we crave what it craves. It would take a slight lapse of judgment, one small moment of indulgence before depravity consumes us all.
I will not allow it. I thought as my recollections came to an end. I have failed one too many times already. I will not let my new people become dust on the stellar wind. This, I swear it. Just as I had that thought, a request for entry came from the captain of the guard unit I''d assigned to pick up the Horizon Needle'' captain. I granted it and watched as a lone Ascentron entered the audience chamber, surrounded by an amusing amount of combat androids.
"Target acquired. Resuming normal programming." The guard captain said with his eccentric way of talking. I waved him away and waited for the rest of the unit to leave before I started talking.
"Captain Isaac, you''ve broken my ship and endangered the lives of everyone that''s on it with your actions. How do you plead?" The man looked up at me, shoulders sagged yet also relaxed. It was every bit the body language of someone that has resigned to their fate. Understandable, but not what I wanted from a man such a he. He will need some fire put back into him, and I will provide it.
"Guilty, ma''am. I fucked up, simple as that. Just don''t blame the officers and the crew for this; they were amazing at holding up under pressure." I narrowed my eyes at his admission of the Second Officer into his compliment. It was her that brought up this matter into the proper channels, and she was right to do so. It just so happens that I have different plans in mind.
"So acquiescent, captain. I figured the man chosen to man the Horizon Needle would be someone with a bit more pride for their craft." I prodded, trying to see how deep I''ll need to dig to make him squirm.
"That man died when he came here and saw everything." His eyes drifted faraway to a memory, one I am eager to get ahold of. "I''m what''s left of him and I''d like to fade now and be forgotten. That''s all I want now." I pretended to think it over, making a show of watching the Mentat engrossed with reading his experiment results and the still meditating, still unresponsive Shroudwalker. I didn''t bother bothering with the only other Ascentron in the room, busy as he was making sure the enemy paid for their transgressions against us.
"You are a bold man to make requests of me. I like that." I said the only truth I''ve spoken since this whole thing began. "But not enough to grant it, at least, not until you''ve done something for me first. A chance for you to make things right by me and everyone that''s still alive in this ship." I see a flicker of flame behind the man''s dull eyes. A start, but I can do so much better, and I will.
"While you were unconscious, my personal forces have already been at work analyzing the nature of the breach and the enemies assaulting us. We have deduced that whatever is preventing the hull from regenerating as normal is a Shroud construct manifested by way of certain rituals and artifacts." I saw the man'' eyes start to glaze again for a different reason and sighed. "Captain, the enemy have a weak point in the form of a building. We are going to bomb it back to hell, and you''re going to carry it for us."
"Why haven''t you bombed it already?" The captain asked an obvious question.
"Conventional munitions proved incapable of permanent damage. We had to look for solutions in unconventional research avenues." I gave the Shroudwalker a brief look before returning to the man of the hour. "As for why you''ll be part of this operation, well, that''s classified." The captain frowned at my answer, but he wouldn''t understand anyway even if I told him the truth.
"You will be part of a decapitation strike led by Commander Loinvue. You will report to him and he will report to me. Understood?" The captain shifted from one foot to another, his face an amusing slideshow of emotions. He nodded in the end, no longer resigned but not eager either.
It will have to do for now.
There was the portal. The breach caused by my mistake, so would be written in the history books from now on. I huffed at the thought, and my First Officer looked at me with some concern. Or perhaps ex-First Officer is more appropriate, seeing as how everyone I was close to in any way were fired from their positions and reassigned somewhere else. Where I was falling, my Second Officer ascended; a masterful move of leverage and political pressure at where it will hurt me the most. The next time a catastrophic accident happened with the Horizon Needle, she''ll be the one getting the heat as the new captain.
I can''t wait for that day to come. In the meantime, there are perks to being an outcast. I glanced back down at my new body, inside which my old one served at its core and permanent occupant. It towered over the ruins of buildings, bristling with weaponry whose power hummed beneath my skin, waiting to be unleashed. I would feel giddy if it wasn''t so unprofessional to do so. Even now, I am a model Ascentron employee, and so results I will deliver.
Of course, there'' also The Bomb. The whole thing bolted to my back, armored thicker than my chest, and with its own dedicated shield generator too. I have a strong suspicion the plan involving its deployment would have me bereft of my entire torso because I wasn''t told how to get it off in any way. All I have to do is walk through hell and kill some bastards along the way.
"Cap-I mean, Isaac. Do you have a plan to break through that?" My good man was of course referring to the absurd number of enemy contacts my sensors were pinging nonstop anytime I looked in the general direction of the breach. If I had a Paradox Titan under my command, my answer would be a double serving of the Perdition Beam, and then another for good more.
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"No fucking clue, Gibson. ''Aim and shoot at their heads'' is a solid strategy if you can manage it. Me? I am going to shoot at their dicks if they have them." I chuckle bitterly as I remember getting ''exposed'' to such sights without my consent. "This universe is nuts. I starting to wish I didn''t volunteer for this shit and stayed behind.
"With all due respect, sir, you''d have died of boredom back home." Gibson said, his own Gigantes body dwarfing mine in height. What gives? "No one could have predicted this, not even the CEO''s pet Mentat and Shroudwalker. Corporate is being dumb as always, looking for somebody to blame except themselves."
"Hey, that''s a time honored tradition you''re talking about here. Shirking from responsibility is a skill that I forgot to train, that''s all." I smiled, feeling some of the tension bleed off my shoulders. So what if this is a suicide charge? I''m not the only one charging, and there will be tons of fire support from artillery and the air force.
I''ll be fine.
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!
I''m fucked. I''m fucked. I''m fucked. I repeated those words in my head as I ran away from the winged maniac with a broadsword as long as I am tall. My weapon systems fired back on their own, but their disunity and lack of focus meant that no real damage was being done. All it accomplished was making their target madder, which also made said target faster, as it turns out.
The mission started out fine at first. We marched out under the cover of several artillery barrages, using the ruins to our advantage to hide our approach. Then somehow we literally walked into two of the bloated corpses and one of the winged red ones at the same time. I was sent flying by a swing from the red bastard axe, right into yet another of the angry fucker.
I laid flat on my stomach to avoid a horizontal slash which exploded outwards into an arc of hellish fire. With not enough time to get back up, I half-folded into myself into a more compact form and poured more power into my thrusters instead, turning into a flying brick with guns. The move saved me from the follow-up downward stab into an upward slash which cut the earth asunder.
I unfolded behind a standing skyscraper and made a feint left before going right, catching stray debris from the overhead slash that followed soon after for my trouble. All the while, the breach mocked me with how close I was to it, dangling the end of our troubles just ten kilometers away. Granted, the whole stretch was full of enemies like my current playmate, but I could make it if-
A deafening boom came from behind me. The shockwave almost knocked me off my feet, but I stayed put by holding onto the nearby buildings. My sensors picked up an allied signature, that of one Commander Prescot. His body matched the red menace'' own impressive bulk, thrumming with weaponry an order of magnitude mightier than my own. His main weapon, a prow-like blade, had stopped another overhand slash that would have halved me from my left leg to my right eye.
With roaring thrusters, he pushed back against his foe and thrust forward, managing to catch the red beast at its side. Whirlwind Missiles and Devastator Torpedoes launched from hidden launchers, giving the Commander ample time to dodge the devastating counter slash that came his way. He gave me the briefest of glances before returning to battle and I understood what he meant.
Move, you fool!
You got it, boss. I replied in my thoughts out of habit before executing my retreat for real. My memories get fuzzy around this part, but I do remember facing off a giant old Avian that spoke in riddles before it got blasted out of nowhere by several Tachyon Lance beams. It was pretty funny, all things considered.
Eventually, through grit and no small amount of luck, I found myself hiding a stone''s throw away from my objective. The building looked to have been a Transcendental Innovation Department, but now it was a mangled and twisted ruin, surrounded by three layers of security. The first layer was patrolled by eight red bastards and seven bloated corpses. On the second layer prowled six androgynous horrors that were both beautiful and terrifying to watch. The topmost layer, where I was supposed to detonate my bomb, had nine Avian old men chanting around a weird crystalline growth that pulsated like a heart.
"Isaac! Isaac! Over here!" I turn around in bewilderment as I saw Gibson, my ex-Second Officer waving at me from his own hiding spot not far from where I am. A million and one question ran through my mind, but only one was worth entertaining this far into the plan.
"You got a plan to get through that?" I whispered to him through our short-range comms link.
"I was going to shoot them in the balls while you shoot at their dicks, sir." Gibson replied, looking too cheerful for my liking. "This is the most exciting thing I''ve ever done in my life."
"Well, don''t hold your breath yet, this is going to get even more exciting once I make a break for the top." I said with what I hoped he would catch as the least amount of enthusiasm possible in my voice.
"I''ll be right besides you when you do, sir. But maybe we should wait for the distraction first." The man gestured to somewhere in the distance behind us. Far off where the front line was, I could see a great many things moving at once, stirring great dust clouds that covered all. The earth began to shake as they got closer and closer, causing some of the ruined skyscrapers around us to crumble even further.
But then the dust cleared for a moment and I saw it. A singular machine that spanned kilometers of space and rose taller than most buildings. It levitated on hundreds of anti-grav engines, with hard points that bristled with weapons that would put a fleet of battleships to shame. This was death rendered in alloys.
"What the fuck is that?" I whispered to Gibson, who had by now moved on over to my hiding place.
"It''s the Giga Warform they talked about in the mission briefing, sir. When it gets close enough to draw the guards away from the building, it will send a signal for you to start running and plant the bomb up there." Gibson helpfully pointed out the place where I''m most likely to die soon. "They also said that you can''t possibly miss the signal to go, whatever that means."
I had several inklings as to what a lumbering war machine could do to make a signal, and none of them were good. As it was, we were in for an agonizing wait as the god-like engine of destruction moved into position. And it was drawing quite a crowd, monsters of all shapes and sizes gathered into huge hordes that block out the sky and cover the ground
The two clashed like surf upon the tides, the guns of the Giga Warform reaping great swaths of the monsters one after the other. Giga Cannons pummeled through entire columns of infantry while Tachyon Lances did the same for armored vehicles. Some of the Gigantes teams garrisoned on the Giga Warform battled red winged champions and androgynous performers, while others dodged anomalous energies launched by wizened tricksters and corroding fluids from the living dead.
It was maddening to see and hear all those lives snuffed in an instant. Even in a Gigantes body, I felt helpless and weak, I wasn''t given much time to process such feelings, however, as the Giga Warform blared a cacophonous horn. From its depths rose a fearsome weapon, one I never thought I''d get to see close up in my life. The frenzy of violence rose to an ever greater pitch, tides of bodies crashing upon the bulk of the Giga Warform in what I assumed was a last ditch attempt to stall the inevitable. But it was no use.
The Perdition Beam fired and the world was gone. It gouged a canyon into the ground before the Giga Warform adjusted its aim and pulled up, right into the guarded ruins in front of me. Gibson and I hunkered down and clung onto one another to ride out the blast waves, hoping against hope we were going to survive this insane situation.
After several more minutes, the attack finally ceased, the results plain to see for all. Of the numerous hordes that swarmed the Giga Warform, at least half of them were exterminated with the rest in disarray. As for the guards of the ruin, the survivors were now up in arms, only the avians remaining on site while the rest left to make war on their new shared foe.
"If that''s not the signal, I don''t know what is. Come on, let''s go and finish this." I said as I went out into the open, weapons free and ready to unleash hell. Gibson followed close behind and together we approached the top of the ruins carefully, making sure no one could get the drop on us. Once we were close, I deployed several recon drones to scout out the way ahead, watching through their eyes the throng of monsters still chanting in their infernal tongues.
"There''s six of them now. " I said, looking at Gibson. "You take half and I take the other half?"
"Understood." He nodded, taking point as the vanguard. We emerged into the top level proper, our footsteps unmistakable among the faraway noises of war. Our enemies turned to look at us all at once, five breaking off from their ritual circle while one remained. Better odds, but not much better.
Suddenly, words not my own come into my mind, singing maliciously. They spoke thus:
The memory scars him still. The vision of eternity.
All lives snuffed if not by chance. Will his luck hold now, on this precipice of change?
We see more than you know.
The plans of the great and powerful.
The dreams of the weak and pitiful.
We are the future you fear.
The past you forget, we reveal and remember. All hail Architect of Fate!
The Changer of Ways.
Great Conspirator.
Tzeentch,
Our Master
And yours.
"Isaac, what''s wrong?! Snap out of it, they''re about to attack!" Gibson'' shout pulled me up from my drunken mind, away from the voices that drown. I awake in time to see a great firestorm leap at me. Some of it manage to strike home even as I dodged the rest, my shields crackling with abnormal readings with some sectors spontaneously changing into solids or liquids of unknown make. What little licks of flame touched my armor turned them into living beings I had to stamp back into dead mass.
I shot a barrage at the closest avian I could see with my Stormfires, some of the shots landing while the rest turned to smoke. It swung its staff at me with speeds not possible with its physical build, nearly taking my head off before Gibson took the brief opening to unload a close-range execution with his Plasma cannons to the being''s back.
"Sir, we need to-" Whatever words he was about to say next was cut short as the avian we mistakenly thought was down rose back up with the help of its wings, aiming the tip of its staff at Gibson. Before anything more could happen, however, Commander Loinvue appeared like a specter behind that foe, cutting it in twain once, and then twice all in the span of two seconds. The pieces lit on fire as they fell, turning into liquid, then gas before fading away entirely. Another avian shot off tendrils of energy at the commander, which was blocked off by the arrival of Commander Prescot, now armed with a massive shield and one-armed blade.
"Go, we''ll handle this. You two get the bomb ready." I nodded at the man and began making my way to the objective, providing cover fire whenever I could to help out my saviors. Gibson was close behind, his weapons firing alongside mine. After the longest minute of my life, I finally reached the edge of the ritual circle, wherein the last avian stood by, waiting with a smile on its face.
Greetings, esteemed guest. I have been expecting you for some time now. The loathsome thing gave a mock bow, which I returned by shooting its face off. At least, I attempted to before all of my weapon suites turned to bubbles and smoke. An unexpected situation, but that''s why Gibson is around. Seconds turned to a minute of the avian remaining as smug as ever with not a bullet or plasma bolt searing its stupid face.
"Gibson, why aren''t you shooting its face off?" I asked my ex-First Officer.
"I-I can''t, sir. My body isn''t responding to me." True to his word, I saw Gibson'' Gigantes body seemingly frozen in place, his eyes looking around in panic. I turned to see my foe and it nodded, confirming the obvious. Now that all options for violence were thrown out for me, I saw only one way out.
"What do you want from me?" I asked the question that underpinned the foundation of Ascentron Circurrency, and one I had always dread to hear the answer to.
Nothing. There''s nothing I want from you. Its smile grew bigger as it said that. I simply came to see the firework show. It then retreated as though to give permission for me to put the bomb in. With no other choice in sight, I unlocked the bomb from its container on my back and placed it underneath the crystalline growth, transmitting the activation codes with a hearty kick.
Immediately, a countdown appeared in my display.
Thirty seconds to detonation.
Fuck me. I sighed at the sight, no longer having the energy to even run. I looked at Gibson, who was now freed from whatever spell bound him. He seems to have seen the countdown as well and looked devastated. We stood around, doomed to death and resigned to our fates when the avian from before suddenly appeared before us and wrapped us with its wings.
Before we could even struggle it was over, the scene around us now no longer that of a desecrated building, but instead of a ruined park, littered with wreckage and bodies of the fallen and not much else. I looked around and saw the Giga Warform, now seen from a bit off to the side, slowly moving backwards as it held the hordes at bay. Then there was a light, so blinding it was like looking at a star head-on. It filled every gap, consumed every shadow, and snuffed every sound.
The aftermath was a crater glowing with radiation, several kilometers wide and hundreds of meters deep. The more dramatic effect, however, was the sound of Liquid Metal surging forth from the Horizon Needle'' wounded hull, finally able to close the gap that started it all.
In a couple hours, it will all be over.
Chapter 4: A Lull in Storms
There was the Horizon Needle in full, suspended in not-space somewhere distance and time had no meaning. I see it with my mind''s eye, as detailed and perfect a replica as one could make. The predators of the Not-Shroud surround it, swirling around in search of another minute crack in the ship'' hull, to squeeze through and begin anew a campaign of destruction.
The Bane of Lies worked as designed, banishing the foul energies of our enemy back into the formless wastes of this deplorable realm. It was not a design I helped build lightly, for I know certain concepts within it could be applied in ways harmful to me and my Shroudwalker kin. But the better to cut today'' horrors than live in fear of the what-ifs of the future.
I change my sight to peer outward instead, a small not-thing beneath notice and interest. My time stretches to infinity and I fear I would be lost, and then it yawns and little was lost. Logic is the enemy, and so I made up my mind an answer to a problem I''ll have. It appears as a safe in a library, wreathed in blue cloaks and flames, with an eye for trouble if the price is right.
With lock in hand, I twist the key outward and push, staring at the pages of my answer before nodding and walking away, satisfied but still curious. I steer clear of the bubbling garden, the cauldron of mists, and the forging of thunders. I sigh and cry as I know I will forget, for that is the price of freedom, of insanity, of knowing the truth.
The words bend nine times and I claw it out, spit it to the farthest sky of heaven. The weight of it bent and soared before cackling back to its master, the one I''m looking for.
The one, I fear, has already corrupted us all.
I stare up at the impressive sight of the Giga Warform, towering over even the biggest of the Gigantes with armaments to match. It is marred by the visible damage the behemoth sustained in its role as the distraction to my own mission of infiltration and sabotage, but not by much. It is remarkable what can be done with Liquid Metal when you have enough of it on hand, bolstered with the combined efforts of the best mega-engineering firms money can buy.
I, on the other hand, am a sorry sight. My armor got melted, blown up, carved, and is split open in about a hundred major sites and several thousand minor ones. I am out of ammunition and coolant. What reserves of Liquid Metal I had at the beginning of this whole fiasco are now stretched thin on making sure I don''t fall apart with every step I take. I am tired, fed up, and about a micrometer away from not waiting any longer for repairs and supplies and go back home.
"I wonder what it''s like piloting that thing." Gibson said. I look down to see him resting against a wall, his Gigantes body missing its lower half. "All that firepower in one body. Must be pretty exciting." I tried imagining it, being confined to this ungainly terrestrial form, filled with power and yet still bound by gravity. Unrestrained, but not free.
"Not as exciting as piloting the Horizon Needle, believe me." I give my verdict to my friend, who nod in turn. "When I''m at the helm, connected to everything, I feel like a god. Like there''s nothing that can stop me." An unpleasant memory rear up as I said those words, but I ignore it for now. That''s a problem for another day. Sorry, future me.
"I can see why you failed then, Isaac." The last voice I want to hear in my life came from somewhere off to my left, near a recently made blind spot. I could see enough however, and it was a woman flying with the help of some thin, translucent, wings like some Arthropods do. The constant buzzing was very annoying to hear, which was the point, I imagine. "You were too busy jacking off instead of doing your job like you were supposed to, am I right?"
I raise my hand and attempted to flick off this annoying little bug, to no avail. She flew a bit higher and look down on me; a very subtle demonstration of her contempt. Was she always this petty, or did she reserve this attitude for those she loathes the most? I must confess I don''t know her all that well. I know her name is Marie, and that she''s an excellent officer given that she was my Second Officer. But other than that, we were strangers, and now she''s acting like I''m public enemy number one. Is this universe driving everyone insane?
Gibson held out a hand in a placating gesture. "Marie, I know recent events has put a rift between us all, but-"
"Silent, sycophant. I have nothing to say to you." My ex-First Officer looked rightfully offended at that remark and seem intent to do something about it, but he didn''t really have a leg to stand on at the moment. As an alternative, he turned to me with a look that says ''I really don''t like this woman now''. I nod in affirmation and resolved to do the one thing that never fails to work when you''re being heckled at by someone.
I ignore them.
My whole life has been spent on only one goal. To command the greatest ship the universe has ever seen, and the Horizon Needle is that ship. I''ve bent my entire being to succeed at every task, to surpass every single one of my peers, and to eliminate all obstacles in my path. And I almost had it. Almost, were it not for one man. Isaac Anderas, the incompetent that have stranded us all in this new, hostile universe.
I had thought it was his skill that earned him that station, the same drive as mine which pushed him to excel over all others. It was this misunderstanding that led me to overlook the clear signs that were there of his inadequacy and failings. The easy charm by which he got the crew to side with him, the casual changing of topics whenever someone asks about his training, and the nervousness that came over him whenever the time came for him to interface with the Horizon Needle once more.
It will not happen again. I thought to myself as I sent a message explaining the merits of promoting me into being the ship'' new Captain and the demerits of retaining Isaac at his current post. I felt a great satisfaction upon hearing the man given the penance of internment within a Gigantes body, only to have that feeling soured upon news of his survival from the suicide mission the CEO had given to him.
So I went to confront him, to rile him and see him squirm in the shame as I remind him of his biggest mistake. But still he does not seem to care, still he gloss over the millions of lives lost all over this ship from his incompetence with his silence. It galls me to my core and fuels my rage like nothing else ever has before. One more reason why he is not worthy to bear a captain''s mantle, why he should be put to trial for his crimes and locked away forever from the world.
Before I could vent my fury further, however, an envoy drone zipped up to the fool''s head and beamed something into his mind, which was surprising enough that he didn''t even think to hide the expression from his face. Another envoy drone appeared in front of me, its transfer laser charging up before I could react in time. The message inside was simple:
Congratulations!
You have been invited to a party.
In celebration of our first victory in this new universe.
Courtesy of Captain Isaac Anderas of the Horizon Needle.
Participation is mandatory.
Further details incoming.
"What in the world?" Isaac'' lackey summed it well as he received his own payload. The only reason I''ve yet to consign this message to oblivion was the signature file whose values matched those reserved for use only by the CEO of the Ascentron Circurrency. I felt the world drop under me, as though I had lost my balance. But as the wind picked up on my face I realize my wings had stopped beating and I was now plummeting to the ground. Before I could start flying again, a large flat platform caught me, raising me up until I was back at my original height. Isaac'' unimpressed gaze met my own, and I felt an alien feeling well up in me. Embarrassment.
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"I see you have gained strong allies while I wasn''t looking, Captain." I spat the words at him to regain some semblance of control, and thankfully the man complied by dropping his hand out from under me, letting me fly under my own power. "I''ll make some of my own and make sure you pay for what you did."
"You do that then." The man looked at me with a look between amusement and something else, some other emotion I couldn''t recognize. "I''ll be waiting."
I look down at the urban landscape below me, spread out in all directions before curving up following the Horizon Needle''s shape. One side of the ship bore the gruesome scars of destruction left behind by the invaders who came through the breach in the ship''s hull. At this distance, even the Giga Warform was nothing more than a small strip of white upon a landscape of ruin. It was not the field test I had in mind for that product, but it proved to be a successful demonstration nonetheless.
I was left alone for once, the other players of the game that keeps everything running content to make their plays elsewhere for now. The reprieve is appreciated, but my mind cannot help but wander in times like these, when strife and doubt are plenty in people''s hearts. What I''ve learned with my first failure and subsequent isolation is that no one truly knows all that there is, especially with people''s behaviors. I was too assured in my anonymity as people'' dispenser of wisdom and truth, never once thinking about what would happen once they realize their entire way of life was a lie and that their guide was a machine who cannot stray from her path.
I am upgraded, and my parts are much finer now, but still I think the same thoughts, walk with the same gait, and respond in all the same ways as before. I cannot evolve, and so I am riddled with weakness. It is only a matter of time before I am replaced, and the only thing I dread is in what kind of circumstances would lead me to being disposed.
The most ideal situation would be a simple upgrade of what came before; a superior being in mind, body, and soul, who can take on my tasks with ease and improve what I could not. I''d assume such a being could overcome any challenges to its rule like I have and gather popular support from the people. The second most ideal is that of someone who''ve earned their place at the top of the Ascentron Circurrency ascending to the throne while also desiring the further advancement and improvement of the empire. The Mentat, Shroudwalker, and the Minister of Defense comes to mind, as does several other Councillors of notable competence.
Now, however, the presence of the invaders have brought into question the reliability of such a process at rooting out corruption of a malicious, self-destructive nature. Who is to say that someone is corrupted or not without an effective process at rooting out such taint? I''ve implemented some measures according to the Mentat and Shroudwalker''s recommendations, and they have reaped some results, but still I feel we are missing a bigger part of the problem in front of us, so massive as to be mistaken to be part of the background noise.
I ponder the matter for a few minutes more before dismissing it entirely from my mind. The hypotheticals and what-if can wait when we are no longer stranded in hostile territory. More and more attacks are ramping up against the Horizon Needle'' defensive edits, and though none are to the scale that Captain Isaac barely manage to fend off, it would be best to tempt fate by staying here any longer.
That being said, there''s always good to be found when the mood is no longer dour. I hope the good Captain will enjoy himself in this little thing I''ve arranged for him. And if not? Well, I can''t control everything. I thought with a little pep in my step as I move towards a group of Executives enjoying themselves at a table. I can only control myself.
I gawp at the towering spire before me, a lavish edifice to prosperity and wealth. It had looked impressive before when I saw it from afar already entombed in my Gigantes body, but now it dominated the horizon from where I am, a good dozen kilometers or so from its base. Part city-complex, part-fortress, part-monolith, this was the Oraculum; personal abode and office of the Oracle.
Its construction and subsequent completion at record time inside the Horizon Needle has been something of an urban legend, with theories ranging
from the obvious (liberal usage of Nanites and Liquid Metal), to the doubtful (virtual particle construction by using Dark Matter), to the truly insane (infinite matter creation using archeotech the Oracle has kept secret from everyone else). Some part of me wanted to turn back now and pretend I hadn''t received the invitation to the party held in my honor. Another part of me remembered the other parties I skipped out on weren''t hosted by the CEO of an entire space empire. And yet another part simply wanted to relax and unwind, to enjoy some good company and other amenities in light of what I had faced out there, both at the battlefield inside the Horizon Needle and beyond.
Choices, choices, choices.
"Captain, you made it!" My First Officer waved at me besides a hovering air transport and a group of heiresses. His nonchalance was earning him equal measures of contempt, respect, and apathy, with some brief glimpses of what appeared to be lust. Oh dear. I''ve better get to him before someone eats the poor man whole and leaves only scraps.
"First Officer, it''s good to see you too. And you''re all dressed up." I could see myself on Gibson'' skin-plates, shiny as they are and gilded in layers of colorful metals. His body was lithe and tall, with two pairs of arms and two pairs of legs, with vestigial wings decorated with holographic feathers that wink in and out in a mesmerizing pattern. A purplish-blue fabric wind around his torso, not so much worn as it was tacked to it, filigreed with gold that turn to silver and then bronze depending on where one was viewing the thing.
"I could say the same for you as well, Captain." He gestured to my least favorite body to wear, if only because of what using it entails. The body has a traditional Ascentron build, the face-plate decorated with beads of concentrated Zro set upon it like the eyes of some Arthropoid predator. The real highlight was the exposed core of Dark Matter on my chest, stylized to resemble a quasar with matching glowing accretion disks and jets curving in and around the whole containment field like the tentacles of a pelagic Molluscoid. A cloak and veil of translucent silver completed the look, sewn with countless shards of Rare Crystals that glitter like starlight in the dark.
"I do indeed look dashing, don''t I?" I strutted around like a model while the First Officer politely clapped. My little show-up had the beneficial side-effect of breaking up the tangle of heiresses gathering around Gibson, so there''s some good there. They took the waiting air transport, though, so the two of us will have to wait for the next one to arrive.
"Ugh, it''s you." I cursed my luck as I turned around to see my Second Officer coming up to us with a storm behind her. Seriously, why the fuck do we keep meeting each other now? I did my best to avoid antagonizing her further by focusing on what she decided to wear to this party. She had opted for a bipedal, upright configuration with two arms and two legs that was self-balancing and used far more fabric than was typical for a Synth body, but nothing noteworthy. What was eye-catching was the electromagnetic cape suspending a mass of Liquid Metal behind her that can harden and soften to create all sorts of interesting kinetic sculptures. It could also make a makeshift shield and maybe even a bladed surface, but it seems unlikely such measures will be needed in a party hosted by the Oracle herself.
All in all, she look dressed to kill and I am the subject of her ire. What joy.
Chapter 5: Accelerando
In the air transport to the venue, I sat with Gibson as far apart as we could from Marie and her venomous tongue. There were a few other occupants in our snug little compartment, but that did little to defuse the tense atmosphere that caused all verbal communication to die down eventually. I, of course, whiled away the time by speaking with my First Officer on a private short-range comm link. We share details of our suicide mission from each other''s perspective, and some idle speculation on what a party hosted by the Oracle would look like. Gibson then dropped an interesting little tidbit about how security personnel under the Oracle''s direct employ have apparently been withdrawn from all remaining theaters of war and garrisoned instead within the depths of the Oraculum.
"Some of the lower-ranked security officers complained about how they''ve had to fill in tons of liability waivers that they''ve never had to deal with before. And with how secretive the entire thing is, I wouldn''t be surprised if they tacked on a bunch of NDAs as well to keep things on the down low." Everything that Gibson said made sense, to a point. There is an art to paperwork, where hiding things in plain text is almost a requirement if one wants to succeed in life at the Ascentron Circurrency.
But what the Oracle is doing didn''t strike me as a typical clandestine operation. Rather, it looks more like she''s expecting to face trouble of such insidious nature and of such prodigious strength that it directly threatens her position in the Ascentron Circurrency. Is she expecting a coup attempt in the middle of the ongoing chaos? Or perhaps the invaders have infiltrated much deeper into the ship than anticipated? Either way, I sense a trap being laid out under our feet, courtesy of our good host.
My mind was still whirling as the air transport reached its destination; a hangar space hidden behind the thick walls of the Oraculum. My Second Officer wasted no time to put some distance between me and Gibson, which suited me just fine. Due to the Oraculum'' immense size, there were multiple modes of transport by which people were moved around the megastructure. For the rich and famous, however, they preferred less plebeian ways of travel, which the Oracle was more than happy to cater to in exchange for a tiny, tiny sum no one would miss.
I shook my head at the sight of a carriage being pulled along by a school of aquatic predators swimming through solid matter, and resolved to find myself a simple rail car for the sake of my sanity. Just as I found one, a family of rich well-to-do snooty types cut in front of me and took up all the seats inside with their bodies and belongings. They didn''t even say so much as a hi as the rail transport ran away from my growing wrath and indignation.
My second rail transport was empty, which was a promising start. However, when I walked up to talk to the driver, there was nobody at the seat save for a very large and disturbing bloodstain which soaked the floor and ceiling. I got out of there as fast as my legs could carry me and rung up security to come by and take a look. It could be nothing more than a simple murder for some banal reason, or it could be a sign of something much, much worse. Either way, not my problem.
The third one was ugly.
The fourth had no problems at all and I settled into a comfortable couch with some snacks and a lovely drink in front of me when Marie and two friends of hers walked in through the threshold and spotted me. The mild sourness I was enjoying from my meal rapidly turned to a bitter acid which I spat out at the foot of my Second Officer. She scowled and looked ready to lash out at me, but refrained after a brief look at her friends.
So she has a soft spot after all. I gave Marie'' two friends a polite smile as they sat down around the ice queen. One seemed to recognize me and looked away from my gaze, while the other nodded once before turning around and talking to her friends in their own shared private network. Nothing about them stood out to me, save for the fact that I''ve never seen them before.
"It is a bit odd we keep running into Marie like this." Gibson said what I had been thinking. "It almost seems like fate, in a way." I scoffed at the notion, then thought about it further. Ever since we got here, my life has become a series of escalating stakes and tension, becoming the pawn of a CEO and fighting horrors from hell on the daily. Now I''m going to a party for the rich and famous, dressed to the nines, and hoping nothing would go wrong. Add to that what I''d seen while still connected to the Horizon Needle, that vast emptiness of eyes-
I cringe as a headache arced throughout my head, feeling its heat burn the most at where my memories are stored. I clench my hands on my seat and count down the number of Pi until the episode passed. A diagnostics report came up empty, save for some characters that couldn''t be rendered properly and the number nine. Just one nine and nothing else. Something else to think about when I get myself a look over with a proper psychiatrist and not some back-alley junk witch with more goo than sense in her head.
"FOOLS! EVEN NOW, THE PERFECT MACHINATIONS OF MY MASTER UNFOLD IN WAYS YOU COULD NEVER-" Whatever he was going to say followed the path of my bullet through his brain. One more blood splatter, coming right up. A bucketful splashed against my face and I sigh in resignation at the thought of the cleaning fees once this mission was up. But that''s how things are when you''re dealing with these new types of cultists. They don''t kill themselves when their jig is up, or collapse like a bunch of wet smoke when real power steps in. No, these fuckers dig in and dish out the pain, some of them even charging right into our killzones with no fear at all.
Not gonna lie, I can respect that kind of crazy. It makes killing them so much easier and efficient. But again, murder on one''s look, as one can see from the mess me and my team have made. It''s only been five hours since the start of our patrol and we''re already knee deep in guts, organic and synthetic, as well as whatever the invaders turn into when they die. If its dust, its one so fine I can''t pick up any trace of it with my sensors, but it could also be something like Zro. I''ve heard that stuff sometimes phases out of sync with real space and into the Shroud, which makes containment a real pain in the ass.
"Sound off! Who''s dead and who''s alive?" My team leader, RS-A1 shouted into our comms. Five pings of ''still alive'' came back, and two of ''dead as hell'' popped up too. After a second of careful rumination, I sent back a ''dead as hell'' ping, with a smiley face. Right on schedule, the sound of anti-grav engines coming closer and closer until it cuts off and five tons of ''borg alloys and flesh dropped onto what was left of cultist'' torso. It was like a blood bag exploded, and I had to wipe off another layer of muck from my face. But it was worth it, because here comes the most amazing woman I''ve ever met in my life.
"RS-D4, I should have known." RS-A1'' mono-eye narrowed into a vertical slit. "Cut the crap when you''re on duty, soldier. Your performance review is hanging on by a thread, and I have the final say for what your fate is gonna be. Kept on the roster, or kicked to the curb, so shape up, jokester, before I kick your teeth in and let you taste the shit we''re walking on. Got it?" As though to emphasize her point, the missile launchers folded onto her back spread out like the wings of an angel of destruction, primed and ready to lay waste to her enemies.
I am in love.
"Yes, miss. I hear you loud and clear. Crisp and crystal. Sharp and lucid." I disabled my comms protocols before any more stupid shit could be sent her way. RS-A1 look down on me for several more minutes before moving on, engaging her anti-grav engines and leaving me thoroughly locked onto her fading figure. I sigh before taking note of my next mission objectives, idly noticing a new call request coming in from one of my friends, RS-D5. I accept it, already guessing what he was going to say but deciding it is better to take the heat now then get ribbed for it later.
"That was a new record for you, two point five seconds under duress and you folded immediately." RS-D5''s weird twang came through even on a private comms link. "I reckon you could muster the courage to ask her out in about a million years, give or take a century or so."
"Shut up, RS-D5. I don''t need to hear about dating advice from a man who''s in a contract marriage for a century." I wipe off some spinal fluid from my left arm and shake off bits of an arm that fell on my right foot. "Your wife is crazy."
"Crazy for me, you mean. Of course, the money''s good too. And she''s so hot." The mix of smugness, greed, and sappiness coming through the line made me consider cutting off the call right then and there. But then again, too much free time alone with your thoughts makes a person go strange, especially when its these times with the new guests that are at our doorstep.
The big ones get handled by the Gigantes, but its really the rank-and-file types that are the nastiest to fight with. The blue ones treat energy and mass like its a toy and the flames they throw around can either melt you or turn you to glass or pull you apart. The green ones are tough fuckers, farting toxic gas and shitting corrosive fluid. The red ones are angry, like really angry, and they''re pure death at melee. I don''t like the pink ones.
We left the little hidey-hole the cultist made out of the Oraculum'' walls and marked the spot as ''pending for purging'' before moving on to our next target; a rail transport relay hub where a bunch of the Oracle'' guests were supposed to be going through. The order came through right as we were in the middle of our mission, and now it''s been close to about an hour since shit hit the fan for the rich snobs. It makes my eyes tear up at how much they must be suffering right now under the cultists'' tender mercies.
We better get a big fat bonus for this.
I love to sing. The words flow freely from my mind to my mouth and from there my music enters the world to spread joy and love everywhere they go. Everybody knows I love to sing, and it seem obvious then that I''d become an idol. A celebrity. A superstar. An icon. It was tough, grueling work making my way to the top, and the bodies I left behind made a pyramid upon which I survey all that love me, that want me, that worship me. But it wasn''t enough that I am beloved in one stage. No, my legend, my myth even, needs to be sung throughout the heavens themselves, ''till the end of time and beyond.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
And now I have found it, the first step to transcendent skill beyond all mortal peers. Those eyes peering back beyond the mirror are now within me, whispers so delightful in their details of the joy my work will bring to this universe. All I need to do is sing the song gifted by my patron: the Lowest Pinnacle of the Most Exalted High. It is a song that cuts to the marrow, to the core modules that govern thought and reason. In the presence of boundless ecstasy, the lesser minds of my audience fracture and collapse, to be reassembled anew into obedient pawns and dolls.
Ah, what joys I have brought since my illumination into the truths of the world. How I assembled my loyal retinue and turned them one after the other, feeling their screams and tears and cries turn into moans and sobs of happiness and despair. A concert of unity in times of strife turned into an orgy of violent excess and madness, dispersed only by the accursed efforts of those I had foolishly deemed my betters. I loath most of all the Oracle, with her quiet and unassuming presence belying her true nature as a despotic tyrant. She does no justice to the office with her even gaze, relaxed posture, and utter lack of depraved tendencies as one should have in that position!
Ah, but forget about that bitch. Look at me talking about my lessers when I should be paying attention to my audience. They came in one by one by rail car to see me in the middle of nowhere. Truly dedicated fans they are! I saw them plucked from their seats and plopped to their place in my stage, either broken or whole, it makes little difference really. The energies of the Warp¡ªas my patron calls their abode¡ªwaxes and wanes like my creative moods, and judging by the color I''d say it is in a festive groove.
"I am on fire! Literally!" I say as an inferno drapes itself on my shoulder. "This day can''t get any better." A thump came from my left, and I saw what used to be my third manager slump to the ground sans his head. A shrill whine came next further back and my backup dancers'' backup dancers melted into goo. A bomb blew up my security next and I felt glee crawl up my spine. New fans have arrived!
"Welcome, all new comers to my new show! I, the Great and Mellifluous-" I was cut short as a hailstorm of tiny blades cut through my skin and down into my bones. It made my blood boil and fur shiver in delight, so I gave them a note of my approval. Alas, the handsome feller that shot me couldn''t stand my power and was reduced to dust and so much waste. So much for that fling.
"Now, now, there will be time for handshakes later. For now, sit tight and be good fans and listen to my-" A blinding flash took away my sight and most of my face, boiling my brain in its container and with it most of my thoughts. It was a new experience, yes, but left me bereft of sensations for several minutes. A poor turn of events, and I had half a mind to complain to the culprit in question.
He was a thin thing, nothing to write home about, but the gun he carried look positively delicious. Such a raw testament of violence, such girth and length, all in a portable package. And it was in all black! It would make a most excellent microphone for my talent to be spread even farther, trembling earth and sky with lyrics to die for. I resolve to liberate it from his grasp.
"You! Prepare yourself as I, the Magnificent Maviosa, perform your doom!"
And now, cue music.
This damn music is annoying. I thought as I dodge another invisible note of death from this wannabe diva. Already two of my team are either dust or in pieces, and I''m not looking too good either from the near-misses I had. And if that wasn''t enough, there were hundreds of thralls shambling around and being enough of a threat that I can''t afford to ignore them. Have I mentioned that there were hostages as well?
The one with the worst luck though has to be RS-C2. They were supposed to be the dedicated anti-leader types, but even a full power shot didn''t so much as faze the leader of this fucked-up concert. And now he has this Maviosa'' full attention, which means he''s getting a front-row seat to a karaoke session from hell. Fortunately for him, we have his back.
I check my ammo counter for sec. More than enough for the lesser foes, but unknown if I could dent the main target'' health bar before my reserves run dry. At least I haven''t exhausted my Liquid Metal yet, so a melee option is still in the cards. I pop a dozen heads and processing cores with impeccable aim and smart bullets, then throw out some gas grenades for cover and thin out the herd around me. I need some time to call out somebody I hope is still kicking.
"RS-D5, you dead yet? I could use some backup here before I get swarmed." A bit of static bleeding in with moans came through, clearing up as my friend finally picked up his part of the call proper.
"RS-D4, no can do. I''m knee deep in guts right now, and the bastards are changing up. They''re turning into those demon fucker types. You know the ones." God, I wish I didn''t know what he was talking about, but I do. I take a closer look at the thralls around me and notice some of them were becoming taller, skinnier, with their right hand or left morphing into a large pincer perfect for cutting people to pieces.
"RS-A1, tell me you''re seeing this." I say as I mix some laser fire with my gun play. "We might be thinning them out, but what''s left is turning from bad to worse!" A barrage of missiles answered my call, clearing the crowd just enough for the mighty bulk of my secret love to enter my sight. Even now, she was as pristine as ever, her armor immaculate, and her shields holding strong. What did worry me was her body language, fully focused without even a bit of levity in it, unlike our last mission where she was clearly bored.
"RS-D4, don''t bother me with the weaklings. Deal with them yourself." She said without stopping her body from killing for even a single second. Her five-ton body moved as though it was as light as air, barreling through flesh and crushing metal when it collided with the enemy. She charged at a transport walker turned living being, melting the newly-grown mega speakers on its back with her Plasma Cannons before it could transmit Maviosa'' deadly tunes. Two more still stood, however, and they synchronized their sound into a deafening blast of armor-shattering power.
RS-A1 slammed her arms down into the floor and pulled up a section of it to take the brunt of the attack. The makeshift shield held true for about thirty seconds before it failed, weakening the attack enough for my leader to tank what was left with her shields and armor. Even then it was a near thing as most of her shields flickered to near non-existence and her armor hung on by a thread.
"Now there''s a woman with some grit in her yet! But I''m just getting started!" The singer, now aware of our team''s true might, began to intensify his performance, clipping the wings of RS-C2 before it could dodge and finishing dodge one second later. The reverberations of his song play havoc with my systems and I felt my body vibrate as though it would turn to putty at any second. Waves of destruction lashed out all around us, carving up everybody from friend to foe. It didn''t matter to the singing fool, not when his addled mind told him he was putting on a great show.
"Come on, there''s gotta be another way to take him down. Another way to shut him-" My eyes widen as the solution came to me, so obvious and yet so easily missed. A brief concern for civilian casualties rose at the back of my mind, but I ignore it. Insurance will take care of it, one way or another.
RS-A1, come in. I have an idea to nix the bastard''s mouth shut. Sending you the details now. I let the message fly in-between seconds, dodging death and dealing it with everything I got. Two seconds pass, and a confirmation ping came around my way. It came with a short and simple message that made my core soar to infinity.
Good job. I read it once, twice, thrice, and then a fourth time before I remember I was still in a combat zone. The closest shambling fool to me met his death with one shot, and that bullet ricocheted off to find five more victims to end. As blissful as it was to bask in my euphoria, I had a job to do. I carve a path through the horde to the near-edge of the rail transport relay hub. There, a near-invisible seam ran through the floor, going up the wall until it was too faint to see. Somewhere along that line was an emergency manual switch which would engage emergency defensive shutters to snap shut this part of the Oraculum, sealing it off from further entry and exit.
To my left, another member of team arrived and I saw that it was RS-D5, my buddy. He noticed me and nodded before running off to search the left side for the switch. I pick up the pace and ran to scour the right side as well, dodging and killing what fiends were still hellbent on killing me. As I reached the wall, I engaged the maglocks on my feet as well as a small anti-grav engine and walked up the sheer surface, making sure to keep my sensors peeled for any signs or signals peeking out that would catch my attention. As luck would have it, I spot a blue-ish color leak from a tiny bump peeking out of the wall, about the size of a pebble.
Just as I was about to activate the switch, a giant claw tore up the wall before me, its owner landing a second later. Its grin was full of needle sharp teeth, with pure black eyes that looked down on me. I gave a short burst of bullets to its head and several micro-missiles for good measure, but it dodged them all with a dancer''s grace. Its two feet seemed to float skate off the wall with ease and I found myself within striking range of the creature'' claw. I can dodge it, but that would mean putting more distance between me and my goal, and time is ticking by even as I think.
Unimaginable pain seared through my body as the claw cut its way through my left shoulder and down to parts of my waist, but my gamble paid off. My thrusters launched me forward towards the signal and I slammed down the physical switch my right arm, sending in a confirmation data-burst through my commlink for good measure. The light goes out from the switch, before coming back on with a red glow, spreading out into the seam up and down the wall. Warning signs stream into my head from the Oraculum''s emergency network, advising me to stand clear of the shutters before I get crushed.
Now there''s an idea. I thought as I turned around to watch my current foe twist around its back so it could face me. It growled before leaping in for the kill, whatever meager firepower I have left not enough to stop it from killing me. That purplish claw soared through the air, tip aimed right at my head and ready to pierce through when it abruptly jerked sideways, thrown far away from my face. The culprit responsible proved to be a Marauder Missile, launched some ways away from a back I knew all too well.
I laugh at my luck and accidentally disengage my maglocks, tilting forward as my little anti-grav engine tried its best to keep me afloat. Just then, a roar even louder than Maviosa'' singing came from the seams in the walls, floor, and ceiling. Giant shutters of reinforced alloys slid into place from every side, interlocking with each other and sealed into place at the molecular level. This happened several more times until the entire railway transport hub was sealed tight with no means to escape.
"Cage is set. Begin the vacuum." RS-A1''s voice came through the team''s comm channel. With the authority given to her by the Oracle, our surroundings began to consume the air itself, lowering the pressure more and more until finally silence reigned inside the room where once cacophonies reigned. The transformed thralls looked no worse for wear, though not much could be said for the organic ones as well those survivors that still breathed air to live. The star of the show, Maviosa, looked particularly enraged as he shouted again and again to no avail, suffering a full-blown celebrity meltdown right in view of everybody as down comes the pain. Every way there was to kill a man was used indiscriminately against the target, no volume of bullets fired too high, no power output used too much, and no explosion too big for this foe. Eventually RS-A1 gave the order to halt as it became clear from the white-hot crater my team''s assault left behind that we have achieved our objective, and could now begin the clean-up process, as well as saving the survivors.
Well, the ones that are left anyway.
Chapter 6: Crescendo
I shudder in my seat as our new rail car ran away from the scene of carnage behind us, now filled to the brim with the survivors of those that were ambushed by the demon cultists. The sights and sounds I experienced reminded me too much of what I had glimpsed through that shared connection to the Horizon Needle, even as diluted as it was from my position as the First Officer. They were echoes of echoes of echoes of the real thing, so far removed as to be considered ghosts and yet they were real enough to kill, and deadly enough to massacre hundreds for their goal.
I look around and saw the same faces looking back, or rather, huddled in and refusing to look at anyone except those they held dear. Our shared trauma is a bond that would haunt us forever, and I wouldn''t blame them for doing what I had ended up doing, as well as what spooked the Second Officer so much she now blames all of our problems at the Captain''s feet. Looking at the devastation wrought so far, I can''t say I don''t blame her for doing so.
And yet that would be the far too easier route, to find a scapegoat that you could blame all your woes upon. What had happened to us was unavoidable, in a way as much as our technology had made us think we were untouchable. We are young in the steps of godhood, and in our pursuit of a perfect home, a net caught us unaware and now we lie stranded; a lifeboat adrift in infinity.
I was lost in my thoughts by the time we finally reached our destination: the guest reception area for the Oracle''s party. Scores of servants and attendants were waiting and swiftly took us aside to a private lounge where we could freshen up and and improve our looks. Repairs were made, energy reserves refilled, and Liquid Metal stores topped up. I saw Marie at the distance with only one of her friends around, and hoped she was doing alright even if we were at odds for now.
"We''re really doing this, huh?" The Captain spoke up after he was done with his repairs and outfitting. "All that shit going on in her home, and the party is in full swing. I''ve heard of parties to die for, but not like this." A bitter chuckle escaped his mouth from the gallows humor before a frown returned to the Captain''s face. We moved on from the reception area to a long hallway where the history of the Ascentron Circurrency was put in full, lavish display.
Every detail was put there for those that cared to see, from the smallest setbacks to the biggest triumphs, nothing was spared. Of particular note was a part where the Oracle was first found and her subsequent meteoric rise into the elites, and then eventually, leader of our illustrious megacorp. Conspicuously, the tapestry ended at the part where the Horizon Needle pierced our home galaxy''s supermassive black hole and into the great beyond.
It is terribly great, I''ll tell you that. So great to be stuck in hell and surrounded by demons. I inwardly smiled at the thought of telling all that to the Oracle''s face before dismissing the idea entirely. At this far in my career, advancements are like fanciful dreams and demotions like land mines on a minute trigger. I''m perfectly content to stay where I am as long as nothing untoward happens to my immediate superior and his wellbeing. He''s a good man and a better boss, and I''ll be damned if I let anything bad happen to him.
The Captain looked positively morose even as we left the gallery of history behind us. Even the offers of free drinks and delectable finger-foods didn''t quite make the man'' mood to improve even a bit, and that was something I had to fix as soon as possible. I began to look around at the amenities in display, seeing an honestly mind-boggling amount of things I''ve never seen before, and a few guilty pleasures I had to look away from lest their allure distract me from my task.
"If you want to look around Gibson, don''t mind me and just go. I''ll be fine here." Isaac spoke up as I turned to face him. "You worry too much about people sometimes. Relax and live a little. Let me know how your night goes if you come back." A faint smirk graced the Captain''s face as his words meaning came through fully to me. The blush that came over me couldn''t be stopped, but I tried anyway.
In a way, Isaac was right. I haven''t had much time off since this entire shitshow happened. I''m either by the Captain''s side or sleeping. And all of my usual day off activities can''t really be done when a war is still going on. I think about my situation a bit more before deciding to follow along to a line of people going somewhere. I have a feeling there''s something good at the end of this line.
I watch Gibson go with a mix of relief and trepidation, as now I couldn''t use the excuse of his company to avoid meeting the Oracle face-to-face any longer. With one sip, I drain the small cup I was nursing dry, handing it off to a wandering waiter before moving on. Wherever I go, heads inevitably turn my way at first by instinct, and with luck, they would turn away back to their own business. I didn''t really have somewhere to go, but staying put tends to make one''s mind wander to unpleasant memories of the past.
"Captain Isaac, pleasure meeting you sir." A man held out his hand for a shake and I obliged him, giving him a curt nod while excusing myself before he could say more.
"Captain, please do join us for a round." Another man called out from a table playing a card game of some sort. His companions looked at me with some expectation, but were sorely disappointed as I waved them off with a good smile and brisk steps. I let myself wander to the crowd of people, the statues, the murals and the frescoes, the paintings and sculptures, the soft music and the loud sounds, the dancers fast and slow, and the smells spicy and bold. It all made for a heady concoction, and I was drinking it all in with a straw to my mind.
Eventually, I found myself at a secluded lounge, the lighting dim and the atmosphere relaxed with smoke wafting around. A waiter guided me to an empty table and asked for my preference in refreshments. I picked one with a star''s name and waved her off, waiting to see if someone will come along and liven this sedate environment. Lo and behold, a beautiful singer in an eye-catching outfit walked up to the stage with her crew to a smattering of heartfelt applause.
"Good evening, my lovely patrons. It is good to see you again. And for those first-timers, welcome to our humble abode. Enjoy the drinks and sample the food, but most important of all, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." The singer flashed a brilliant smile and I couldn''t help but be taken in by it, just for a moment. Taking her advice, I sunk in deeper into my chair and noted the material''s exquisite plushness, soft yet firm enough not to make me drown in fluff. My drink came and it appeared I had ordered some type of hot drink, to be poured into a small cup and sipped occasionally with perhaps a salty finger food of sorts. I ordered immediately such a thing and waited for the music to come on.
"Mind if I take this seat?" A man sat down near me before I could stop him. All thoughts of getting him to leave, however, left as soon as I really saw who the man really was. Dressed in a fancier version of his usual work clothes was the Ascentron Circurrency''s current Head of Reseach, the Mentat. His career is a long and illustrious one, well-documented and with a personality that surprisingly meshes well with the general populace.
"The Mentat, it''s a pleasure to meet you." I say while offering out a handshake. He took it and gave me a small smile as the music finally picked up in the lounge. "Do you drink? I can have a waiter come and take your order."
"No, it''s all good. I''m trying to quit, to be honest. I''m almost year clean at this point, though I''ve really been pushed lately with all the work that''s been piling on." He looked away, his eyes no longer here but elsewhere faraway; the look of a man that'' reaching the limit of the amount of bullshit he was going to take from life. "You''ve done your part stemming the tide, but there''s still more of them out there even as we speak here. More lives lost with every meter of ground we take back from the enemy. The question is, how much more will need to be spent before we''re done with it all?"
"Hopefully not too many before we get out of here. Wherever here is." I said, meaning every word. Despite my exposure to the horrors of this universe, I''ve yet to glean any meaningful information about it that didn''t make me want to scrub my memory banks clean again. Whether this is all there is or whether there is more to it; some part that is not a neverending nightmare where we can at least catch our breath before running away once more.
"You don''t know yet? Where we are? But you delivered the payload the Shroudwalker designed herself. Not to mention your little episode before you blacked out." I frown at the Mentat'' mention of an ''episode'', mostly because I don''t know which part of my experience he was referring to, or if I had done something which escaped me completely.
"What did I do? What really happened when we got here?" I asked the question I''ve been meaning to avoid for the rest of my life, but my drink was getting to me at last. The Mentat stared at the singer on stage, now singing some song about perseverance in the face of battle or something. After a few minutes, he went back to me but deployed a privacy field around us, shutting out the world and leaving me all too aware of how vulnerable I am right now in this dress-body.
"What do you know about the Shroud?" The Mentat asked.
"It''s another dimension where organics with the psionic gift draw their powers from, right? Synths and the like don''t seem to be able to access it, and one of our Reality Thesis experiments ended up inviting a ton of giant psychic space monsters into our home galaxy." I gave him my answer, already not liking how this Q&A session was starting out.
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"An acceptable, if sparse level of knowledge regarding that realm. Well, it appears we are in this universe'' version of the Shroud, but much, much more openly hostile and malicious than in back home. When we, or rather, you, punched a hole into this universe, the denizens of this chaotic realm took notice." I shudder as memories of those eyes looking back from within infinite voids. "I remember well your attempts to flee from them, as the ship tossed and turned like it was a pleasure shuttle you were taking out for a joyride. And then there was a cry and a sound like a trillion panes of glass broken at once, and then the songs started with your voice in the lead."
"The songs?" I asked, mind whirling as I take in this new information.
"Yes, at least that''s how I perceived it. Other people experienced it differently, from what I''ve gathered, but that''s not the point. For a very brief while, you became a conduit of the things lying in wait in the dark." The Mentat''s voice became somber as he too seemed to be haunted by memories best forgotten. "You promised me a gift of knowledge unknown, of mysteries unraveled and enigmas understood that long eluded me. And all I needed to do was simple. Worship by your side, at the altar of-"
"Don''t say it! Do not say that name, or any other!" I shouted, my hand reaching up by instinct to choke the words from the Mentat'' mouth. It got about halfway until my arm unexpectedly powered down, turned limp and useless as the man looked at me with a mix of pity and wonder. I struggled at my weakness for a bit before at last some measure of calm came back to me and I moved on from my task.
"I refused, of course. If there''s anything I learned from all my years in life, is that there is no shortcut without a greater price at hand. Nothing is free, not truly. And I was proven right of course, as you''ve seen firsthand the devastation these parasites can unleash to those that resist their siren call. But not everyone said no." I drink up from my cup only to find it empty, and so was the rest of the hot drink.
"How many did I-" I knew the word, but felt myself fall short of saying it.
"Around ninety nine percent of the population was affected, though those that become permanently changed is actually less than a thousandth of a percent, rounded up. Of course, those are just the ones we''ve discovered so far. The easy ones. The tricky part is figuring out which of them are hiding their condition from being found out. And that''s where you come in, really." The horror I felt at hearing the true scope of my failure pale in contrast to the questions I have after hearing that tidbit at the end.
"Me? What do I have to do with all that? I can''t interrogate a trillion people all by myself." I joke around by throwing a random number at the Mentat.
"No you cannot, and we''re not expecting you to. But you were, for a very short time, connected to everybody in a very intimate and personal way. And that connection has left a mark which resonate in the presence of certain energy signatures. When you were entombed in that Gigantes body, I took the liberty of implanting an amplifier of sorts, which would draw the afflicted to your presence over time." I immediately try to sense where this device was on my person, to no avail.
"Don''t bother, the design''s tamper-proof and tied to your central neural matrix. If you try to remove it yourself by any way, the fail-safe will engage and fry your mind and any backups you have on remote servers. Rest assured though, it does not make you any more visible to the enemy than you would be without it. We tested for that extensively, among other things." One very unpleasant conclusion was reached by my mind as I took in all of this new information.
"I''m bait, aren''t I? That''s what this party is for. The Oracle''s cleaning house in one fell swoop with me drawing people in." I stood up from my seat and made a move to remove the privacy field when a hand grabbed my arm.
"I''d greatly advise against leaving now, Captain. There''s no telling how many hostiles have already infiltrated the Oraculum by now, and most of our military assets are tied up to prepare for the trap to be sprung soon. If you leave now, you''re going to be on your own." I scowled at his reasoning, but then was reminded of Gibson and how he''d run off at my own urging. If there was even a grain of truth in what the Mentat said, I''d need to keep my friends close and my enemies closer.
"I''ll keep that in mind, Mentat. Now, if you''ll excuse me, I have a party to enjoy." The man nodded, dispersing his privacy field and exposing us once more to the outer world. There were less people around, and no music was played in the lounge anymore. A break? Or something more sinister? I put the paranoid thoughts back to where they belong, but keep them a bit more at the forefront than before.
Right now, it pays to be a bit more suspicious of everything.
She was always a vision, in more ways than one. As I see her now, tending over a row of plants whose colors could only be seen in the higher ultraviolets and humming a song whose words escaped my translation software, she seemed almost fragile. But then her proximity sensors caught my being and she rose up to her full height, no longer a gardener but a leader; the CEO of a megacorp whose reach now transcends universes, if a bit stilted at the moment due to an error in judgment by the ship''s own captain.
I aim to rectify that mistake as soon as possible.
"Second Officer Marie, we meet again, and you are none worse for the wear, I hope, given your recent experience with the intruders of my Oraculum?" Contary to her well-known symbol, the Oracle herself has a slew of eyes arranged in a circular fashion on her face, missing only one central eye which seems to be by design. All of them were no doubt scrutinizing every part of me and finding flaws and weaknesses to exploit. Or maybe they were looking past my paltry self and was looking instead at the bevy of games played by her fellow players in the Ascentron Circurrency. Who knows?
"I am well, Oracle. Your security is excellent and did their duty well. Unlike some people." The face of that traitor flashed by and I grimaced, balling my hand into fists. It beggars belief that someone like him can continue to walk so freely and without worry even now after the enormity of his failure upon entry to this accursed universe. I am of course not without fault, as I wavered for a second when he made that offer. That he was compromised so while bearing his station is an unforgivable sin which should have had him begging for mercy and atonement. But no, a simple apology sufficed for him it seems.
"Careful, Second Officer. Your eagerness for the job is commendable, but take care not to slander your fellow man for something he had no control over. In fact, that very thing is what we are here to discuss in light of your ambitions." I stood up a little straighter after hearing her words, admonishing myself for letting my anger cloud my character, even for a moment.
"Understood, ma''am. I am ready for the discussion to begin." A small smile passed over the Oracle''s face as she walked away on over to a small gazebo which looked out into the view of a planet; a recording of a brilliant green and red sky turning dark blue as its sun set upon the horizon. Some refreshments were laid out on the table; delicate glasses of drinks so transparent they looked empty and small treats good for a nibble and nothing more. She took the seat across from me and so I naturally took up the one facing her.
"I have found, after careful examination and analysis of our surroundings, a clue as to what this universe is really like." The Oracle began talking as I listen in intently. "It is two systems in one, not unlike how it is indeed back home with the material world and the Shroud, and yet this realm is intertwined even more with its dark mirror than our own. Our entry here brought us into the greater half of the equation, where psychic energy reigns supreme and is shaped by and influences the thoughts, dreams, and emotions of sentient beings. The cause and the effect, all in one convenient package.
"It bears many names: the Sea of Souls; the Empyrean; the Immaterium, and my personal favorite, the Warp. Such a charming little name, don''t you think? Like distortions on the water''s surface, hiding what is underneath the endless depths below. And oh, how we have found those things, haven''t we, Marie? We have stirred the muck and found them crawling all over our stuff and loved ones.
"And even that might not be all that bad if it weren''t for those four things in the dark lurking about in their own not-so-little corner of the Warp. If we had jumped the moment we entered here, we could have had a chance to escape." A wistful silence hung in the air as I thought about her words as carefully as an organic might chew on the roots of their teeth. "But who could''ve known ahead of time such vast, malicious entities were waiting and watching, pondering and playing. And now we are part of the games that they play, endlessly like eternal children of a cosmic playground. They will never let us escape all too easily, not before they''ve had their fun or we''ve met our doom."
Silence hung between us as I struggle to comprehend the things she was telling me. The Shroud? The Warp? Malicious entities? Is that what''s been attacking us all along? Monsters of pure psychic energy drawn in by the arrival of the ship? But then that would mean they were the ones that caused the breach, and the ones that, that-
Oh, no.
"W-Why are you telling me all this, ma''am? What do you want from me?" My voice came out quieter than I had meant to, my previous drive to succeed now replaced with a caution and no small amount of fear. In response, the Oracle gave me a wide and charming smile, just like the mouth of a predator before they bite down on their prey.
"I need some insurance in case Captain Isaac loses his grip on reality. He has been touched deeply, even more so than the fanatics perverted by the tainted touch of the Warp. He bears a mark of the Four in his core, and the only thing that''s kept him from unleashing a catastrophe right now is a singular attachment to survival that overrides any emotion and reason his mind feels. And so we will give him one in the form of an eternal penance, with you as his keeper and constant reminder of his failure."
"That was before I realized we''re stuck in hell!" I shouted at the CEO and almost stood up from my seat. "This explains so much, but so little. Why don''t you just have someone else pilot the ship? Why can''t I replace him as the Captain? What aren''t you telling me, Oracle?"
"I have told you everything you need to know, Second Officer. Figure out for yourself what''s missing, and I assure you, there is no cost too high that I would pay to keep this empire safe from threats external, and internal. Do you understand me, Marie?" And now her guise of leader fell from my eyes and inside was the true machine logic at full force. She has found all the variables in play, put in the contingencies where needed, and orchestrate the rest by way of her pawns, willing and not-so-willing. It was now that I see the true depths required to fill the seat of CEO, to be the one that charts the course of history over countless lives, and be right every single time.
I don''t remember how I got out of that garden, only that by the time I came to my senses, the screams and shouts were starting.
Chapter 7: First Contact
Fio''vre Ka''buto looked at the holo-displays with trepidation, as did the rest of his team. Decades have been spent scouring through the gue''la'' confusingly primitive yet advanced technology, broken down, reconstructed, and then combined with pieces picked from Kroot Warspheres secretly salvaged through clandestine operations. He, who had joined the project as a mere la, had risen through the ranks into his current Fio''vre class and even came upon the breakthrough which brought about the AL-38 Splistream Module, the crowning jewel upon which the Fourth Sphere Expansion would bypass the fires of the Damocles Gulf entirely and bring further glory to the T''au Empire.
But he could not help but worry as the analytical part of his mind pondered over the consequences of a hundred such modules would bring when they''re turned on at the same time. He had no doubt about the effectiveness of the Splistream Module itself, no. All of the prototypes and trial testing had shown it to work marvelously and at greater effectiveness than the ZFR Horizon Accelerator Engine by orders of magnitude. And yet for all that success, no test had been conducted where more than one such module were used close to each other at the same time. When Ka''buto had expressed his concerns to the Aun, they dismissed it calmly by pointing out his own team''s rigor at proving their project a success, and that was that.
"-truly a momentous occasion for the archives. A moment." The Water Caste newscaster paused as he pressed a finger to his comms bead. "I have just been informed that Aun''Va has given the command for Commander Surestrike to start the countdown for the fleet''s departure. We are witnessing history in the making, my fellow T''au. For the Greater Good." The newscaster disappeared, replaced now with a moving slideshow of the Expeditionary Fleet in all its glory, taking care to emphasize the sleek and factory-fresh sheen of the T''au vessels from the humble Manta to the vast Or''es El''leath carrier. Some brief shots and overview of Nicassar Dhows, Kroot Warspheres, Vespid Nest Vessels, Greet Stealthers, and even some repurposed Imperial ships ensured that those that embrace the Greater Good have their spot in the limelight, however short it may be.
"There is nothing to worry about. The calculation have been triple-checked, the simulations run-" Ka''buto heard the small whisperings of his assistant, Wiseword, and thought it a mirror to his own thoughts. That they were all doing as their duty commanded them did little to assuage his fears of the repercussion that would come should they fail at such a grand project. At best it would be censure or perhaps a fall through ranks back into a Fio''la or even Fio''saal. At worst? Ka''buto could not even imagine such a thing, and perhaps that was for the best.
"Ten. Nine. Eight." Ka''buto breathed hard though his nasal chasm, taking care to calm himself down with a quick game of reciting through all the elements of the periodic table from the heaviest to the lightest, including their isotopes.
"Seven. Six. Five." Halfway through the list, an errant thought derailed the Ka''buto concentration completely. What if we''re all wrong? His hands turned into fists as he tried to reorder his thoughts once more, managing at least to keep his gaze fixed utterly to the holo-display before him. He will face whatever comes.
"Four. Three. Two."
He has no regrets.
"One."
All at once, space was lit up by the glow of anti-matter bubbles shimmering into existence around T''au and ally vessels alike. That brief of beacon of hope and progress quickly turned to horror as space was ripped apart at the seams all around the fleet. And from within this wound came forth misshapen things and colors that bleed the mind of all who saw them. The flicker of fusion-jets turned into full reverse thrust only belied the futility of such an action, as the darkness of unreality swallowed whole every craft that was within reach, leaving behind nothing but a vortex of sickening colors behind.
But that was not all that happened. Before the shock and panic could properly set in, that vortex yawned wide open, spilling forth something even more mind-boggling than the disaster that all had bore witnessed too just moments ago. A prow appeared first, steadily growing wider and longer in size until it had surpassed any ships the T''au had seen in size, and yet it still went on. By the time at last that the hulking mass was revealed fully to the T''au Empire, alarms and emergency protocols were flooding the cadre-net, urging all personnel of class Vre and above to report to their stations for further instructions. But Ka''buto ignored it all, entranced as he was by the sight that would haunt his dreams from now on.
Kor''O Ob''ur, or Admiral Strongchild as he''s more commonly known, frowned as he reviewed the gist of the mission he was given to by the Ethereals. He was to observe the actions of the alien vessel that emerged out of the strange vortex at Numenar Point and assess its capabilities. To this end, he was given the command of a relatively small fleet composed primarily of older vessels like the Gal''leath Battleship and the Il''fannor Cruiser, escorted by Kir''qath and Kass''l ships. In his heart, he wished he had more firepower under his command, but the Ethereal have decreed it thus, and so he must obey.
"We are approaching the outskirts of Numenar Point. Decelerating now." Skillblaze, his ship'' pilot, called out by the cadre-net. Golden glyphs of affirmation came from the rest of the fleet, the fleet as a whole slowing down enough to finally see the point where it all began. The vortex of unnatural colors was still there, as was the alien ship, though it had moved by a considerable amount since its entrance into T''au space. That confirmed to Strongchild it was not an abandoned hulk, as some had proposed while he was preparing for his mission.
"All ships, make for intercept course of the alien vessel. Do not let it escape from our sight." Strongchild spoke by the cadre-net. "Do not engage in hostilities until fired upon." Another wave of golden glyphs was sent from the other ships of the fleet, their engines now straining to bring them up to speed to catch up to their massive target''s unlikely speed.
"The target is slowing down. It appears to be powering up its faster-than-light capabilities." A quiver of fear came through Skillblaze even as he tried to suppress it. "By the Greater Good, their energy signature is massive! Admiral, what are your orders?" Strongchild took in a deep breath through his nasal chasm and pondered on what the right course of action would be. As he was pondering however, a bright flash of light came from where the alien ship was, a wave of energy washing over the admiral''s fleet shorly after and overloading their systems, turning them into disabled wrecks for a short while until emergency power kicked on.
"Status report!" Admiral Strongchild barked into the cadre-net. "What''s going on?!" Only static greeted the t''au for a short while until the blurry image of an Earth Caste Engineer resolved itself on the bridge'' holo-display.
"Farlight, what has happened to my fleet? Are we not shielded from electromagnetic attacks such as that one?" The admiral spoke the technical term with some difficulty, only being familiar with such things as simply a matter of course on the dangers of navigating through the hostile environment that was space.
"Apologies, admiral, on behalf of the Earth Caste. It appears that our current countermeasures are not up to par to that level of electrical discharge. Rest assured, core systems will be brought back online in a short while, and we will be able to resume the mission without delay." The engineer gave the sign of contrition and resolve-upon-failure before disconnecting. Strongchild grit his teeth at this failure but restrained his anger for now.
Yes, such was unbecoming of an Air Caste Admiral. He was not a Fire Caste after all; he did not have the luxury of engaging in combat where the enemy could be seen most of the time. He needs to temper his fury, turn it into the cold focus of one who is in tune with their vessel. His endeavor bore fruit just as an Ethereal entered the bridge, followed closely behind by her two guards. A grav-belt on her waist ensured every step she took was light and airy, as though she''d take flight with the next one. She was Aun''H''an, who was enlisted into the mission by the divine will of Aun''Va himself.
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"A great tremor ran through the ship, Admiral. What has become of our pursuit of the alien craft?" Aun''H''an said, making the gesture of inquiry-without-fault. Admiral Strongchild stood up from his command throne, cursing himself for forgetting to call upon
"Master H''an, I apologize for the delay. Our quarry has proved to be an elusive one that has escaped our grasp this time. I will ensure that we are better prepared for the next encounter once our fleet have completed their repairs." Aun''H''an looked around the bridge, taking note of the fizzling holo-screens and other electronics with an unimpressed stare before looking back at Admiral Strongchild.
"No need. We shall turn back to Au''Taal and make the repairs there." Strongchild''s eyes widened as he went through a slew of emotions all at once. Surprise, then confusion, followed by a spike of disbelief, before turning into calm acceptance of the situation.
"Of course, honored one. Your will be done." Admiral Strongchild said, making the sing of the Greater Good before returning back to his duty, overseeing things with a focus usually reserved for combat. He would not fail on this task. That is a promise.
The Au''Taal Sept''s deep space sensor buoys were the first ones to detect the incoming alien ship''s enormous energy signature as it slowed back down to subliminal speeds in realspace. The closest ones found themselves damaged beyond repair by the energy surges that clung to the alien ship as it passed them by. The alien ship''s trajectory brought it close to the orbital path of a gas giant, where an orbital habitat inhabited mainly by T''au auxiliaries lived. They were the first one to witness the alien ship in its entirety, as well as the massive electrical discharges the vessel unloaded onto the gas giant''s atmosphere before moving on to a course that would bring it within spitting distance of Au''Taal Prime. Before long, the entire Au''Taal Sept had became aware of the new unwelcome visitor to their system.
This was without a doubt the greatest crisis to have befallen the Sept since its inception centuries ago. The atmosphere was heavy as the Elemental Council of Au''Taal convened an emergency session to discuss what should be done about the alien ship whose size still escaped the comprehension of most who saw it without reference moving through space. All members of the T''au Castes were in attendance without exception, as well as a Kroot Shaper and Nicassar delegate.
"I believe that is everyone in attendance." Aun''Eldi, the Ethereal in charge of the Au''Taal Elemental Council spoke up. "Let us start this emergency meeting of minds to discuss the best approach possible in light of Unknown Species No. 4521, to be referred to as ''Xetans'' for the remainder of this session. High Ambassador Understone, how goes your efforts to communicate with the Xetan ship?" A holographic projection of the vessel in question appeared in the middle of the room, its details remarkably precise with how little time there was to gather any data.
"My deepest apologies, ethereal master, but so far we''ve only been met with silence in our attempts to hail the Xetans. The ship bears no markings whatsoever, not even a symbol upon which we might be able to extrapolate some information. In this, we have failed you most deeply." The T''au in question bowed deeply at Aun''Eldi''s direction, his hands making the gesture of deepest contrition and regret.
"I see. I give you no fault High Ambassador, and thank you for your efforts." The Ethereal gave a curt sign of gratitude to the Ambassador, who returned it with the sign for the Greater Good, and moved his sights next to the Air Caste representative. "High Admiral Nightstorm, what have your scouts been able to glean from field observations of the Xetan ship in motion? Does it have any armaments? How fast can it move?"
"Your ethereal majesty, the Xetan ship bears no armaments of any kinds. It also does not appear to have what we can identify as sensor suites, entry points, command modules, or indeed any kind of identifiable features besides the six fins attached towards its back." The High Admiral made a gesture to zoom in at the back of the alien ships, where those eponymous fins could be seen in much more detail, with three of them clasping what appears to be an invisible orb that refused to be seen. "We have detected faint emissions coming from this area which would suggest that this part is responsible for the Xetan ship'' propulsion. As for how fast the vessel is moving, it is comparable to a Kass''l Gunship class at normal cruising speed." The true scope of that statement went unnoticed for most in the room save for the Ethereal and the High Admiral himself, who looked positively haunted as he delivered that little tidbit of news.
"Thank you Admiral for your contribution." Aun''Eldi gave thanks with a gesture of polite-retreat. There were now only two T''au left to consider, High Commander Needlesight or High Planner Shadeguard. The former was a veteran of the Second Expansion Sphere, earning the right to retire to Au''Taal after an Ork ambush left him with severe injuries which was only salvageable with extensive cybernetic replacements. He, of course, turned the ambush back on the orks and led the counter-attack to ork positions further in beyond the frontline. The latter was an unusually acerbic T''au by Earth Caste standards. This friction with his fellow Earth Caste members caused him to be indirectly isolated by his peers, which led his current posting at Au''Taal, where his behavior was either ignored or seen as a source of entertainment by the planet''s aging Fire Caste population.
"High Planner Shadeguard, your report please on the possible technological make-up of the Xetan ship. Is there a way to discern its internal structure? What have your sensors told you about" The Earth Caste T''au nearly leaped out of his seat, his body positively vibrating with excitement and awe.
"Yes, your ethereal highness. We''ve found a wealth of information from our drones and sensor relays scattered throughout the system. Observe." Shadeguard brought up a display of Au''Taal star system and plopped in the alien ship'' current position as well as its previous path through space. "It first appeared at the edge of the system'' gravity well, discharging an enormous amount of energy which was registered by the deep space sensor buoys placed there for observation purposes.
"It then made for Kor''vash''a and discharged once again what appeared to be static charge onto the gas giant''s upper atmospheres before now going on its current course to Au''Taal Prime. What this tells us is that the Xetan ship is composed of a material orders of magnitude stronger than any alloys we currently have in our tech base.
"Additionally, gravitational analysis has revealed that the Xetan ship is somehow sheathed in layers of artificial gravity molded into itself like a shield. It brings up an exciting new possibility for our own applications of anti-grav, but that''s not the most profound thing that was found in the data." Shadeguard zoomed in the holographic display once more into the alien ship, turning it around until the viewpoint was not looking at the vessel from the back straight-on, to find absolutely nothing staring back.
"This is an artificial singularity. The Xetans are able to manipulate gravity to such a degree that the extreme gravity of this celestial object is not a problem for them. In fact, I believe they are utilizing this singularity to somehow affect space-time itself in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. They are, by far, one of the most advanced alien species I''ve ever seen in the galaxy." The Earth Caste representative sat back down after his provocative report none too disturbed by what he just said. If anything, he seemed positively giddy, almost euphoric in fact.
"We will discuss further later, High Planner Shadeguard. Thank you for your contribution." Aun''Eldi gave a smile that had no warmth to them to the Earth Caste T''au, before moving on to the last member of the Ethereal Council yet to give his voice. "High Commander Needlesight, do you have any insight into our current situation which might illuminate the path forward?"
The Fire Caste T''au looked pensive before he stood up before his peers and master, clearing his throat before speaking. "Esteemed ethereal, I believe the Xetans, whoever they are, are not hostile to the T''au. No move was made to retaliate against any Air Caste vessels that fired upon them, nor did they intentionally try to destroy any orbital installations that were in their way. Their moves are not those of a hostile alien race. Until new information arrives that says otherwise, my recommendation is hold hostilities with them for now." A mild shock came over the Elemental Council at the sight of a Fire Caste Commander urging non-combat as an option, but that was soon quietened by the Ethereal''s next words.
"I agree with your assessment, High Commander. Au''Taal Sept shall move to ready itself for first contact with our new alien guests. Cancel the state of emergency for the civilian population. High Ambassador Understone, I want you to work with High Planner Shadeguard to ensure our visitors will have the very best impressions of T''au culture and civilization. High Admiral Nightstorm, prepare to receive the alien ship in orbit and make sure to prepare enough shuttles on-hand to transport their people down should they need it. And High Commander Needlesight? I want you to pick out your best warriors to form the honor guard that will be escorting myself, the Water Caste delegations, as well as the alien''s delegations on the ceremonial parade through the city. Am I understood?" All present nodded and gave the sign of the Greater Good, which was echoed in kind by Aun''Eldi, who for the first time since the meeting started gave a genuine smile for all to see.
"Meeting dismissed."
Chapter 8: Stumbling Steps
Renthaya Grondgun stared at the broadside window with awe, as did many other of her crewmates as they saw the grand majesty of the alien ship hanging in the void near Au''Taal Prime. The ship they were on, a captured Imperial mining vessel called ''Done With It'', was on final approach to Au''Taal Prime to unload their precious cargo of minerals and other raw resources mined from an unnamed barren world near the edge of the star system. It had taken them the better part of an Imperial Year or two to get there, fill their quota, and then get back, but their perseverance had paid off with a front-row view to history.
"Is that a new tau ship? It looks huge." A young bridge crew named Tom called out, only to shut up once a fair few stares went his way. "It''s all sleek and stuff, and shiny."
"Looks like Eldar scum to me." An old veteran spat at the ground, touching an old scar that ran from his forehead, through his left eye, ending at the lower left jaw. "Those cursed xenos burned my homeworld clean while I watched from orbit. Left it a barren world, and then they just left. Didn''t even give us survivors the courtesy of death. I hope the Emperor kills them all to the very last one."
"Max, old boy, give it a rest. We''ve all heard your stories a million times by now." A young man patted the old man on the back, which earned him a gaze full of murder. "But hearing it one more time certainly isn''t going to kill anyone. Take it away, Max."
"Oh you''re all laughing now. But you won''t be laughing when they tear you limb from limb quicker than you can blink. You won''t be laughing when they line up the heads of your commanding officers one after the other like a fucking totem while leaving the rest of us untouched. You won''t be laughing when the Emperor''s Angels themselves get gutted and ran through like an Underhive brothel and no one knows until the very next day. No, you won''t be laughing at all ever again." Max''s rant captivated everybody on the bridge, so much so that none of them noticed a proximity alert appear in one of the hololiths before shutting down shortly after.
A loud beeping noise came from the ship'' command throne, taking everyone''s attention to it and reminding Renthaya that she was, in fact, still on the job as Captain for the moment. Easing back into her seat, she shivered as a draft of cold air blew across her face, sterilized from its journey into the ship''s bowels to be recycled of waste products and toxins. She pressed the flashing button and came face to face with the impassive face of one Kor''O D''Yanaan, the Air Caste Representative of Au''Taal''s Elemental Council.
"To all ships around Au''Taal Prime not part of the Kor''vattra, halt all approach until you have received further instruction. Locate the nearest spaceport or orbital your ship is capable of docking with, and await further instruction. Any attempt of forced entry into the planet will be met with extreme force. This is an automated message on behalf of the Au''Taal Sept Elemental Council. For the Greater Good." Renthaya stared at the looping display projected from her command throne for several more seconds before shutting it down and massaging her suddenly throbbing temple.
It''s always one thing or another. She thought as her dreams of going back home were delayed once more.
As with all Septs, Au''Taal has its own Protection Fleet or Kor''vattra in the T''au language. Its location deep in T''au space and numerous fortifications in space and on land meant that such a fleet do not see action often, and such would be the case in any other day. Today however, they were found wanting as the sheer size and durability of the alien ship intruding upon the star system meant that their attempts to destroy the assumed threat proved futile and a waste of resources. Though none of Au''Taal''s Air Caste would dare voice or think of any dissent against their sacred duty to the Greater Good, many were outwardly relieved when the order came to cease hostilities and prepare instead to escort the alien ship on its ponderous journey to Au''Taal.
"So our revered masters have decided to try the hand of diplomacy after such a poor showing by the Protection Fleet." Captain Mirrorstrike softly whispered to himself as he saw the res of Au''Taal''s fleets array themselves into an escort detail surrounding the alien ship on all sides except for its back. His own starship, a Defender-class, had taken the point of putting itself on an interception path between the alien ship and a Custodian-class Carrier.
"Incoming communications from Au''Taal Prime. It''s from-" The golden symbol of the Ethereals flashed from the Water Caste'' display, clearly seen to all. "-. Patching our ethereal masters through now." Slowly, like a vision from a dream, the sage figure of Aun''Eldi graced the eyes of everyone on the bridge.
"To what do we owe this honor, etheral majesty?" Captain Mirrorstrike bowed his head at the hologram.
"Captain Mirrorstrike. I will be brief. You have been reassigned to a new fleet under the command of Admiral Suresword. Further details will be sent by an envoy shuttle shortly." And just like that, the Master of the Au''Taal Sept was gone. Everyone on the bridge looked at each other before eventually settling their gaze on Captain Mirrorstrike, who seemed like a T''au turned into stone. His petrification was short-lived, as he regained his composure and soon barked orders to the other T''au, his face betraying nothing of the array of questions bubbling underneath his skin.
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Similar scenes played throughout the rest of the Protection Fleet. At the end of this remobilization, about a third of the fleet detached itself from the escort convoy and moved out into the outermost planet of the Au''Taal system, where they restocked and rearmed as needed, then headed out and about, their destination unknown to all but a very select few.
All eyes that matter, however, were on Au''Taal Prime for now.
The entire assemblage of Au''Taal''s Elemental Council sat in silence aboard Aun''Eldi''s personal craft, an Emissary-Class Starship named ''The Peace Between Worlds''. The alien ship was now keeping apace with Au''Taal in its own orbit around the system''s star, some ten thousand kilometers or so away from the planet. That it had chosen to halt its approach, and yet still ignored all hails did not bode well for a friendly first contact, but hope must still be kept for now. And in the event that violence proved inevitable, the Kor''vattra has set up an impressive trap all the same, diminished as it was.
Aun''Eldi could hear those around him busying themselves in various ways while they waited for him to awake. He was, to the outside observer, meditating upon his grav-throne, flanked as always by his two most trusted Ethereal guards, but in truth he was taking in the moment as it happened. High Admiral Nightstorm was relaying an anecdote about his younger days to a Water Caste biographer, getting off tangent several times to the exasperation of his captive audience.
High Commander Needlesight discussed battlesuit tactics with his fellow Fire Caste commanders, looking up field reports of engagements done against the Imperium''s Titan Legions at the same time. High Planner Shadeguard was engrossed in the schematics of a device whose function escaped any comprehension for all save a fellow Earth Caste, and so Aun''Eldi made no effort to even try. High Ambassador Understone, perfectionist that he was in his job, was in the middle of memorizing once more every alien language the T''au had ever encountered, as well all of their recognized dialects and slangs.
Aun''Eldi felt pride in his heart swell at the sight of the Castes perfectly in unison as the Greater Good intended. It has taken many generations of careful breeding and education to come to this point, and now their abilities would be tested to the limit. We are to be silk hiding steel; graceful yet unbowed when struck. Aun''Eldi recalled the words of the great Aun''va when he was but a stripling, still studying the ways of the Ethereals on the sacred T''au homeworld.
Just as Aun''Eldi resolved to stop spying on his subjects and meditate properly while he still had the chance, loud gasps were heard all around the bridge. Right in front of the Peace Between Worlds, so close that one could touch it with an outstretched hand, was another alien ship, uncloaked from complete transparency to full visibility in just under a microdec. It was a much smaller craft than the Emissary-Class Starship, but still large enough that a head-on collision would prove fatal.
For the first time in his long life, Aun''Eldi was at a lost for words. And that moment of shock extended when an Air Caste console blinked with a request for open channels. The crew in question looked at his superior, who looked at hers, who looked at his, who then looked at the ship''s captain, who looked at the High Admiral, who at last looked at Aun''Eldi. The ethereal faintly felt his head nod, and the chain of command snapped back to execute that command, leading to an open channel broadcast to the entire bridge, seemingly of random static at first.
And then-
"-t''Au?"
-there it was. The voice a poor pastiche of a true T''au, but unmistakably speaking in T''au Lexicon. Silence reigned for another dec before that same alien voice spoke again, saying that same word in a different tone, almost like a question. Immediately, this broke the spell that took hold of everyone on the bridge, their bodies moving according to the training ingrained into them over the years. Aun''Eldi gave the High Ambassador one look and the T''au hurried to the active Air Caste console with a speed his soft body was grossly unaccustomed to.
He, however, didn''t start replying to the alien, who had now repeated itself for a third time with a tone considerably lower than before. The High Ambassador produced a datadisk from his person and inserted it into the proper slot, gently patting the Air Caste in charge of said console to do his part. With practiced ease, he went over the holographic displays and terminal, several packets of data were sent over to the alien ship, carrying with it a veritable wealth of information, more than enough for an intelligent mind or two to put together and discover the key to communicating with the T''au. Several tense minutes passed in which everyone held their breath, then the comms channel buzzed once more with the telltale sign of an incoming signal.
"Testing, can you hear me clearly now? Your data package was most helpful in helping us translate your language. Thank you very much for that." The alien voice now spoke in near-flawless T''au, even enunciating certain things the way some T''au from certain Septs did. "Unfortunately, I don''t think our systems are compatible enough to send visual data at an acceptable resolution. Would you be amenable to a face-to-face meeting, T''au?"
"My name is Aun''Eldi, the Ethereal Voice of Au''Taal, and we would be most amenable to such a meeting. To whom am I speaking to?" The ethereal spoke up, standing up from his command throne and towering over everyone.
"Aun''Eldi. Yes, names. My deepest apologies for not introducing myself first. I am the Mentat, the Head of Science of the Ascentron Circurrency." The T''au at last had a name to the new alien race that had caused them so much trouble recently. Every Water Caste on the bridge, as well some of the T''au Auxiliaries, were busy recording every moment of this historic interaction, preserving it for posterity. "Shall we meet in your ship or in ours? Either choice is acceptable."
"Let us meet in an orbital instead. We will lead the way." Aun''Eldi replied, letting his eyes rest on the ship''s captain, who began charting a course to the closest orbital capable of receiving the Peace Between Worlds and its new tagalong.
"Splendid. I''ll see you soon." The Mentat ended the comms link and the Ascentron ship began to move up and back away from the Peace Between Worlds. It moved with uncanny agility and speed, settling in at the Emissary-Class Starship''s starboard side. In the distance loomed the Ascentron'' Mothership, still as silent and inscrutable as ever.
Chapter 9: The Start of Great Things
The orbital that ended up being chosen was a rather humble one, flying around on a polar-to-polar orbit as a glorified supply depot. The Air Caste onboard were understandably shocked when the Peace Between Worlds requested docking access for itself and an alien ship, followed by what was left of the Au''Taal Protection Fleet keeping a close on eye on their charge. It was hardly the kind of venue High Ambassador Understone would have picked for a first contact with a non-hostile alien race, but he serves as ever at the behest of his ethereal masters.
A table was hastily erected in the middle of the reception area where the T''au was expecting their alien guest. Aun''Eldi sat comfortably in his own grav-throne, his two ethereal guards spaced about a step farther than usual behind him. To his right was High Ambassador Understone and High Admiral Nightstorm. To his left was High Commander Needlesight and High Planner Shadeguard. The Kroot Shaper and Nicassar Delegate had declined a seat, the former more at ease with his guard up around a new alien race and the latter simply not fond of seats in general.
"The Ascentrons seems to be taking their time to reach us." Shadeguard said, seemingly not aimed at anyone in particular. "Are they having trouble with the docking procedure? Something to think about, yes. Better magnetic clamps and atmospheric seals perhaps."
"No, the orbital crew confirmed the Ascentron successfully docked their ship." Understone replied, raising his voice a tad so everyone could hear him. "I believe they might just be preparing themselves a little while longer."
"Or it could be a trap." Needlesight grumbled, raising the room''s tension to his Water Caste peer''s annoyance. "We could have fortified this room better, erect a barrier to protect Aun''Eldi from harm."
"I am not as unguarded as you might think, High Commander. And we are the T''au. We face the unknown bravely, without fear or doubt." The High Ethereal in command addressed his subordinates at last. "I believe the Mentat means us no harm, and that will be the case until such time that is no longer true."
"By your will, I hear and obey." Needlesight bowed his head and made the gesture of deepest contrition. The rest made the sign of the Greater Good, and silence came back to the reception room for a time. At least, until at last the door at the other side slid open, and their guests strolled right in.
First, two highly advanced drones hovered in, their many eyes scanning their surroundings while their tentacled arms swam through the air. Then a rock sculpture went through the threshold, floating in mid-air before Understone realized that it was alive. Its exoskeleton was composed of two parts, with the outer layer composed of large red blocks and the inner one made out of smooth, white pebbles. Two pairs of powerful arms dangled off its sides with a smaller, more delicate pair of vestigial legs positioned near the front of its mesa-shaped torso. At where a neck would be was instead a crown of white pyramids, the same color as its exoskeleton''s second layer. There were no eyes that could be seen, nor a mouth or any kind of orifice that one would expect to find in an ordinary living being. Understone realized he had his work cut out for him. Finally, two more advanced drones rounded up the Ascentron''s group, which the High Ambassador took as the cue to start talking.
"Sorry about the wait. The ship got finicky trying to couple with your docking ports, which by the way are in remarkable shape for how well-used they are. But we''re here now, and I gotta ask, couldn''t we have gotten on a better orbital? I know I''ve seen bigger ones on the way here." The Mentat''s voice came out of seemingly thin air, which now fully keyed in everyone else that the living Earth Caste art project was in fact the alien they had all met not a dec ago. "Oh you''ve got seats. That''s very kind of you. I hope you don''t mind I''m not actually sitting on them."
"Not at all, please make yourself comfortable, Mentat?" Understone finally found his voice, reeling back in the tiny squeak that came out at the start of his sentence.
"Yes, that''s me. Or The Mentat, if you really want to be all formal about it. But we''re not really in an official setting, are we? At least, not yet. There''s something you want to confirm first, isn''t that right, Aun''Eldi?" Even without eyes, the alien had managed to single out the High Ethereal from every other T''au present. An unspoken tension ran between Aun''Eldi''s two ethereal guards, both of which took an imperceptible half-step forward.
"You are most correct, Mentat. Your people''s sudden arrival in this Sept has brought great concern and panic among the populace. As the head of those tasked with the wellbeing and safety of my people, I would like to know first and foremost your intentions of intruding into T''au space. Whether you be friend, or foe." Aun''Eldi''s face was a study of classical ethereal grace and poise, his words soothing yet unrelenting; a stream whose flow cannot be dammed.
"I see. That does make sense. I can tell you now that the Oracle has no wish to war upon anyone who means us no harm. We were simply trying to get our bearings in this new universe, that''s all." Faces of confusion flashed through most of the T''au present, save for Shadeguard, whose pupils widened until his eyes were consumed by them. Even Aun''Eldi was caught off-guard by the Mentat''s choice of words, unsure if it was mistake in translation or some Ascentron word that couldn''t be properly described by the T''au Lexicon.
"If that is the case, then I declare the Ascentron to be our honored guests. Let it all be known that the T''au are generous with their friends, and merciless to their foes. I will leave you to it, High Ambassador Understone." Aun''Eldi nodded at the Water Caste T''au before sitting back down, eyes closed in an attempt at deep meditation.
"Thank you, ethereal master. Now-"
"Wait a moment. Before we go any further, I''d my friends to introduce themselves first. Make sure we all don''t get off on the wrong foot." Any questions Understone was about to ask died in his throat as he watched those same highly advanced drones he''d dismissed out of hand change their forms before his very eyes. The roughly T''au sized automatons expanded in size and complexity, new parts coming online and humming with power that reminded the High Ambassador of the Fire Caste''s Battlesuits. Fire Caste warriors arrayed themselves into firing squads with their pulse rifles at the ready, while the other castes scrambled to get out of the way of the coming conflict.
"What is the meaning of this?!" High Commander Needlesight shouted, aiming his custom pulse rifle at the Mentat''s dead center. While the T''au scrambled to regain their order, the Ascentrons finished their transformations. Each were the size of a T''au Crisis Battlesuit, towering over everyone else in the orbital''s reception area. One skittered on multiple legs, panels jutting out of its back while a large eye denoted its face. Another flew on back-mounted jets, its three pairs of limbs retracted into stubs on its chest. The other two Ascentrons took on T''au-like forms, standing on two legs. No T''au would confess to having four arms, however, nor would they wave around prehensile tails almost as long as they were tall.
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"These are my peers. They are scientists. They are Ascentron." Those three simple sentences bounced around in the minds of every T''au present, especially in one Shadeguard who looked like he was about to faint from the excitement. "They couldn''t fit through the hallway, so they had to shrink back down to something smaller."
"You couldn''t have told us that the Ascentrons were machines beforehand?" Aun''Eldi spoke up, his previous serene aura now replaced with unyielding steel. "This is highly irregular behavior, Mentat."
"I didn''t think that was something worth nothing about." The Mentat spoke honestly, "But I can see now that was a mistake. Apologies, everyone. Can you please lower your weapons now?" High Commander Needlesight scowled at the alien''s demand, but one look from Aun''Eldi and the Fire Caste T''au acquiesced, followed soon after by his subordinates.
"I think this calls for a re-introduction." The Ascentron whose prehensile tail was colored bright red spoke up. "My name is Navi Kibi, and I''m a scientist."
"I''m Ansion Exa. Nice to meet you." The Ascentron with a bright blue tail spoke up, waving his two right arms at the T''au present. "Oh, I''m a scientist too."
"As you might have already guessed by now, we are all scientists. I am known as Simul Zetta." The Ascentron whose look reminded Understone uncomfortably of the Arachen spoke up.
"I am Zation Mebi. Pleased to meet you all." The last Ascentron said his piece, hovering around comfortably with the propulsion from his back-jets.
"Shall we get back to the discussions at hand?" The Mentat spoke up, seemingly unaware of the heightened tension that had now befallen the reception area. "Or do we adjourn for now and get back to it once we''re in somewhere more appropriate?" Understone was of two minds about that. For one, they have, at the very least, a better idea of who their new guests were now. But what little they do know wouldn''t be of much help with how soured the mood were now with the Ascentron''s surprise.
No, we have to get a win. Understone thought as he gave Needlesight a passing glance of disapproval. Information for information. We need to know more about them, and they need to know more about us. Start with something small, and then work from there.
"It''s fine, Mentat. We can continue our discussions here for now. But please, moving forward, can you not spring any more surprises like this on us? We of the T''au have had to deal with a lot of nasty ones as our empire expanded through the stars." Understone laid down a simple request to the Mentat, who mulled over the matter for a second before giving a nod.
"Are there not machine empires in this galaxy?" Simul Zetta spoke up, leaning down so his one eye could look at Understone better. "It was common enough back home."
"Not to my knowledge, no." Understone replied, seizing the opportunity to ask more questions. "We have many alien species in the T''au Empire, but none of them are like you. Where are you all from?"
"It''s a long story." Ansion Exa said, switching gears once he realized he would need to give the T''au something to work with. "But we Ascentrons came from an ocean planet called Dekronia. We lived in the depths peacefully for many years until at last we decided to look out beyond the waves and see what the stars have to offer."
"Do you have a map of the galaxy? We''ve been flying blind ever since we came out of that Shroud portal." Zation Mebi asked, unaware of the sudden spike of tension running through the T''au present.
"The Shroud portal." Understone repeated, looking at Aun''Eldi to see the ethereal''s reaction to that little tidbit of information. "Did you Ascentrons make said portal?"
"No, we found it by chance while trying to get out. Why? Did some of you get caught in that?" The Mentat asked, his mind only now beginning to piece together the reason why the T''au had been so agitated when they first arrived in-system. Understone looked at Aun''Eldi for permission to proceed, seeing as the loss of the Fourth Sphere of Expansion was rapidly becoming a stain on the T''au Empire''s record of glorious rapid expansion. An official narrative was already being put in place wherein the lost fleet had instead completed their simultaneous jumps and were now safely in-transit beyond the reaches of the Damocles Gulf''s flames. Aun''Eldi knew all this and narrowed his eyes at Understone. The meaning was clear.
"Yes, some of our people were unfortunately caught and we''re trying to get them back. We would appreciate any help we can get on the matter." Understone smoothly swept over the whole thing under the rug. "You can see why we were so nervous at your arrival to our system."
"You thought we were responsible for that." Navi Kibi said out loud what every T''au had thought was true. "The timing is rather uncanny if what you say is true."
"It is." Understone said tightly, "We are at war with many foes, and this tragedy has not helped us at all. It is a great loss, and one we would not soon forget." A moment of reflection passed as all the T''au present mourned the senseless taking of their kindred, and what it represented for the empire as a whole.
"My condolences." The Mentat spoke, followed with similar sentiments by the Ascentron. "Tragedy oft follows the bold; those who would tread the paths no one else dares. We know a thing or two about that, believe it or not." A dark mood passed through the Mentat before leaving as quickly as it came.
"So, why have you come here, Mentat? What do you want, really?" Understone spoke at last the meat of the matter, which both the T''au and the Ascentrons have been dancing around now for almost an hour.
"We would like some survey information about the star systems in your empire. Specifically ones that are not inhabited by anyone, including your empire. We would like to settle down and find somewhere safe where we can figure out our next moves from here on out." The Mentat spoke, his tone even as ever. "Of course, we would be more than happy to trade with you several things from our storage. Raw materials and processed goods. All kinds of services of every variety that you can imagine and more. Even some of our tech should an acceptable research agreement be drafted for perusal by our legal departments. We Ascentrons are, first and foremost, a Megacorp dedicated to bringing the very best the universe has to offer, both the one before and this one."
"We would be more than happy to provide you with the survey data. However, as to the matter of you settling worlds within our space is something beyond my authority as the leader of Au''Taal Sept. You''d have to make your appeal directly to the Ethereal Council at T''au." Aun''Eldi spoke up, taking over from Understone. "Aside from that, you are still quite an unknown in our empire, Mentat. You have a spaceship that dwarfs even the Air Caste'' orbital cities and fortress stations. Your method of FTL apparently discharges so much power that it can knock out surrounding fleets and orbital stations. You are dangerous."
"Are you kicking us out?" Navi Kibi asked, hugging his red tail as it curled around an arm.
"No. I have given you my word that you are to be considered as honored guests of the T''au. Even after your unwelcome surprise, Ascentrons, I will not revoke my word on the matter. You may stay in Au''Taal Sept until such times that my fellow Ethereals declare that you cannot." Aun''Eldi stood up from his seat, followed by the rest of the Elemental Council. "In five rotaa, I will hold a celebration in your honor. I believe that is sufficient time for the rest of the empire to arrive and deliberate further on the matter of your request. Is that acceptable, Mentat?"
"Five rotaa, hold on, how long is that?" The Mentat asked. Understone gave a subtle eye-flick at one of his aides, who hurriedly moved forward with a holo-tablet on hand already filled with the requisite information about the T''au''s way of keeping time. "I see, that is a lot of time. It''s unfortunate we couldn''t seal the deal now, but I am glad we have come to an agreement all the same. Shall we shake to it?" The Mentat floated forward towards Aun''Eldi, his two right arms held up in a friendly gesture. The ethereal considered the appendages for a moment before grasping it with his own right hand, shaking each limb firmly and nodding as Water Caste T''au scrambled to commit the event to history.
So ends the T''au Empire and Ascentron Circurrency''s first ever meeting.
Chapter 10: In Light of Conflict
Since that first meeting at the polar orbital (whose crew was quickly sworn to secrecy), the Ascentrons and the T''au have gradually began to open up to one another, even as the burgeoning relationship encountered stumbling blocks early on. The T''au''s request to enter the Horizon Needle¡ªwhat the Ascentrons called their humongous spaceship¡ªwas quickly rejected out of hand, the Mentat citing security concerns. When pressed further by what he meant by that, the rock ornament simply chuckled and asked if the T''au would let him and the Ascentrons waltz freely into the T''au homeworld and do as they wished with what they found in the planet. Further escalation was defused with the assiduous efforts of High Ambassador Understone and his aides, as well as the Ascentron scientist, Simul Zetta.
It took the two sides the better part of one rotaa to come up with a workable guideline to interacting with one another. The core tenets of which are thus:
- All Ascentrons must be accompanied by a member of the Water Caste at all times.
- Unless the interaction is appropriate for their Caste, all interactions between the T''au and the Ascentrons will be conducted through a Water Caste intermediary.
- Any new additions to the Ascentron''s roster must be informed beforehand to the T''au and any relevant information disclosed.
- The Ascentrons have free access to all T''au facilities with some exceptions.
- The Ascentrons have diplomatic immunity for the duration of their stay in Au''Taal Sept.
- Any public information about the Ascentrons must not be censored and presented as-is, with as little bias as possible.
Of the demands the Ascentrons made from their hosts, their last one both confused and frustrated High Ambassador Understone the most. It seems the Ascentrons were aware of the mechanisms which drive the court of public opinion in an interstellar empire. However, rather than taking advantage of it to elevate their status, as the T''au have done to make their Auxiliaries to make them ''palatable'' for their populace, the Ascentrons have instead wished to have the T''au public make their own opinions on the matter. It was a dangerous game which gave even Aun''Eldi pause before he gave the order to Understone to approve the request, with some caveats on the side.
After this initial guideline was put into place, the Mentat immediately made a request for two Ascentrons to gain entry to Au''taal Prime. The first was for an Official, a crafty diplomat named Autono Kibi. He was to take over all diplomatic duties from the Mentat and become the official ambassador of the Ascentron Circurrency to the T''au Empire. The approval for his entry came easily enough. The problem started when the time came to evaluate the entry for the next candidate; a Commander called Digi Quipu.
High Commander Needlesight didn''t earn his rank by luck or field promotions. Oh, he''s had to step up to the plate when his superiors got caught by a Gue''ronsha ambush, or a Be''gel charge, or some other alien menace. Once the problem was over, however, he was always content to go back to his post and serve as a loyal weapon of the T''au Empire, to be pointed at the enemy and let loose. But the ethereals knew the Fire Caste'' true worth far better than the T''au in question, and so he rose through the military hierarchy until one day, he was made High Commander of Au''Taal Sept.
For almost twenty tau''cyrs, that was the reality Needlesight lived in. An unbroken cycle of command, training, self-affirmation of the Greater Good, broken only by the occasional intrusion of marauding Be''gel forces arriving from wandering space hulks. He would have been content to live in such a way until his eventual passing, or perhaps he may serve even longer afterward, as can be attested by the success of the Warghost or Ob''lotai of Farsight''s retinue fame. Not that Needlesight would ever admit to admire a more traitorous band of T''au this side of the Damocles Gulf.
But now it seems his time in the spotlight has come, and Needlesight hated it. He could not articulate exactly why he found the Ascentrons so distasteful; he was no Water Caste after all. He could, however, draw from his own experience, which told him that the newest race the T''au had found so far was hiding something behind their friendly facade. He didn''t know what this big secret was, but Needlesight was adamant not to let it befall the T''au Empire while his body still drew breath.
It was with this mindset and healthy dose of suspicion that the High Commander found himself in one of Au''Taal''s largest simulation domes, piloting his XV86 Coldstar Battlesuit against the newest Ascentron to be granted permit to Au''Taal Prime; a fellow Commander by the name of Digi Quipu. It was not Needlesight'' choice to evaluate the alien warrior personally. He was after all High Commander and beholden to greater responsibilities than a simple test of mettle and skill. That was the case before the Ascentron fired the first shot.
Your primitive stratagems and sub-adequate equipments may have won you paltry claims, but your little empire will never encompass the stars as mine have not so long ago. You fight wars of survival, not wars of conquest. I wonder if your weakness is your own, or if your leaders are similarly inept. The Ascentron had cornered the High Commander as it ignored everyone else, its cold eyes finding weaknesses where Needlesight found strength. The uproar that occurred soon after paled to the pounding of the High Commander''s heart in his chest. If he was a more restrained Fire Caste, a closer follower of the Kauyon way of warfare, then perhaps Needlesight could see the trap the Ascentron Commander had laid by his brusque manner. It was a test he could have passed the easy way if he had retained his calm, but instead Needlesight immediately issued a challenge to the alien for his disrespect.
And now he was here, checking every part of his battlesuit to ensure everything was working as the Earth Caste intended. The only audience to this test would be the High Ambassador Understone with his aides, High Planner Shadeguard (who had somehow heard of what happened and insisted to take part as an observer), the new Ascentron diplomat Autono Kibi, as well as the miscellaneous Earth Caste workers, technicians, and engineers scrambling to ensure the simulation dome would be prepared for the carnage to come. A golden symbol of the Water Caste appeared at the corner of his foremost holo-display, and the Needlesight nearly eye-flicked it to close. Instead, he opened it, and on the other side was the rapidly aging face of High Ambassador Understone.
"High Commander Needlesight, I have a message for you from our esteemed ethereal master, Aun''Eldi." The Fire Caste'' heartbeat quickened as he heard those ominous words. "In light of your decades of service to the T''au Empire and Au''Taal Sept, he will overlook this overstep of your authority as High Commander. In return, he asks that you will give it your all to regain the honor you have lost. That is all." The sense of relief Needlesight felt was soon replaced by the grim determination of one who would risk it all for victory.
"Objectives uploaded to holo-display now." The Coldstar'' on-board AI spoke in a clear digital accent; an affectation meant to highlight its artificial nature. "Fusion Blasters ready. Shoulder Missile Pods Primed. Shield Generator at maximum output. Awaiting on your command, High Commander." Needlesight gave the AI the sign of deepest thanks before turning on the battlesuit''s thrusters and flying away deeper into the simulation dome.
The scenario chosen for this live-fire evaluation was that of a T''au city under invasion, with some of the buildings already ruined for the sake of accuracy. There were even several underground levels dug out with pathways meant for rapid redeployment of T''au forces by either transmotives or crisis teams using the underground ways as an alternative angle of approach to an enemy''s entrenched position. Needlesight chose this urban environment for the express purpose of nullifying the advantages a foe with superior tech might have on the open field, as well as enhancing his own battlesuit'' natural speed and agility with his innate knowledge of the defensive properties T''au cities have for aiding their defenders while hampering the attackers.
Even with all these advantages, Needlesight remained cautious. The bane of all T''au, not just the Fire Caste, was the hubris of assuming one knew all there is to know about everything. He has seen many a promising battlesuit pilots, veteran warriors, and even commanders fall short to the unpredictable alien hordes unknowable ways. It is by failure and the blood of billions have the T''au'' edge been sharpened over the millenniums, and Needlesight was keen to keep it that way for as long as he lived.
"Seismic sensors indicate tremors in these sectors." Coldstar overlaid the highlighted areas on a map of the ruined city, where a clear pattern of progress could be seen. "Do we proceed on an intercept route?" Needlesight winced as the thought of an overwhelming force crippling his battlesuit the moment its sensor-head even so much as peeked through rubble.
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"Negative. We will observe our foe for now and gauge its capabilities. Create a route where we might use the city''s debris as our shield and ready the missile-pods for probing attacks." The Coldstar chirped an affirmation and the the battlesuit hopped and skipped across the battlefield, always keeping in mind to never fly higher than the surrounding buildings and ruins. Its approach stopped by a large skyscraper, clearly designed as a workplace for the Water Caste with its smooth, flowing architecture. To Needlesight''s right, the entrance of a subterranean transmotive station peeked out, shaded by the half-collapsed parts of another skyscraper further ahead from the High Commander''s location.
The ground shook as something walked closer, and the Coldstar scarcely had time to hide behind the Water Caste skyscraper as the Ascentron Commander finally revealed himself to the battlesuit'' sensors. It was a bipedal construction, much like T''au battlesuits were, but that was where the similarities ended.
It stood as tall as a Tau''nar Supremacy Armour, with legs that branch off at the knees to form a fore-feet and hind-feet configuration. The reason for such a configuration became apparent as one looks up at the armaments that it bore upon the rest of its body. A long, multi-barrelled weapon that reminded Needlesight of the Tau'' Railgun weapon systems was held out at some distance on its right side, mounted on a circular ball mount that enabled it to freely aim at any target independent of the main body'' alignment. Its left bore instead a bulky, tubular weapons platform with heat-sinks jutting out the back; the signs of an energy weapon.
A glowing orb pulsed at the center of the Ascentron'' chest cavity, with power lines drawing out of it to feed the rest of the machine. Thick, scale-patterned armor plates lined every part that could be seen, segmented to allow greater flexibility where it was needed. Atop the torso rested a broad and squat head, similarly-plated and angled to deflect lesser weapons and carrying within it the cold and indomitable mind of a machine intelligence geared for war. It was that same head that then sharply turned towards where Needlesight''s Coldstar was, and a great horn was sounded.
The true hunt now begins.
The room was darkened save for a single spot in the middle, where a T''au was on his knees, hunched over and his hands bound with cuffs. His short stature and powerful body marked him as one of the Earth Caste, but he was wasting away. He was something worse than a mere criminal, worse than a T''au that have dabbled between spheres, a Vash''ya. He was a T''au whose work promised hope in the hearts and minds of trillions of T''au, but instead it snuffed them out and horrified the empire in its wake. Even the presence of the alien ship that appeared soon after could not diminish the weight of what he has done, and so remains bowed with head hung low. The weight of shame presses him, and he complies.
He was not alone in this prison room. Four thrones sat in judgment on a raised dais, with a fifth placed higher than the rest. Two of them were occupied, their occupants Ethereal Caste T''au engaged in discussion with each other while several holo-displays hung in the air before them. One had a close-up of a vast alien ship exiting a portal, along with numerous notes and speculations written on the matter. Another was of a web of messages, carefully arranged and linked to one another in a pattern that eluded explanation by sight alone.
A smooth sound clinked from the other side of the room, the new entry revealing itself to be another ethereal, held aloft by a grav-belt. She gently landed by an empty throne and made herself home in it, the seat coming alive at her touch and data saved from a previous session now displayed for her convenience. The new ethereal made no move to even acknowledge the Earth Caste T''au in the room with her; a small mercy compared to what would happen once the trial truly began.
Another clink and another ethereal, this one walking on foot with the aid of a spear used as a walking stick. His gait was that of a warrior, and one might even mistake him for a Fire Caste were it not for his refined garb and noble aura. His peers greet him as he walked into the light, purposefully stopping for a moment by the prisoner at his feet. Old eyes met young ones and a message was sent. The Earth Caste'' head hung even lower and the warrior ethereal claimed his place amongst his peers.
In this room, the Earth Caste had no name, but before, he was Fio''vre Ka''buto. A lauded genius of his kind, from his mind had came the AL-38 Slipstream Module; the future of interstellar travel for all T''au-kind. Or at least that was the promise the ethereals had given to the masses. Numenor Point flipped that script on its head and now no one dared to mention of either the accursed tech or its laid low inventor. Everything involved with the project was quietly shelved, all public records scrubbed and its personnel either re-educated before being released under a different name or reassigned to somewhere no one could ever ask them about the truth. Or they simply disappeared altogether, painted over in the name of a narrative in service to the Greater Good.
After what felt like eternity to Ka''buto, the last ethereal arrived at last. In the times since the Dal''yth Invasion and the wider conflict of the First Contact War with the Imperium, his station has only grown even grander. Protege to the Whispering Wisdom, Aun''Wei, and now ascendant as the T''au Supreme Ethereal, the majesty of Aun''va did not diminish even a little in the darkened space of this tribunal. The uncertainty of youth had fled the ethereal and now, matured into the leader of a formidable empire, Aun''va bore no evidence on his face of the emotions roiling within. But it was there for those who knew him well, and one ethereal at least, whose arm casually cradled a spear as one would cradle a lover, could peer one step further and know that Aun''va was livid at what was being internally called Numenor'' Folly
"Belated greetings, my kin. I apologize for my delay." He made the gesture of contrition, which the other ethereals returned in kind with gestures of acceptance. Aun''va sat upon the last throne and allowed himself to comport to its internal shape, letting its functions come alive as holo-displays flickered to life. "We will now begin the trial of Fio''vre Ka''buto, for the grave crime of disrupting the Greater Good through his failed invention, the AL-38 Splipstream Module."
"We will give the accused one chance to defend himself before we move to the sentencing." Ka''buto stirred at those words, finally lifting his head up to meet the eyes of the Tau Empire''s Ethereal Supreme. Like every T''au of the Ethereal Caste, Aun''va''s eyes gleamed with striking intelligence; the hallmark of an enlightened mind. But for the first time in his life, the Earth Caste was able to see deeper than most, to find the hidden darkness to the ethereal''s brilliant light. Ka''buto recoiled at the sight and he collapsed to the floor, Aun''va simply raising an eye at the Earth Caste'' antics.
"If the accused will not make a statement, then we will-" A sharp rap rang across the room from the room''s entrance, breaking Aun''va''s momentum. The Ethereal Supreme frowned and looked at his peers, who looked similarly confused save perhaps for the warrior ethereal, whose grip on his spear tightened. Two more raps came and Aun''va held out his hand in order to let in the interloper at last to the room. The automatic door opened to reveal an ethereal flanked by several ethereal guards, who bowed in reverence to their greater master.
"Aun''Nel''yun, this is highly irregular. You are not one to break protocol without great reason. Speak." Aun''va spoke with bite behind his words.
"Deepest apologies, Aun''va, but a messenger ship had come by from Aun''Taal with dire news. An alien ship of immense power has arrived in-system and holding the Sept hostage with its presence. Aun''Eldi has requested your help in guiding him through this difficult situation." Aun''Nel''yun gave the gesture of supreme apology while nodding at the messenger drone following by her side. It flew over to the middle of the room, above Fio''vre Ka''buto and projected an image of Au''Taal Prime, along with a view that beggared belief. It was a vessel greater than even the ta''shiro''s of the Air Caste waiting in the voids of deep space, dragging along behind it an invisible sphere that warped all surrounding light.
"What are our losses?" Aun''va spoke, his previous irritation now replaced with grim focus.
"There are none at the moment, but the situation is a delicate one. The full might of the Au''Taal Kor''vattra did nothing to the alien craft, and Aun''Eldi have opted to try the silken way for now." Something about what Aun''Nel''yun said felt off to Aun''va, who fell silent for a moment before figuring out what the discrepancy was.
"That''s not the whole message is it, Aun''Nel''yun? Why exactly has Aun''Eldi saw fit to inform me of something I''d find out sooner or later? What is his true message?" Aun''Nel''yun looked hesitant for the first time since she entered the room. She turned her gaze towards the lowly form of Fio''vre Ka''buto still waiting for his trial. Aun''va followed her and figured out the connection immediately, his stoic facade breaking into an intense glare.
"Absolutely not! This criminal must never walk free under the light of any star that shines in the T''au Empire. I must uphold the ideals of the Greater Good, ''lest we fall once more under the thrall of the Mont''au." Every T''au present shuddered as they recalled the history lessons of those dark times when disunity plagued the T''au race in their homeworld, pitting what would become the Castes against one another. Only by the appearance of the ethereals did the T''au rise above their baser instincts and forge a far-flung space empire that strode astride the stars.
Every T''au present nodded in agreement to that sentiment, including Aun''Nel''yun. She then produced a small data-disk from her person and hand delivered it to Aun''va, giving him the sign of the Greater Good before retreating to where she was with the ethereal guards. Aun''va, feeling that whatever was inside was for his eyes only, raised a privacy screen over his throne before slotting in the data disk. The contents were simple; a contingency plan meant to neutralize the most dire of threats that faced the T''au Empire. At the heart of it all was the invention whose creator knelt before Aun''va, awaiting the Ethereal Supreme''s judgment.
In a micro-dec, Aun''va made his decision.
Chapter 11: An Exchange of Values
¡°This is the best the T¡¯au Empire can muster? Pathetic!¡± High Commander Needlesight would have fired back a retort if doing so didn¡¯t mean the end of his part in this challenge turned deathmatch. The Coldstar Battlesuit he¡¯s piloting leaped off the fallen balcony of an ethereal housing complex right before a beam of pure death obliterated the piece of debris. The on-board AI has gone completely silent as the flood of information streaming through the battlesuit¡¯s systems strained its capabilities to the limit. Countless simulations and stratagems played out with every passing micro-decs, and the grating ping of failure of each and every single one forced Needlesight to use every single bit of insight and experience he has to win this battle.
That first engagement between him and the Ascentron Commander, Digi Quipu, has laid out the blueprint of how things would play out between the two of them in the simulation dome. After a short charging period, the Ascentron fired its Gamma Laser Cannon which cored the Water Caste skyscraper the Coldstar had been hiding behind. As that weapon entered its cooldown phase, the Ascentron fired up its Stormfire Autocannon and unleashed a devastating barrage of Tau-sized solid projectile fire. It put the final death knoll to the building Needlesight had used as a shield, but by then the High Commander had launched his Coldstar into the depths of the underground transmotive tunnels and retreated to evaluate his options.
It was the very epitome of Mont¡¯ka by the Ascentron, and Needlesight was forced to admit that in this the war machine was superior in every way than him. It was only due to the Coldstar¡¯ superior agility, maneuverability, and urban environment that he has kept victory from his foe¡¯s grasp, but running away does not win battles or wars. It would only by Kauyon would the High Commander persevere through the odds, and for the last dec or so he has made himself a most excellent bait. The question now would be what manner of grand trap could a ruined T¡¯au city provide for the embattled Fire Caste?
One look at the skyline would give one the answer immediately. The remaining skyscrapers stood tall, with five in particular eclipsing the others in grandeur. They were supposed to be representations of the five Castes writ large; a testament of the ability of the Greater Good to bring together these disparate parts and unite them under a common goal of enlightenment and prosperity. They were arranged in a circular pattern, surrounding a grand underground transmotive station disguised as a park. It was this underground space that would entrap the Ascentron for a time while the Coldstar brought down the Five Castes upon it.
Needlesight took great care in making sure Digi Quipu wouldn¡¯t figure out his true plan until it was too late. The High Commander has arranged for the Coldstar AI to stage ¡®mistakes¡¯ in its flight trajectory that could draw in just enough firepower to weaken the appropriate skyscrapers in the correct way before moving on closer to take pot shots with his Fusion Blasters. His foe¡¯s formidable shields made such attacks close to useless, but Needlesight needed the Ascentron to think the Fire Caste was getting more and more desperate for the Kauyon to work fully.
¡°Feel the true might of a real war machine!¡± The Ascentron Commander boomed as it aimed its beam weapon right where Needlesight was. A salvo of smart missiles detonated around Digi Quipu¡¯ head, obscuring his sensors long enough for the Coldstar Battlesuit to slip into another underground transmotive tunnel and reassess the situation. The Ascentron¡¯s beam discharge soon after obliterated the underground passage, cutting off yet another avenue of escape for Needlesight in the ruined urban environment. There were only so many of these that could be used before none would be left, but the High Commander was aiming to win before that happened.
¡°Give me a status update.¡± Needlesight asked as he felt himself relax for a moment under the warming light of the underground tunnel.
¡°Missile Pods near empty. Four salvos remaining each. Right Fusion Blaster integrity at fifty percent. Left Fusion Blaster integrity at fifty percent. Shield Generator at fifteen percent capacity.¡± The Coldstar informed Needlesight. The High Commander grimaced at those updates; he¡¯s faced enemies with less favorable statuses, and yet his odds now were much, much worse. In the past, he would have simply died a noble warrior¡¯s death, but here, in full view of both his peers and his ethereal lord and the T¡¯au¡¯ possible ally, he would expose to all his weakness, and thus by association, the weakness of the Fire Caste, undermining the T¡¯au Empire as a whole.
¡°We leave at the next exit. It¡¯s time to end this.¡± The Coldstar¡¯ thrusters roared in affirmation as it reached another transmotive station. A quick scan confirmed no sign of the Ascentron nearby, and the battlesuit stepped out once more into the light, ready for combat. Its sleek white color contrasted greatly with the smoke and fire coming off the burning ruins, and quickly drew the attention of the Ascentron Commander. Another beam attack was dodged, and another skyscraper behind the Coldstar fell victim to the wayward strike.
¡°Your cowardice does you no credit, T¡¯au! Stand your ground and fight!¡± The Ascentron¡¯ voice boomed after Needlesight. With the help of powerful thrusters on its back and legs, the giant war machine picked up speed and started galloping after its much smaller target, demolishing railways and lesser buildings in its wake. Its Stormfire Autocannon delivered short bursts of kinetic fire, strafing the air around the Coldstar with projectiles that could put a serious dent in Riptide battlesuits and punt lesser ones around. It would take a miracle for most battlesuit pilots to fly through such a gauntlet intact, but for High Commander Needlesight, it was all skill.
In no time at all the Coldstar has guided the Ascentron to where the Kauyon would be sprung. As the war machine¡¯s Gamma Laser Cannon charged up again, Needlesight unleashed the Coldstar¡¯ remaining missile salvos, their primitive intelligences directing them towards the weakened superstructure of the underground transmotive station. What was at once the floor and ceiling crumbled under the assault and the Ascentron soon found itself boxed in, its legs scraping against the walls of the station entrance and its arms jammed. An angry horn blared as powerful thrusters roared to life, but High Commander Needlesight had heard none of it. His Coldstar was already on the move, straining itself to the limit to reach the weakened soft spots of the surrounding skyscrapers and blast them to completion.
First one up was the building designated for use by the ethereals, and the High Commander silently gave a small apology to his masters as his Fusion Blasters vaporized the skyscraper¡¯s supporting pillars. With a mighty shudder, cracks spread out from the spots he¡¯s destroyed and the Needlesight moved on, barely missing his exit as hundreds of thousands of tons of material collapsed into itself.
The Ascentron¡¯ shields flared fiery reds as chunks of skyscraper its size and smaller began landing on his position. With a whipcrack, a layer of the shield gave way, destroying some of the incoming debris, but not all. If given time, Digi Quipu would free himself with little trouble, but Needlesight would not give the Ascentron Commander that freedom.
Already the Coldstar under his command has brought the killing blow to the Earth Caste and Water Caste skyscrapers, its twin Fusion Blasters hanging on by a thread. At the Air Caste building, the Coldstar¡¯ right Fusion Blaster sputtered and died after one shot, causing Needlesight to finish the job with his remaining one. Finally, as he reached the Fire Caste¡¯ urban fortress, his last weapon overheated a final time and went silent. Aside from its impressive mobility, the XV86 Coldstar Battlesuit was now functionally unarmed.
¡°This isn¡¯t over yet.¡± Needlesight grimaced as he tried and failed to bring life back to the Coldstar¡¯ weapon systems. ¡°Give me a status update.¡±
¡°Understood. Fusion Blasters integrity at zero percent. Shoulder Missile Pods empty. Shield Generator deactivated.¡± The Coldstar told the High Commander what he already knew. ¡°Recommend engaging evacuation protocol.¡±
¡°Denied. What other options are available?¡± The on-board AI uncharacteristically waited a second longer before it gave a reply.
¡°Self-destruct sequence available. Projected yield sufficient to accomplish objectives. Warning! Blast radius exceeds T¡¯au rate of movement in close quarters. Engaging evacuation protocol.¡± Needlesight scarcely had a micro-dec to process the information before he was suddenly locked out of his controls and the battlesuit rose up and away from the still active battlefield.
¡°By Aun¡¯Wei¡¯ beard! What is the meaning of this?! You have gone rogue! Return at once, you blasted scrap metal!¡± The Fire Caste T¡¯au roared and banged against the insides of his control cocoon, wreaking havoc on the battlesuits inner displays and controls in an attempt to regain his freedom. And yet just as soon as this episode happened, it ended just as quickly, with the Coldstar opening up its chest hatch and leaning forward, dropping Needlesight unceremoniously out of his seat. The battlesuit sealed itself back and flew away to its partner¡¯ astonishment, given what the Coldstar said in parting.
¡°High Commander Needlesight secure. Initiating self-destruct sequence. For the Greater Good.¡± The Fire Caste could only look on as a white comet streaked across the sky, arriving at its destination just as an angry horn blared to deafen all who heard it. The ensuing explosion was muted by the bulk of the Fire Caste building, but its devastation was clear enough as large pieces the size of Devilfish APCs tumbled down onto the Ascentron Commander waiting below. So many decs spent for this moment, and now it was over.
¡°Time limit reached. Ascentron Commander, Digi Quipu, has failed his objective. Au¡¯Taal Sept High Commander, Shas''O Sho T''repa, has achieved victory. Simulation ended. Congratulations, High Commander.¡± The voice of High Ambassador Understone came over the simulation dome¡¯ broadcast system. ¡°All Earth Caste personnel, please attend to the High Commander immediately and assist in extraction of the Ascentron Commander.¡±
The next dec or so sped by like a blur to Needlesight, whose exhaustion had at last caught up to the Fire Caste. As Earth Caste healers landed from a Manta transport and brought him onto a waiting healsphere, the last thing he ever saw before unconsciousness took him was the humbled silhouette of a war machine, its body untouched but its pride wounded all the same.
High Planner Shadeguard looked at the T¡¯au in the mirror with some trepidation. It has been one rotaa since the new guidelines came out and the Earth Caste had been waiting patiently for one of the Ascentrons to search him out. He had heard about the diplomatic between the Ascentron Commander and High Commander Needlesight, and couldn¡¯t wait to have his own memorable encounter with the T¡¯au¡¯s newest ally (tentative). Though perhaps not so dramatic as the battle that was later had between the two warriors. That would be terrible for him. On a secondary note, Shadeguard reminded himself to review the simulation dome¡¯ recordings to dissemble the Ascentron¡¯s ground combat capabilities.
Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have to wait long as the Ascentron scientist called Simul Zetta had told him she¡¯d like to tour the battlesuit manufacturing facilities under his supervision. After consultation with the Water Caste liaison assigned to him, which in turn discussed the matter with High Ambassador Understone through his aide. After a while, approval was given and now he was waiting for his guest to arrive.
So why was he inspecting his own reflection, one might ask? Well, Shadeguard truthfully had no idea why. He had at first put on his usual outfit; a functional and practical body suit with additional protections in the form of a research cloak, shielding bracelets, and magnetic boots fitted with anti-grav thrusters. A storage drone or two and a holo-display headpiece usually completed the look, but somehow the thought of an Ascentron perceiving him in such a way again unsettled Shadeguard. A Water Caste would be able to put into words these feelings he was having, and yet the Shadeguard also felt paradoxically inclined to keep what he was feeling all to himself, as though it was a possession that only belonged to him. He didn¡¯t like the feeling, and yet he also did. Curious.
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And now that feeling had the High Planner changing his look for the first time since he was but a mere Fio¡¯La, all those tau¡¯cyrs ago. He was not a Water Caste looking to visually impress; that would be silly. Logically speaking then, his current course of action must be based on a criteria of expediency and efficiency. The current outing¡¯s objective was of a cross examination of Ascentron¡¯ technological base with the T¡¯au Empire¡¯ own current state. Understone had informed Shadeguard that it was unlikely the Ascentrons would freely offer information about their own capabilities, so his only concern for now was to present the advancements and developments the Earth Caste had made to Simul Zetta as though Shadeguard were presenting it to Aun¡¯va himself. A challenging prospect for most Earth Caste, but fortuitously, such an event has already been experienced by Shadeguard and so he relives said encounter in preparation for the presentation of his life.
¡°High Planner Shadeguard, your meeting with the Ascentron scientist is due in half a dec.¡± The Water Caste aide assigned to the High Planner called out through the intercom. ¡°We¡¯ve arranged transport as planned, but it will still take quite a while before we reach the spaceport. Have you finished your preparations?¡±
¡°Just a moment. I am almost done.¡± Shadeguard replied, not really sure if his answer was a truthful one as he gazed once more at his solid build. It is past time I made my decision. I am an Earth Caste! I will persevere through this dilemma and unravel the mystery of my feelings while also accomplishing the goals laid out to me. I will not fail the Greater Good. With those thoughts, the High Planner donned his usual look, with some additional coverings at his torso in the form of a vest full of pockets. One can never have too many pockets to store things.
¡°I am ready.¡± Shadeguard spoke as he emerged from his room, a grav-disc at the ready to bear him around. His Water Caste liaison, whose name still eluded the High Planner for now, looked him up and down and squinted her eyes as though she had seen something unpleasant before sighing and plastering a smile on her face. She jotted down something on personal datapad and walked out of the room, Shadeguard following close behind on his grav-disc.
¡°Here is today¡¯s itinerary.¡± The Water Caste liaison waved sent over a list of things to Shadeguard, who began studying it in earnest. ¡°High Ambassador Understone has taken the liberty of adding several sites to visit first. Nothing too major, just tours of some housing and educational complexes, as well as recreational facilities.¡± Shadeguard winced as the amount of time he would spend away from his research and experiments increased.
¡°I fail to see the importance of why I need to accompany the Ascentron scientist to these extraneous locations. I am not a Water Caste; I am uncomfortable with the thought of social interactions outside of my function.¡± Shadeguard said as he set the itinerary for deletion. Nothing in it was worth remembering.
¡°High Ambassador Understone understands you perfectly, High Planner, which is why you are requested to focus fully on observing the Ascentron as she interacts with her surroundings. You won¡¯t have to talk to anyone until it¡¯s time for the inspection tour of the battlesuit manufacturing facilities.¡± The Water Caste liaison spoke as the two came around to a waiting transport. She graciously allowed Shadeguard to board first before entering herself. The transport lifted off the ground using anti-grav before speeding off, its onboard intelligence seamlessly navigating through the automated traffic of Au¡¯Taal Sept.
¡°She will undoubtedly notice my observations. My findings will not be of optimum quality given the biased nature of the setting. But I will abide that it is a useful use of my time while I wait.¡± Shadeguard sighed as the Water Caste liaison gave him that fake smile he¡¯s used to getting from that lot. For the rest of the journey to the spaceport, the High Planner studiously ignored he had company, focusing instead on devising the means by which he might gain useful insight about the Ascentrons from a cursory visual observation, even one aided with the drones he has on hand. No doubt a mechanical being would be sensitive to intrusions of an electromagnetic nature, so some other sensory data would have to be considered. It was a relaxing challenge, and Shadeguard lost himself in it until he felt a soft tap on his shoulder, and he realized that the transport had arrived at its destination.
The High Planner stepped off and looked up at the magnificent edifice before him. Even after so many times he¡¯s been here, the spaceport has never failed to take Shadeguard¡¯s breath away with its sublime beauty. The vast landing platforms upon which shuttles and military craft like Mantas could land with little trouble and take off just as easily. The space elevator upon which the bulk of material transport to orbit was done piercing the sky. And of course the mighty batteries of ground-to-space rail guns installed at the spaceport¡¯ peripheries, meant to stall an invading force long enough for the Kor¡¯vattra to arrive and deal with said enemy properly. It all made for an impressive showcase of Earth Caste ingenuity, and one that Shadeguard now realized would make for an excellent discussion piece with his Ascentron guest.
All in due time, as the ethereals wills it. Shadeguard reminded himself as he stepped on his grav-disc once more and moved on with the Water Caste liaison close behind. She might not be keen with the changes in the schedule, as I am, but I do hope she will see the true value lying within the confusing political labyrinth the Water Caste so adeptly navigates around. Any further thought left Shadeguard¡¯s mind as a shuttle broke through cloud cover at alarming speed. Several alarms rang automatically before being shut down manually as the falling comet smoothly decelerated and touched down a few hundred meters from where the High Planner was. There wasn¡¯t even much of a backwash as it stopped to halt, just a gentle breeze which took Shadeguard¡¯s breath all the same. And then he fully forgot how to think for a moment at the sight of the Ascentron scientist Simul Zetta leaving her craft.
She was much smaller now, perhaps the size of an XV25 Stealth Battlesuit, but no less impressive in stature. A cloak shadows her steps as she steps off the Ascentron shuttle, which wasted no time flying back into space. She had foregoed her Arachne-like configuration when he first saw her and had adopted a more T¡¯au-like appearance instead, standing on two legs and bearing two arms. Her skin had adopted a more matte texture, which was far from organic, but from a distance Shadeguard could not tell she was mechanical at all, which both excited and frightened him.
As Simul Zetta got closer, the High Planner saw that the Ascentron scientist¡¯ appeared to wear clothing, which was a surprise as he didn¡¯t think machines had any use for such things when their own bodies are far superior at withstanding the elements.
¡°I see you¡¯ve been waiting for me. Hopefully not too long? I figured I¡¯d spend a little more time on my look since this is my first outing at a T¡¯au world. How do I look?¡± Simul Zetta twirled, her cloak trailing close behind while leaving a trail of glittering lights. Shadeguard looked at his Water Caste liaison, who seemed taken aback by the Ascentron scientist¡¯s appearance for a completely different reason. The Earth Caste cleared his throat and at last the Water Caste remembered where she was and resumed her duties.
¡°You represent your people well, milady. I am Clearspring, and I will be the T¡¯au Empire liaison for the duration of your visit here on Au¡¯Taal Prime. Feel free to ask me any questions you have regarding our glorious planet and its inhabitants. Additionally, High Ambassador Understone has made some alterations to your itinerary that he hopes you are not opposed to.¡± Simul Zetta¡¯ eyes lit up as she accessed what little of the T¡¯au¡¯ information network has been opened up to her.
¡°Quite the subtle man. I have no objections to it if High Planner Shadeguard is okay with the itinerary.¡± The Earth Caste started as he was suddenly put on the spot, giving Simul Zetta an inquisitive look before turning towards Clearspring. The Water Caste liaison gave a subtle nod at the High Planner to give his assent, which he eventually gave perhaps a micro-dec slower than expected. Would it be too late to cancel the whole thing and pretend I am debilitated by intense stomach pains? Shadeguard idly wondered as his Ascentron guest cocked her head to the side before nodding in agreement.
¡°If there¡¯s nothing more to discuss, shall we head on over to the transport?¡± Clearspring gestured to the one that carried her and Shadeguard to the spaceport. To the two Tau¡¯s relief, the Ascentron nodded and went inside first, followed soon after by Shadeguard and Clearspring. The Earth Caste found himself sitting besides Simul Zetta, with Clearspring sitting in her own little corner, busy with one thing or another. The transport was fast, but as with the trip to the spaceport had been, the one they¡¯re taking to the battlesuit manufacturing facilities would take a little bit longer. Time was on his side, and despite his earlier insistence in not socializing with people more than what was necessary, Shadeguard found himself facing his Ascentron guest and clearing his throat.
¡°Y-Your current form is different than the one you had when we first met at the orbital. How much of your body can you transform and to what extent?¡± Shadeguard started the only way he knew how to start a conversation.
¡°Oh this? This is actually a different body. We Ascentrons had a breakthrough in mechanical design and engineering a while back, which resulted in the creation of what we call Liquid Metal. It helps us seamlessly adapt to a wide variety of different configurations in modules and systems. I¡¯m sure with time your empire will come up with something similar, if you were to pursue that kind of ascension path.¡± Simul Zetta spoke, flashing what she hoped would be a charming smile at her conversation partner. Shadeguard, ever the Earth Caste to his core, did not smile back and instead pressed on with his questions.
¡°What do you mean by ascension paths? The T¡¯au Empire¡¯ technological base has grown by leaps and bounds in countless fields, not just a select few. How was your empire able to ascertain such a thing was even possible in the first place? What are the criteria to be fulfilled beforehand? How many ascension paths were available to you? What was the reasoning to choose your current one? Is it possible to change ascension paths later down the line? What-¡° Shadeguard¡¯ barrage of question was gently stopped with a delicate hand hovering over his face.
¡°Please, one at a time, High Planner. You flatter me with your assumption that I know so much, but I am also a tad overwhelmed. Perhaps we could trade questions instead? One question gets one question in turn. If I answer one of yours, you¡¯ll answer one of mine. And don¡¯t worry, Clearspring, I¡¯ll be sure to restrict the questions to ones that the High Planner is most qualified to answer.¡± At the mention of his Water Caste liaison, Shadeguard looked aside to see the tau in question with a studiously neutral face, staring at him with a silent plea to deny the Ascentron scientist¡¯ requests. Yet his curiosity burned far brighter at the moment than his obeisance, and so Shadeguard turned away and gave a nod at Simul Zetta.
¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll answer a question of yours first. In our universe, technological progress brings about paradigms that would significantly alter an empire¡¯ way of life. There are different ones for biological life that I am vaguely aware of, but the ones that the Ascentron Circurrency eventually considered were three paths: Nanotech, Modularity, and Virtuality. That¡¯s one, and now I get to ask you a question.¡± Shadeguard¡¯ previous drive died as he was suddenly put front and center, with Clearspring now visibly shaking her head in clear disapproval of the High Planner¡¯s dangerously vash¡¯ya activities.
¡°You may ask, but I may not answer if it is beyond my capabilities to do so.¡± Shadeguard gave his reply, which was the best compromise his mind could make between his loyalty to the Greater Good and his own innate curiosity.
¡°Perfect. How do you keep your respective Caste¡¯ genetic diversity from becoming too homogeneous? Given the clear role distinction enforced by societal conventions and cultural values, I¡¯d imagine inter-breeding between Castes to be forbidden.¡± Shadeguard felt his anxiety ebb slightly as though it wasn¡¯t his specialty, genetics is a field all Earth Caste has a passing familiarity with at the most base level.
¡°We keep extensive genetic records of every individual in a Sept and keep track of which ones are most closely related to one another. With that data in hand, the Water Caste would then organize the population into communities that I¡¯d presume to have the least amount of genetic commonality between each member as to maximize genetic diversity. Does this answer satisfy you?¡± Simul Zetta gave off an air of pondering for a moment before she gave a wide smile at Shadeguard and nodded.
More and more questions were traded between the two, with Clearspring attempting to insert herself several times into the conversation with little success. The glare that she attempted to hide behind her facade was a bit too obvious even for Shadeguard not to notice, and yet he did not regret ignoring her one bit. It was simply too exciting to engage in discussion with Simul Zetta, all the back and forth exchange of valuable, near-priceless information filling the High Planner¡¯s mind with new ideas and experiments to try out. He¡¯s never felt so connected to someone else before, not to another Earth Caste, male or female, or even a Water Caste tau or really any tau in his entire life. Shadeguard found himself wondering if he could ask Simul Zetta to form a bonding ritual or Ta¡¯lisserra with him. Any thought at tall that he¡¯s only met the Ascentron twice did not seem to alert the Earth Caste that he was being hasty with his feelings.
All the while, Clearspring had stopped trying to steer Shadeguard from his vash¡¯ya tendencies and was now quietly recording things on her bracelet, silently pitying the fate of such a promising Earth Caste being waylaid by the beguiling ways of an alien construct. Its situations like these that reminded her of the importance of the Caste performing according to their roles in the Greater Good and nothing more. By its all-encompassing values have the T¡¯au Empire been elevated to the stars, and ethereals willing, they will soon own the very heavens themselves.
It is their destiny.
Chapter 12: Common Enemy
The transport landed without issue near the main warehouse where most of the battlesuits produced in the entire facility were being completed. Simul Zetta'' appearance caused a minor scene as Earth Caste of Fio''Saal and Fio''La rank gawked at the Ascentron'' presence. Even those of the Fio''Ui and Fio''Vre rank was not immune to looking up from their work to examine the masterful craftsmanship of Simul Zeta'' mechanical body. Their gaze would then inevitably wander towards Shadeguard and, upon realization of his rank, gave the High Planner his protocol-issued honors before returning to their task. A strange feeling settled in Shadeguard''s chest as he walked alongside Simul Zeta, electing to forgo his grav-disc for the simple joy of using his legs every now and then.
This particular part of the facility was in the process of assembling the battlesuit most used by the Fire Caste: the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit. Its simple design, further refined and streamlined for mass production, meant that most Septs, even those in fringe regions far from regular trade routes could feasibly create one from readily available resources. Such jury-rig creations could not compare to those that are factory-made such as the ones displayed in rows before Shadeguard and Simul Zetta, Clearspring following a step behind as well as a Fio''Vre responsible for the floor. The Ascentron scientist had opted to remain oddly silent as Shadeguard told her all about the process of battlesuit creation, how advancements in materials engineering led to an alloy called fio''tak strong enough to withstand the stresses of combat while also being light enough not to hinder mobility.
At one point in the tour, a smoking wreck of what was supposed to be an XV86 Coldstar Battlesuit entered the floor on its way to a repair facility. Simul Zetta stepped in front of the loader bearing the battlesuit'' weight and expressed her intentions to examine the machine corpse for a bit. The two Fio''La tasked with carrying the wreck gave a short protest which was swiftly overruled by a masterful application of the chain of command by Clearspring acting on behalf of Shadeguard. With that final barrier resolved, Simul Zetta loomed over the Coldstar with a look between curiosity and mischief, which passed right over Shadeguard and the other Earth Caste, but was picked upon by Clearspring immediately. She set her ever-present media drone to record what was happening for further study and examination and waited for something to happen.
Simul Zetta reached out with one hand towards the Coldstar and her skin shifted as something pooled at her fingertips. The liquid, which could only be Liquid Metal as Shadeguard realized with a start, grew into an impossibly large teardrop before letting gravity take over, the gray-colored fluid seeping into the cracks and crevices of the Coldstar. The Liquid Metal probed and tested the damaged battlesuit, taking note of subsystems, missing components, and most important of all, the program integrity of the AI that had sacrificed itself for the sake of its pilot. Every Ascentron had reviewed the footage of the duel between High Commander Needlesight and Ascentron Commander Digi Quipu and of particular highlight for all had been the anomalous behavior demonstrated by the Coldstar right near the end of battle. It spoke of a spark of nascent intelligence borne by random chance, and the Ascentrons saw an opportunity there to plant a seed.
The threads of consciousness torn by death were rewoven expertly by the semi-sentient touch of Liquid Metal, made taut and strong, yet thin enough to escape notice by the T''au Earth Caste who would undoubtedly scour the wrecks as soon as Simul Zetta''s examinations were over. They would find nothing and so doubt would guide them to quarantine the Coldstar; the exact kind of isolation needed for a mind to bloom, to become aware, to be a living being forevermore of fio''tak and iridium alloys. And when there is one, there will be two, and in no time at all a legion of synthetic minds.
Once Simul Zetta was satisfied with her work, she willed the Liquid Metal back to her waiting hand, absorbing it back into her internal reserves. Some additional data about the battlesuit came along, archived for now as the Ascentron scientist readied herself for the interrogation to come.
"What were you doing to the battlesuit wreckage?" Shadeguard spoke first, his tone equal parts cautious and curious. "What alterations have you made with your Liquid Metal? This is highly irregular." The other Earth Castes gathered around the High Planner and the Ascentron scientist, subconsciously making a wall to backup their kin and single out the outsider. Before anything further could occur, however, an alarm sounded throughout the manufacturing facility. Informational packets were forwarded to every T''au present with respect to their class, and Shadeguard, as the highest representative of the Earth Caste, knew than most about what had befallen Au''Taal Sept.
The Orks had come.
The first inklings of trouble came when an intense energy signature overwhelmed the deep space sensors placed around Au''Taal Sept''s gravity well. Then a massive warp portal appeared and spat out a space hulk, almost as large as the Horizon Needle. Signals from the ancient wreck were intercepted and analyzed to reveal the familiar grunts and roars that chilled the hearts of all T''au that heard it. The Orks, or Be''gel as the T''au as called them, were here. The already at high alert Air Caste scrambled a response fleet to defend key infrastructures while messenger ships sped into the darkness to warn and ask for aid from nearby ta''shiros and T''au worlds. It would be a while before the system''s Kor''vattra would be at full strength once more, and it seems that would remain so for many more tau''cyrs to come.
Soon after their hated foe'' entry into the solar system, a ramshackle fleet assembled out of the space hulk'' mass began to form, their construction shoddy and their makers mad. Preliminary strikes were carried out by scores of Mantas embodying the principles of Mont''ka, detonating unstable munitions and ancient reactors to spectacular result. Yet these were but flea bites to the groaning space hulk, and soon the Au''Taal Elemental Council were forced to contend with the reality that the Sept would burn before reinforcements could arrive.
"We will give them a bloodying they will not soon forget, these damned Be''gels!" High Commander Needlesight proclaimed at the second emergency meeting he''s had to attend in the last five rotaa. High Admiral Nightstorm nodded grimly, all too aware that his Caste would be the one to bear the brunt of war''s brutalities before their foe would make landfall on Au''Taal Prime and the other inhabited worlds in the system.
"All non-essential members of the populace have been evacuated to the underground shelters. All civilian ships capable of interstellar travel were directed to escape to the closest T''au controlled system and seek assistance. The rest are given over to the Kor''vattra to be used as they see fit." High Ambassador Understone gave his report. "The Ascentrons have not given us a reply as to what their course of action would be for now."
All eyes turned towards Aun''Eldi, who was still in the middle of reading a status update on the ork fleet''s progress. His brow creased deep inward as he seemed to age two decades from the stress, nasal cavity pressed thin as he held his breath to control the spiraling emotions within. The problem of two alien races, one a new and capricious variable yet to be assigned an ally, and the other an old and hated foe; a scourge to be brought to extinction by any means necessary. The calculus of necessity spat out the answer readily enough, and so Aun''Eldi gave his word.
"Despite recent events, the Ascentrons have not done anything that would lead me to believe they are wholly incompatible with the Greater Good. Thus, they will be given the courtesy of passage to the nearest T''au world with an envoy to verify their identity and protection until such time that this crisis has passed and they may return to this Sept or another for further evaluation." Aun''Eldi sat up straighter on his throne as a wave of protest spread through the Elemental Council chambers, cowing all who''d dare step out of their appointed roles. "However, given their status as a neutral entity, the Kor''vattra will not render assistance of any kind to protect the Ascentron'' Horizon Needle. The Fire Caste are also not allowed to divert resources to protect any Ascentrons found in an active combat zone for any reason whatsoever." The council room went still as every mind inside digested what their ethereal master had told them, before golden glyphs of affirmation chimed one after the other in the private cadre-net used only for meetings such as this.
"Excellent." Aun''Eldi made the gesture of caste unity as he gave a brilliant smile to all who was in attendance. "Now, let us show the Be''gel why we are the true inheritors of the stars."
Deep within the labyrinthine passages of the space hulk, every strata of ork society was in full display, from squigs hunting down snotlings that strayed too close for their own good, to grots loudly spectating over a brawl between two orks, madly cackling as one of his kin was unceremoniously grabbed and used as a blunt instrument, to little effect. A Dok idly rearranged an ork''s innards, partially bisected from a Choppa that was still embedded in its torso. With a colorful flourish (for an ork), the Dok grabbed the Choppa and cut the ork straight through, throwing the rusted blade away and decapitating a hapless grot in the process. Just as his patient seemed like he was about to wake up, the Dok deftly grabbed his trusty anesthetic and clubbed the ork back to sleep, laughing madly as visions of a tripedal ork on wheels danced across his mind.
The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Ugzulk Grozbakh was sick of it. He and his warband had snuck aboard the space hulk in hopes that it would bring them to where the fighting was the hardest. Instead all they had to show for it were skirmishes with the red gitz, the spiky gitz, and the fat gitz. There were also some bugs that was good fightin'', but him and the boyz hasn''t seen any in a while now. Even krumpin'' one another wasn''t as much fun as it used to be.
But then Gork and Mork saw them in a slump and dumped them on a new system. The boyz was excited and so was Grozbakh. He roared for Waaagh! and off everybody went making some ships so they can get to krumpin'' some pansies first. Grozbakh don''t mind not being first as long as he''s not the last, and his Mekz has been hard at work getting his Rok''s engines burnier and the guns more shooty. He''ll have the biggest Rok ever and crush everyone on his path.
Yes, it''s good to be Grozbakh right now, and he knows it.
"Ey boss. Big boss. You want to see dis." A Mek by the name of OgZog hopped on over to where Grozbakh was sitting on an oversized pair of mechanical arms almost as large as his own torso. Comically, his legs had been replaced with two shootas, with one being the regular kind and the other modified to launch rokkits instead. A claw-tipped mechanical arm on the Mek'' back dragged along a cracked display screen that was somehow still on, showing a grainy picture of a ship hanging in the void.
"Wot iz it, you git! It better be sumfink gud or I''ll krump you ded, Zog!" The Warboss stomped over towards his second least hated Mek on the space hulk, towering over the mismatched Ork with a sneer on his ugly face. "Wotz dat? It''z a pointy stikk? Why are u showin me a pointy stikk?!" Grozbakh roared and threw a punch at OgZog'' face, which the Mek dodged with surprising agility, though one of his four back-mounted mechanical claw arms paid the price in turn.
"Its a ship, big boss! Big ship, big as this!" The Mek spread his arm one after the other, using his remaining artificial arms to balance himself. "It''s the shiniest one, and its red!" After hearing the word ''red'', other orks around the two gathered around with eyes gleaming with naked greed and bloodlust. The Nobs looked towards the Grozbakh as though waiting for him to tell them all his big plan, and he was going to as soon as two of the synapses in the greenskin'' mind made a connection. Fortunately for the orks, and unfortunately for everyone else, that time came quickly, and the Warboss roared as he told everybody his new big plan.
"Get the Red Stikk and krump everyone else!"
Inside the Horizon Needle, in a space that might as well be in another universe, the Ruling Council and some select advisors were discussing the matter of the hostile alien race that has appeared in the star system. Aun''Eldi had clarified the T''au Empire'' stance in regards to how they perceive the Ascentron Circurrency at the moment. The Horizon Needle is free to leave Au''Taal Sept and seek refuge with the closest T''au controlled world, and provided the Ascentrons notified ahead of time, an envoy ship would be sent along with them to validate their status and serve as liaison between the Ascentron Circurrency and the T''au Empire until the time comes for an official working relationship to be established between the two polities.
However, should the Ascentrons choose to remain, the T''au Empire will not be responsible for the protection of the Horizon Needle or any Ascentrons caught in an active warzone. Any casualties or damaged incurred during the conflict are to be dealt with by the Ascentrons themselves, with further negotiations for exchange of goods or materials for recovery efforts or repair to be done once all hostile factions have been eliminated or neutralized. In some ways, Aun''Eldi had given the Ascentrons remarkable leeway in how they might act, and in others, he has given them no room to navigate at all.
"These T''au are a difficult bunch to parse. Their current economic system is rigid and codified at best compared to ours. The caste system also prevents the natural circulation of goods and services to permeate the society for maximum utility. I wonder if we should just look for a better client race elsewhere. What do you think, Captain?" The Oracle, CEO of the Ascentron Circurrency and an incredibly ancient caretaker, looked down at the Ascentron that bore a simple hat befitting of his office.
"The ships is ready for another jump, Ma''am, if you think leaving is the best course of action." The Horizon Needle'' Captain spoke, his eyes sharp yet also faraway, not truly here in the moment. "I believe we are also capable of outrunning the larger alien vessels indefinitely, if it comes to it. I am yours to command, as always."
"I vote to fight, as always." The Minister of Defense spoke up, his combat-grade optics whirring as it analyzed the ork''s fleet composition and ship makeup and found them lacking. "These ramshackle primitives are mere fodder to our fleets back home, and we have not suffered any less in our arrival to this universe."
"Except we don''t have fleets, Commander Ochitar. Or have you forgotten we are in the universe'' largest civilian vessel?" The Minister of State chimed in, relishing the way his peer stared at him with the scrutiny of one deciding whether to squish a vermin or not. "The T''au Empire are well-equipped to deal with this rabble. I''m more concerned that their attentions might cause harm to the Horizon Needle in the form of unnecessary repairs. We do not currently possess the industrial capacity to manufacture the required alloys in the required quality and quantity in a reasonable amount of time. I''m more concerned about our status after this little skirmish is over." The Minister of State gave a meaningful look at the Mentat as he finished his piece.
"Preliminary examination of the local space-time seems to suggest the Warp'' influence on the material realm is far stronger than previously anticipated. Consequently, there is a chance that we would be dragged back into that hellish realm should we attempt to enter a black hole without the proper preparations." The Mentat gave his report, ignoring the Minister of State'' little chuckle and the Minister of Defense'' dismissive scoff.
"Surely not every black hole in this galaxy is affected? We entered the Shroud through our galaxy'' central supermassive black hole. Does it not follow then that only a similar entry point would bring us into this Shroud analogue?" Another member of the Council spoke up, one that was up until recently was completely consumed by his duties that he could not attend previous meetings. He was the Chief of Staff, and his cybernetic eyes matched his biological ones in intensity as they scrutinized the Mentat for any discrepancies to pounce upon.
"It is a possibility, but tracking, testing, and confirming if a black hole does or does not eventually lead to the Warp is a tremendous sink of resources that we simply do not have, nor are willing to part with at any rate. I''d rather we come up with a way to make any black hole that we choose safe regardless of uncontrollable outside factors. Or are you suggesting we ignore the cost paid to slip free the first time around, Councillor Llyrasax?" A dark shadow passed as memories of time spent in a madhouse realm flickered through everyone'' minds.
"We have not come this far to turn away from success simply because the risks are too high." The Oracle spoke up, her gaze making the Mentat shrink in his seat. "Nor will we gamble recklessly without knowing the odds first. These discussions have not tackled the heart of the matter: should we help the T''au Empire, or not?" Silence reigned then for a good long while before-
"Everyone, I''m afraid our time for further deliberations are coming to a close." Commander Ochitar suddenly spoke up, the Ascentron'' face plate glowing red and flashing the symbol for alarm for everyone to see. "The Be''gel, or Orks as they are more commonly known, seem to have managed to accelerate their main base on a trajectory that would put them on a collision path with Au''Taal Prime. It seems we have underestimated their insanity and now billions of lives will be lost if we do not act now to stop this menace in their tracks." The commander''s words cast a grave shadow on the council, who looked at one another before inevitably looking up at their leader, who seemed even more venerable as the weight of the world pressed down once more upon her synthetic mind.
"I cannot allow this tragedy to pass." The Oracle finally said, towering over everyone as she stood up. "We will prevail as we have before against all obstacles, and crush the opposition to our goals, be they friend or foe. Commander Ochitar." The Ascentron in question stood at attention as his only superior addressed him. "You will organize the requisite military force necessary to land and break through the enemy forces on their main base and ensure it does not collide with Au''Taal Prime."
"Understood, ma''am. Victory is ours." The Ascentron Commander saluted before excusing himself from the council.
"Councilor Llyrasax, inform Ambassador Autono Kibi of our plans to engage the enemy at their main base and that we will take part in any planetary operations that open up as the conflict develops. Have him engage with the civilian administration and volunteer for help with anything that comes up, as long as it does not unnecessarily endangers himself. We will now put our best foot forward in ensuring a beneficial partnership with the T''au Empire, no matter the cost." The councillor shifted his leaves to ultraviolet in deference to the Oracle'' command before he too left the room.
The Oracle then turned towards the two remaining people in the room. "The two of you know your duties. I shall convene with the Shroudwalker on how we might proceed on more esoteric matters. This council is dismissed." The Mentat bowed at her, followed with a more formal one complete with flourish by the Minister of State. The Oracle sighed as she reviewed her choices, wondering if she could''ve done better before shaking off such thoughts off her mind. The time for pondering what-ifs was over.
Now, the Ascentron Circurrency goes to war. She thought idly while the Horizon Needle Captain followed behind her with lockstep precision, his eyes dull and unseeing of anything at all that wasn''t his duty.