by Isaac Hooke
Healer:
Wound healing. Heals wounds on one subject. At higher levels, major wounds can be healed. Stamina drain: high. Note: requires physical contact with the subject.
Warmancer, hand-to-hand:
Light glove. Your hand becomes coated in a glove of white Essence, allowing you to punch through shields, hitting any armor beyond. Stamina drain: medium for short durations.
Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 3.
Distorter:
Distortion tunnel. Create a distortion tunnel to jump from one point to another. At higher levels, the range and size of the tunnel increase. Jump points must be within line of sight. Cannot be used as a weapon or breach tool: distortion tunnels will not open over solids such as bulkheads or human beings. Note: knowledge of this skill is not needed to operate a starship jump chamber, as the operator merely Siphons while the AI aboard the starship handles the actual creation. As such, Essence Jump Chamber Control is not considered a White Essence Skill. Stamina drain: high.
Shapist:
Public profile masking. Alter your public profile in realtime to fool customs and other officials. Stamina drain: low for short durations.
Speed boost. Momentarily boost your speed, or the speed of another. Stamina drain: low.
Warmancer, ranged:
Telekinesis. Remotely manipulate objects. Stamina drain: low to high, depending on range and size of object to be manipulated.
Warmancer, hand-to-hand:
Deflect. Deflect incoming works of pure Essence, including Essence Missiles. As an added bonus, starting at level three, it also deflects standard laser beams and plasma bolts. At still higher levels, it deflects explosions and shrapnel as well. Stamina drain: medium.
Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 4.
Distorter:
Distortion tunnel to beacon. Open a distortion tunnel to an object previously marked with a beacon. The range you can be away from the beacon increases at higher levels, or if Siphoning more Essence via Chrysalium. Only one object can be marked with a beacon at any given time. Stamina drain: medium to extremely high, depending on range to beacon.
Shapist:
Stamina transfer. Use to steal or transfer stamina to or from another. Range increases at higher skill levels. From levels 4 and above, can also be used to put subjects to sleep. Stamina increases upon a successful drain. Upon failure, stamina drain is medium.
Warmancer, hand-to-hand:
Disrupt Essence. Prevent an enemy from creating an Essencework for a short period of time. Must be next to the enemy at low levels. At higher levels, the range increases, as does the time period. Stamina drain: medium to high, depending on time period.
Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 5.
Shapist:
Reveal Surveillance. Allows the Essenceworker to search for hidden surveillance, tracking devices, or traps. At high levels, can be cast over a larger radius, and can penetrate the human body to search for trackers. Stamina drain: medium.
Warmancer, hand-to-hand:
Paralyze enemy. Momentarily paralyze an opponent. Stamina drain: medium.
Warmancer, ranged:
Forked Lightning. Sends multiple streams of energy at a group of foes. Range, damage, and number of foes targeted increases at higher levels. Energy shields offer no defense. Stamina drain: high.
Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 6.
Shapist:
Deactivate. Use to deactivate individual weapons, traps, and surveillance devices. At higher levels, can be used to safely destroy a tracker hidden inside a human body, and to disable robots. Stamina drain: varies depending on the size of the object to be deactivated. For something like a tracker embedded in a human body, the drain is tiny. For a full-sized robot, medium.
Warmancer, hand-to-hand:
Invisibility. Become invisible to enemies for short periods of time. At higher levels, that period increases. Note: you become visible during attacks. Stamina drain: medium.
Essenceworks available to White Siphoning, Level 7.
Distorter:
Create Beacon. Mark an object with a beacon. Once marked, the Essenceworker can open a tunnel to the immediate vicinity of that object. Only one object can be marked with a beacon by the Essenceworker at any given time. Stamina drain: extremely high.
Healer:
Mass wound healing. Heals wounds on multiple subjects. The higher the level, the more subjects healed, and the greater the healing effect. Physical contact with subjects is not required, but a healing bonus is applied to any subjects the Essenceworker physically touches. Stamina drain: extremely high.
Shapist:
Mass Deactivate. Use to deactivate multiple weapons and traps in a given area of effect. At higher levels, AOE increases, and the Essenceworker can selectively omit items to deactivate, allowing the weapons of one’s companions to remain unaffected. Stamina drain: extremely high.
Essence Imbuement. Imbue an object with the Essence, so that it grants the bearer extra abilities while equipped. More powerful imbuements are available at higher levels in this Branchwork. Stamina drain: extremely high (one-time cost during creation).
Warmancer, hand-to-hand:
Shove. Forces an enemy group away from the Essenceworker, regardless of whether they have energy shields. Area of effect, and actual shove distance increase with level. Stun upgrade available at level three—shoved enemies are stunned. Fire upgrade available at level six—shoved enemies are lit on fire. Hidden upgrade available at level ten. Stamina drain: medium to high.
Warmancer, ranged:
Mass Telekinesis. Remotely manipulate several objects. Stamina drain: high to very high, depending on range, size, and number of objects to be manipulated.
Tane noted that the healer Branchworks and warmancer hand-to-hand didn’t start until White Siphoning level two was reached, which he found interesting. It spoke to the complexity of the works involved.
“Wait, you told me that healer is a discipline?” Tane said. “There are only two healing works listed.”
“I know,” Jed said. “But those two Essenceworks take a long time to master.”
“Why do you need a different work for mass healing versus single person healing anyway?” Tane said. “Shouldn’t you just be able to heal more people when you get to a higher level in single person healing?”
“No,” Jed said. “A completely different Branchwork is required.”
“So by the time you get to level seven in Siphoning, if you want to learn mass healing, you essentially have to start over,” Tane said.
“Like I said, this is why healer is a discipline of its own,” Jed said. “It takes a lot of work. Or a lot of money.”
“I bet,” Tane said. “So you yourself are at least level six in White Siphoning, since you can become invisible. But you’re not level seven, are you? I never saw you ‘Shove’ anyone.”
Jed shrugged, saying nothing.
“But I saw Lyra do something similar,” Tane said. “When we were aboard the dweller ship during Sinive’s rescue, Lyra sent out a shockwave that shoved back a group of aliens, stunning them in the process. You told me Lyra was a ranged warmancer minoring in healer and distorter, and yet Shove is classified as a hand-to-hand work.”
“I did say she also has a couple of hand-to-hand Essenceworks,” Jed said. “Ranged warmancers need some defenses if too many enemies get close; relying on a beam hilt alone to dispatch close targets can be a dangerous gamble, especially if one is overwhelmed. And she won’t always have me fighting at her side…”
“I suppose so,” Tane said. “Though with all those Branchworks she knows, Lyra is coming dangerously close to crossing the line into generalist territory, don’t you think?”
“Maybe,” Jed said. “But she does have relatively high levels in those Branchworks she has chosen to dedicated herself to. Just as I do.”
“Okay, another thing,” Tane said. “Where’s Essence Sight
and White Essence Linking? Or Beam Hilt Control?”
“Those are considered Essence skills,” Jed said. “Not Branchworks, since you need merely Siphon the stellar wind of the Lumina to achieve them, whereas Essenceworks require growing and coaxing the Essence into a frozen tree of light.”
Tane reviewed the list a second time.
“So that’s all there is…” Tane said. “Feels like some of the mystery is lost, now that I know what’s out there.”
“This is by no means an exhaustive list,” Jed said. “There are other works available. Not all Essenceworkers are willing to share their Branchwork discoveries with the general public, you understand. But this is what you’ll find available for purchase at most reputable Peddler of the Esoteric shops.”
“Do you have any works not on the list?” Tane asked.
Jed smiled knowingly. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“Well, thanks for the basic list anyway,” Tane said. “At least it’s something to look forward to. When I get the money.”
“If you come train with Lyra and myself, we’ll teach you all the works you want for free,” Jed said. “Plus a few not on the list.”
“At the cost of several years of my life,” Tane said.
Jed frowned. “Not necessarily. I’m not speaking for Lyra, mind you, but I have some money locked up in investments, which will be coming free soon. I don’t mind giving some of it to you, so that we can accelerate the learning process. Those not on the list you’ll still have to learn from us directly of course. Assuming you choose to come with us.”
“Oh, so I have a choice now, do I?” Tane asked.
“You always did,” Jed said. “Though Lyra likes to make it seem like you don’t, you do. We won’t stop you if you want to part ways. We’ll disapprove, obviously, but we’ll let you go.”
“Interesting,” Tane said. He shifted to one side and noticed the pouch sitting on the stand beside his bed. He took it, accessed the remote interface, and confirmed that nothing had been stolen. Well, other than the beacon stone Lyra had given him, which was nowhere to be found. She had obviously taken it back.
His suit was there, the various assemblies bundled together with a cord, the fabric repaired, its oxygen tanks refilled, just as Lyra had promised.
He was also pleased to see that the Chrysalium Star Rings she had loaned him were also inside, and similarly bound with cord. Unbound, each ring would have used up one slot each. Such was the odd nature of storage devices: each slot was capable of holding an object with a volume up to three cubic meters, and yet something like a tiny ring took up an entire slot if it wasn’t tied together with other objects.
He retrieved the rings, removed the binding cord, and slid them onto his fingers one at a time. He dismissed the HUD notifications regarding the Intelligence and Endurance bonuses—the latter bonuses made him feel much better, by the way—and then he grabbed Lyra’s Nova bracelet from the pouch. He slid it on over his right wrist and read the notification that appeared on his HUD.
Essence-Imbued bonuses: 5% bonus to learning. 5% bonus to Chrysalium Siphoning.
Chrysalium bonus: +1 Intelligence while equipped.
He grabbed the gauntlets from the storage device and slid them on next. They fit over the rings, and on the left arm, over the bottom portion of the bracelet. His armor rating went up to five. He tried the resize feature, and shrunk the gauntlets down so that they were little more than skin-tight gloves. The bulge of the bracelet and the rings was readily visible, and at that setting the armor bonus dropped to a single point. He decided to keep them on, since at the current thickness they weren’t unwieldy at all.
He couldn’t wear the chest assembly yet of course, so he left that in the pouch.
With those Endurance bonuses, Tane decided he didn’t have to wait around in sickbay any longer. It was time to pay a visit to Lyra.
He got up and made his way to the exit. He paused to glance at Jed.
“Coming?” Tane asked.
Jed shook his head. “I think I could use a longer rest. Go ahead. Lyra will update me later.”
Tane nodded, and headed into the passageway outside. Lyra was waiting in the cockpit, according to his overhead map.
Grizz didn’t shut the breach seals along the way, which was somewhat nice. It certainly allowed Tane to reach the cockpit a lot faster.
When he got there, he found Lyra and Positron in the free chairs next to Nebb. The overhead map showed that Sinive was in her quarters. Resting, obviously.
“I don’t suppose I can convince anyone to give up their chairs?” Tane asked.
“Ha!” Positron said. “The human tells jokes.”
Lyra started to get up, but Tane waved her back down. “You need to rest up for the jump later. But I appreciate the gesture. You’re the only gentleman here. And you’re not even a man.”
“Some might disagree with you,” Nebb quipped.
Lyra scowled at the smuggler. When she looked at Tane, her expression softened.
“How are you feeling?” Lyra asked.
“Well enough,” Tane replied. He leaned against the bulkhead and glanced at the robot. “So when did the Red Grizzly have time to pick up Positron? Last I remember, we left him on Remus…”
“The crew restored him from a backup,” Lyra said.
Positron looked at Tane and the digital eyebrows on his animated display knit together in a scowl.
“Nice,” Tane said, turning toward Nebb. “I didn’t know you had a spare Scepter with an empty AI core sitting aboard.”
“The TSN gave it to me for free,” Nebb said.
“Really,” Tane said. “Free.”
“Yup,” Nebb said. “After I divulged everything I knew about you to them.”
“Gee, thanks,” Tane said.
Nebb shrugged. “You lost my robot. I needed a new one. Don’t worry, I made up mostly everything I told them.”
“And I’m assuming you checked to make sure they didn’t install any logic bombs or the like in the robot?” Tane asked.
Nebb chuckled. “Nope. Why would I do that? I overwrote the whole friggin’ AI core with Positron’s backup.”
Positron was still scowling with that animated display, those eyes and brows forming an obvious V shape.
“They even included the animated visor,” Tane said.
“That was Sinive,” Nebb said. “She reassigned one of the 3D printers as soon as she found out he didn’t have a visor. It finished printing a little while ago, and now we have the old Positron back. Good as new.”
Nebb patted Positron hard on the shoulder, and the robot’s scowl deepened. Nebb couldn’t see it, of course, since the robot was facing Tane.
“Interesting,” Tane said.
“We just entered orbit, by the way,” Nebb said.
Tane nodded. He realized he could feel the White Essence again, truly feel it: a cold hurricane gusting violently beyond the edges of perception. Not like the gentle breeze he had barely sensed while floating through deep space. He glanced at his arms, and saw that the translucent threads of the Dark emerging from his joints were far more substantial as well.
He glanced at Lyra. “We need to talk.”
Her eyes momentarily defocused, and Tane thought she was either accessing something on her chip, or Siphoning.
“I’ve raised an Essence field around us,” Lyra said. “Positron, Grizz, and Nebb won’t be able to hear a word we say.”
“There you go again, calling it an Essence field,” Tane said. “Don’t you mean Silence Cage?”
Lyra smiled tightly. “I see Jed has shared the list of publicly available Essenceworks with you?”
“You don’t approve?” Tane asked.
She cocked her head slightly. “I do. But I would have preferred he allow me the privilege.”
“Oh I see,” Tane said. “That way you could dangle it as a carrot, is that it? You know, part of your ploy to convince me to stay with you and train.”
&nb
sp; Lyra didn’t answer.
Motion drew his eye to Nebb, who was moving his mouth and looking directly at Tane, but no sounds came from the man. He seemed slightly miffed.
“It works both ways,” Lyra said, noticing Tane’s gaze on the man. “We can’t hear them, either. So anyway, you said you had another way to return to our universe besides the Anteres Rift?”
Tane nodded.
“Well if there’s an easy way out of the Umbra, of course we have to take it,” Lyra said. “Unless you’re suggesting we return to 57A to seek out the dark lens that teleported you and Sinive back to our universe the last time you were there.”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” Tane said.
Lyra shook her head. “If that lens was what I think it was, then it won’t be present when we return. That teleportation was a one-time effect, a stored Essencework that triggered when you touched the lens, using up all the Essence secured inside of it to take you and Sinive across dimensions. And since it existed only in this universe, it won’t reset like everything else on the surface of 57A.”
The lens on 57A was different from the dark artifact Tane had found on Remus, an artifact he was able to bring with him to Anteres to help destroy the dweller fleet. That artifact was an object made of Darcanium, while the lens on 57A was purely a Dark Essence reservoir. And from his memories, he knew Lyra was right: the lens on 57A would no longer be there.