“Isn’t it obvious?” Witchlan said. “I’m crushing you. I’m going to do it slowly so perhaps you can begin to get a bit of a feel for what Mont Cranden experienced in reverse. If you think I am incapable. . . well, I’m not ashamed to accept a little help now and again.
“Mr. Holson, in light of Mr. Abanastar’s absence, if you would be so kind as to lend me your mastery of Approaching Infinity, I would be most grateful.”
“Of course, Minister.”
“No!” Karr cried. “Don’t you realize how he’s tricked you? Your name isn’t Jav Holson. You are no product of this Empire. You are his puppet. The sickening Artifact you’ve welcomed into your body is an abomination above all others, a cosmic insult, an obscene parody. Can’t you see? Everything you are now is a contradiction to what you could have been, what you can be still. Do not aid this parasite god. Help me and I will show you your true potential.”
Jav stared at the abstract shape Karr had become, the words seeming sincere, like those of a man genuinely trying to reach out for both their sakes, but all Jav could see was Ren Fauer on his hands and knees, headless. For a Shade, death was commonplace, but rarely was it so personal. He had lost Gast Froster and Kimbal Furst to the Gun Golems, had been forced to kill Olander Karza himself, and finally, lost Ren to this alien god’s inheritor. Of course many more were dead and needlessly so, but his best friend’s killer, the orchestrator of all the terrible things that had plagued them for the last several months, was before him right now and Jav had the means to remedy that permanently.
Opposite Witchlan and with Karr between them, Jav stretched his hands out and became a mirror image of the Minister of Affairs. Then Witchlan’s hands began to move, almost involuntarily at first until he realized what Jav was doing. As Karr was rolled between the Prisma Shields, shifting to a vertical arrangement, two pairs of hands assumed the form of the Kaiser Claw. Jav began the geometric sequence, setting into motion the reducing field, which he projected out onto the image between his hands so that it enveloped Karr. Karr cried out as the surrounding forces began to close in.
Jav worked his calculations, his whole body shaking with effort due to the sheer volume of Gun Golem steel and Karr’s will behind it, but this was taking fractions of seconds, and Jav would not be prevented from finishing what he started. The overlap between the Prisma Shields, much tighter now, was a wineglass filled with mercury, producing a constant wail that spiked to a shriek as Jav exceeded infinity. A million pin pricks stabbed at Jav’s brain as his hands twisted, his right hand shooting out over his left, and he sucked in a savage breath of air as if finally surfacing from an imprisoning pool, just as he had done countless times before with his first attempts at AI as a student on planet 1287. The space between the Prisma Shields shattered, creating a small, white explosion that momentarily obliterated all sensory input and spread a uniform layer of finely granulated Gun Golem steel in all directions.
Witchlan’s third incarnation was reduced first to a driftwood frame, a weak silhouette against the white flash, then to nothing.
Doused by the acid spray, Jav threw his head back, assailed in that instant by a sound that he alone could hear. One hundred voices as one voice cried out in victory or in protest and threatened to shatter his sanity. Smoke rose in rabid, living streams from the Kaiser Bones, and he collapsed, dropping through what remained of the floor as the war room, whatever wasn’t made of plastic or steel, disintegrated around him. And then everything that was made of plastic or steel followed after as the room lost all remaining structure.
A flickering holographic screen hovered in the shimmering Prisma Shield that once enclosed the war room but which now seemed to float without purpose in a dark, empty cavity, forgotten somewhere within the Root Palace. “Minister Witchlan!” Gilf Scanlan called, his image breaking up and reassembling upon the screen. “Specialist Holson! Can anyone hear me?”
“I can hear you, Director Scanlan.” It was Witchlan’s voice, or perhaps a variation of it. A reddish figure which followed Witchlan’s general outline observed the Prisma Shield from below. Scattered about him were the slumped-over, still forms of the fallen Shades.
24. SARSA
10,689.121.0900
The war room was still under construction, demarcated by indurate strands of vine fiber and exposed to the dark interstitial space beyond. Witchlan, his greens replaced by russet and orange, stood under the light of numerous holographic screens at the head of the room before six Shades, all in various stages of health and recovery.
Both Vays and Barson were wrapped in heavy bandages. Vays held a tentative hand to his throat and the wet stain on Barson’s chest glistened in the uneven light with his every heaving cough.
“Mr. Holson,” Witchlan said, “your normally pale complexion has finally started to reassert itself, I see. How do you feel? Did the burn do any permanent damage?”
“No, sir, none that I’m aware of,” Jav said. His sentence hung, though, as if unfinished.
“But?”
“There’s a. . . a sound.”
“A sound?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing, sir.”
Witchlan nodded and let out a sigh. “Once more we have been reduced. Some of you are still a ways away from full recovery. Our Grans are ruined with no chance of repair until after planetfall, communications with the rest of the Empire, too, cannot even be considered until after planetfall. This puts us at something of a disadvantage. But there is good news for a change. We have just concluded communications with Raus Kapler, the regent of our destination planet, Planet Sarsa.”
Though silent, everyone cocked their heads in confusion. No one had ever heard the Minister of Affairs refer to potential or existing property of the Empire by anything other than a number.
“It is unusual but not unheard of. We have made a deal with Raus Kapler. While becoming Planet 1401 of the Viscain Empire, Sarsa will also retain its original name. It will be held in escrow, to be returned to Kapler after a suitable term of service to the Empire has been completed.
“In ten days, the Stitch Drive will disengage to allow us our approach to Sarsa. Mr. Holson, after preparations have been completed, you will go ahead by Tether Launch to confirm landing conditions and report back.”
“Yes, Minister,” Jav said.
“Mr. Kalkin,” Witchlan said, “you will stand by in reserve should Mr. Holson need any assistance.”
“Yes, sir,” Kalkin said.
“Normally, such precautions are unwarranted, but in our current state it would be terribly unwise to land without being certain of local hostilities or defenses that might await us. All indications are that Kapler and his family would have been the only threat to us, and if so no real threat. Their civilization is on the verge of extinction anyway. Even from here, we can see that the only power and technological facilities of any note are under Kapler’s direct control. Kapler has sworn fealty to the Viscain Empire, and we have no reason to doubt his word. Not because he is regent, but because he is very much in need of our aid.
“We are thirty days away from planetfall. You have all been assigned secondary duties to aid in preparation for landing. Let us all do our best to ensure a safe arrival and the continued success of our great Empire.”
“Yes, sir,” all shouted in concert.
“That is all.”
To Be Continued. . .
SHADE DOSSIERS
Lor Kalkin
First Specialist, Death Squad
* * *
Category: Psychic
Discipline: Cancer
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Gravity Rank: 25
RPP: 1,875
RMP: 5,300
Birthdate: 10,475.253
Artifact: Contamination Pump
Artifact Rank: 22
Dark RPP: 41,250
Dark RMP: 116,600
Active Dates: 10,500-Current
Residence: Root Palace
When Dark wit
h the Contamination Pump, Lor Kalkin becomes a giant, sickly-purple walking cancer, increasing to 3 meters in height and 3 meters across at the shoulders. He is surprisingly agile for his bulk, however, and is able to direct his potent psychic power to instill rot through unnatural growth by touch or up to a range of 20 meters. His innate discipline enables him to regenerate tissue at an already fantastic rate, but with the aid of the Contamination Pump, he is, perhaps, physically immortal, able to reconstitute himself from significant loss of body mass.
Jav Holson
Specialist, Death Squad
* * *
Category: F-Gene Fighter, Superior Grade
Discipline: 18 Heavenly Claws
Height: 172 cm
Weight: 73 kg
Gravity Rank: 25
RPP: 1,825
RMP: 500
Birthdate: ??,???.???
Artifact: Kaiser Bones
Artifact Rank: 20
Dark RPP: 36,500
Dark RMP: 10,000
Active Dates: 10,682.031-Current (replaced Karlan Farsal)
Residence: Root Palace
Jav was the Block 2 champion at the 10,688 Artifact Competition. He won the Kaiser Bones, and thus replaced the ailing Ritual Mask and removed the imminent death sentence that came along with it.
While Dark with the Kaiser Bones, Jav looks like a stylized skeleton, with the actual bones providing excellent protection. The space between the bones is inky black that seems like animate “nothing” and offers somewhat less protection. Besides the standard augmentation, the Bones enable Jav to animate and control up to 20,000 skeletons, making them rise from their graves and fight on his behalf. He can sense bone matter, “feeling” it as well as “seeing” it through earth or flesh and blood. The Bones also make Jav exceptionally resilient in that they respond quickly to physical damage, rebuilding and restoring tissue at a fantastic rate.
Forbis Vays
Specialist, Death Squad
* * *
Category: F-Gene Fighter / Psychic
Discipline: Single Element Ghost Sword / 20% Physical Augmentation
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Gravity Rank: 25
RPP: 2,000
RMP: 1,000
Birthdate: 10,663.015
Artifact: Titan Star
Artifact Rank: 22
Dark RPP: 44,000
Dark RMP: 22,000
Active Dates: 10,688-Current
Residence: Root Palace
While Dark, Forbis Vays is clad in a gleaming suit of angular armor that will conform, to some degree, to his will to temporarily adapt to circumstances. Along with its excellent defensive properties, the Titan Star also provides a potent weapon, the Titan Saber, which is housed within the helmet, its hilt forming the distinctive horn rising up from the forehead.
When Vays invokes his psychic ability to augment his physical characteristics by an additional 20%, his armor undergoes a physical change in order to release the power.
When sufficiently enraged while Dark, Vays gains access to the Grudge Star, a devastating attack that crucifies his opponents and subjects them to six explosions, the intensity of which are determined by a combination of the degree of his indignation and his composure in the face of that indignation.
Elza Steinz
Specialist, Death Squad
* * *
Category: Psychic
Discipline: Telekinesis
Height: 162 cm
Weight: 56 kg
Gravity Rank: 10
RPP: 560
RMP: 4,900
Birthdate: 10,664.227
Artifact: Crush Box
Artifact Rank: 18
Dark RPP: 88,200
Dark RMP: 88,200
Active Dates: 10,688 (killed 10,688)
Residence: Root Palace
When Dark with the Crush Box, Elza becomes a 40-meter tall giant of crackling yellow energy. In this state, her Dark RMP also serves as her as her Dark RPP. She is able to move at will through three dimensional space, unaffected by all but the most intense gravitational forces.
Laedra Hol
First Specialist, Triangle Squad, Retired
* * *
Category: F-Gene Fighter, Superior Grade
Discipline: 18 Heavenly Claws
Height: 166 cm
Weight: 50 kg
Gravity Rank: 30
RPP: 1,500
RMP: 100
Birthdate: 9,962.302
Artifact: Charging Fork
Artifact Rank: 18 (36)
Dark RPP: 27,000 (54,000)
Dark RMP: 1,800 (3,600)
Active Dates: 10,000-10,500
Residence: Planet 1287
The Charging Fork, which sprouts from Laedra Hol’s forehead when she goes Dark, enables her to concentrate on discrete characteristics and power them to extraordinary levels. She typically uses the Fork to substantially increase her grip strength when performing her signature technique, the Sky Fisher Claw, but she can focus the power to enhance her speed, endurance, physical resilience, her Raw Mental Power, etc.
Kimbal Furst
Specialist, Triangle Squad, Retired
* * *
Category: F-Gene Fighter
Discipline: Rush Hands
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 76 kg
Gravity Rank: 25
RPP: 1,900
RMP: 100
Birthdate: 9,973.127
Artifact: Taikou Quills
Artifact Rank: 22
Dark RPP: 41,800
Dark RMP: 2,200
Active Dates: 10,000-10,500 (killed 10,688)
Residence: Planet 1305
When Dark, Kimbal Furst becomes a self-sustained nuclear reaction in the form of an anthropomorphic phoenix. His martial training includes Approaching Infinity theory, which he exploits for completely unfettered, free movement.
Cov Merasec
Specialist, Triangle Squad, Retired
* * *
Category: F-Gene Fighter
Discipline: Wind Fission Sickles
Height: 192 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Gravity Rank: 24
RPP: 1,920
RMP: 100
Birthdate: 9,966.103
Artifact: Fugue Inducer
Artifact Rank: 18
Dark RPP: 34,560
Dark RMP: 1,800
Active Dates: 10,011.211-10,500 (replaced Jav Corso)
Residence: Planet 1251
When Dark, Cov Merasec is covered in thin interlocking, glossy black flexible plates, topped with a cubist’s crude interpretation of a crow’s head. Invoking the Fugue Inducer enables him to supplement his signature Copy Twin technique, developed from Approaching Infinity theory, to unimaginable levels, becoming a one-man army of up to 1,800 strong. Cov suffers no ill effects at the death of any of his Fugue Army, and in fact, can effect a sort of serial immortality, as long as just one, even if not the original, remains alive.
Wheeler Barson
First General, 20th Generation
* * *
Category: F-Gene Fighter / Psychic
Discipline: 9 Order Fist / Gravity Sense & Control
Height: 221 cm
Weight: 110 kg
Gravity Rank: 25
RPP: 2,750
RMP: 2,900
Birthdate: 10,322.106
Artifact: Gravity Spike
Artifact Rank: 22
Dark RPP: 60,500
Dark RMP: 63,800
Active Dates: 10,350-Current
Residence: Root Palace
The Gravity Spike is visible when Barson is Dark, and he appears as an anthropomorphic black unicorn. While Dark, the black of his body seems to possess depth and has been observed to cause vertigo in some.
The combination of his abilities, as both an F-Gene Fighter and a psychic, make him one of the strongest Shades the Empire has ever known. His Singularity Punch, though inexplicable to
even the most advanced science, does exactly what people say it does, producing a microscopic black hole that can be banished immediately by Barson’s will.
Mefis Abanastar
General, 20th Generation
* * *
Category: Psychic
Discipline: Concentration, 9 Order Fist
Height: 145 cm
Weight: 38 kg
Gravity Rank: 25
RPP: 760
RMP: 5,000
Birthdate: 10,327.255
Artifact: Focusing Lens
Artifact Rank: 18 (36)
Dark RPP: 13,680 (27,360)
Dark RMP: 90,000 (180,000)
Active Dates: 10,350-Current
Residence: Root Palace
It may be that Mefis Abanastar is constantly in his Darkened state. His face is always covered and completely obscured by the Focusing Lens. He is darkly clad, literally from head to toe. Besides the Emperor, no one alive knows what Abanastar looks like or what color his hair is.
The Focusing Lens allows Abanastar to augment just about anything, ranging from the physical to the abstract, through an arrangement of lenses which he is able to produce.
Though Abanastar isn’t an F-Gene Fighter, he has intermediate mastery of the 9 Order Fist, which has served as an invaluable aid in developing his powers of concentration.
Tia Winn
General, 20th Generation
* * *
Category: Psychic
Discipline: Dream Control
Height: 215 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Gravity Rank: 10
RPP: 800
RMP: 4,000
Birthdate: 10,326.192
Artifact: Keepsake Cameo
The Gun Golems (Approaching Infinity Book 2) Page 24