by Aer-ki Jyr
“It’s called Fornax,” Tyrenk repeated.
“For…nax,” Esna said, trying to mentally log the simple word that didn’t want to stick.
“Be careful where you experiment with it,” the medtech warned. “Archons have an immunity to it. The rest of us don’t.”
“Partial immunity,” Tyrenk corrected him. “It still has some effect on me. I’ll train you how to use it, but right now your energy is mostly depleted. You couldn’t release that big of a discharge again if you wanted to. Your reservoir has to recharge.”
“So I don’t have to…” Esna asked, mentally relaxing as the button in her mind suddenly pressed and everyone in the room stumbled…but only one of the medtechs fell this time.
“Sorry,” Esna said, mentally kicking herself as she clamped down again.
“Now you’re empty,” Tyrenk said. “Go ahead and try again. Seriously.”
“No. I’ve caused enough trouble.”
“No really, try. I dare you.”
“Dare?”
“Just do it, pipsqueak.”
Esna cringed, then not only mentally relaxed but sought out the ‘button’ in her mind and pressed it as her face scrunched up in worry…but other than a slight twitch in the closest medic, nothing happened.
“See? Now relax. It’ll take a while before you can knock someone down again,” he said, waving her away from the medical chamber. “I assume we’re all done here, or do you need some specialized scans?”
“I’ll review what we’ve got and get back to you if anything else is required.”
“Let’s go then,” he said, grabbing Esna by the shoulder and steering her towards the other side of the room where the exit was. He didn’t say anything else until they were out in the hallway and well away from the med bay, then his voice entered her mind.
You’ve progressed farther than them now, Esna, and you have to start thinking of things differently. You now have the power to hurt people, a lot, and it’s your responsibility to make sure you don’t, and that you use your power for constructive purposes. We’ll find you some willing targets to practice on later, but right now I need you to understand that you’re no longer Human. You are, but you aren’t, and you need to start wrapping your mind around that fact. You’re not an Archon, you’re somewhere in between and that is something very rare in Star Force. Those few that possess it earn it through training, but you acquired it through another means. There’s not much of a playbook on how to proceed, so you’re going to have to learn as you go and create your own little niche in the empire.
Why aren’t you talking out loud? she thought back to him, but he didn’t respond and they kept walking until she remembered the mental block. Esna took his hand in hers then thought the same thing again.
I don’t want others overhearing. Fornax is something they can’t defend against well. Some Commandos have trained themselves to become somewhat resistant, but they can’t block it. If people knew how powerful we really were, and what we could do if we wanted to, they’d be scared out of their minds. They’re not because they trust us and because they don’t know the full extent of our power. You are not an Archon, so that trust isn’t there for you. Learn to control this quickly and keep it a secret, otherwise you’ll find your presence is going to be disruptive wherever you go.
Tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it.
First we need to get you some isolated quarters so you won’t be messing with people when you sleep and accidentally discharge. I could get an inhibitor made for you, but we’re not doing that. You’re going to learn to master this without technological help. If you can’t, then you don’t deserve it.
“Come on,” Tyrenk said out loud. “With all the alterations they made to you, I bet they had to chew into your reserves. Let’s get something to eat.”
“Yeah,” she said, finally noticing how empty her stomach was, “but does it have to be in a cafeteria. I don’t want to knock more people down.”
“Suck it up, cupcake. We’re facing this head on.”
Esna groaned, but didn’t disagree further.
“However, if you feel your control slipping, grab hold of my skin. Not my clothing, but my skin. I can control you that way and keep you from discharging if needed.”
“Good,” Esna said, relieved, as she continued to walk hand in hand with him until he pried her grip loose.
“But for now, you’re on your own,” he said as they came up to a large door blocking the corridor ahead of them. “This way,” he said, pointing them to the right. “We’ll have to take a detour. There’s battle damage on the other side.”
“Where are we anyway?”
“A Warship-class jumpship.”
“A warship? Really?”
“Headed away from battle for repairs.”
“How badly damaged is it,” she said, glancing back at the huge blast door.
“She took a few gut punches, but is mostly operational. A bit slow though. Several gravity drives were destroyed. We’re headed towards a mobile shipyard to make some quick repairs, then these ships will either head back to the fight or stick around for a full rebuild.”
“We’re leaving the Devastation Zone then? How long will that take?”
“No, we’re going to a rendezvous point a few systems away.”
“Another secret base?”
“Not exactly a base, but it is a secret. Something that doesn’t even exist in any Star Force database in case the V’kit’no’sat ever broke in.”
“And you can’t tell me?”
“If I can trust you with Fornax then I can trust you with this, but it’s a secret you have to keep and not discuss with any non-Archon.”
“I won’t. Where are we going?”
“Ghostblade,” Tyrenk said ominously. “The Clan that doesn’t exist.”
10
October 9, 4812
Harver System (Devastation Zone)
Asteroid Belt
The eight Warship-class jumpships entered the empty system one at a time as they came out of their deceleration jumps then transitioned around the two stars at system center to get on a jumpline for a large asteroid belt in the outer zone. It wasn’t until they got there that they began to pick up the faint signals from the Star Force ships moving about mining the ore and feeding it back into larger processor ships…all of which were sensor stealthed to reduce their range of detection.
But those ships, all of which were smaller than the warship Esna now rode on, paled in comparison to the two super-ships that sat behind dense clusters of asteroids. One was a thick brick of a design while the other was a spindly mess of pieces that Esna couldn’t make out. It didn’t even look like much of a ship until they got closer and saw that the central pieces weren’t spindly, but rather miles thick.
“It’s a mobile shipyard,” Tyrenk told her as they watched from an observation gallery that was on ‘top’ of the ship, though in reality it was deep inside the hull and only made to look like they were standing on top of the warship via holograms. Esna could see the armored plates beneath her feet, the stars overhead and all around her when visible through scattered asteroids, and even the pair of glowing orbs behind them that were the distant suns, but it was the shipyard in front of them that was growing larger and larger as they approached. “We can make repairs here.”
“A full rebuild?”
“Depends how they’re set up, but Ghostblade doesn’t like to sit in one spot for too long and that shipyard can’t haul us along with it. Those arms retract when not in use, and right now it’s very vulnerable to attack. Our ships are most likely going to get patched up then move on, so they can as well.”
“Were are they going?”
“Nowhere in particular. They roam the stars, harvesting resources as they go. They have no planets, no territory to defend, no younglings to raise. They’re a fully mobilized Clan that doesn’t have anything to defend, and they’ve been ambushing V’kit’no’sat ships since the war began.”
“When we get to pick the battlefield we usually win. It’s when the V’kit’no’sat choose to hit us that we are in trouble…and when we have a planet to defend, they get to choose when to attack. Ghostblade doesn’t have that weakness.”
“So why aren’t all the Clans the same way?”
“Because there are disadvantages too. Ghostblade doesn’t have the industrial might the other Clans do. Instead they’re supported by the other Clans to some point, but nothing that can be traced. All Ghostblade members are technically assigned to other Clans, so in records the Clan doesn’t exist. As for their ships, they build them all out here on their own. Even I don’t know how many they have.”
“Do they have a leader?” Esna asked, referring to the fact that the original 100 Clans were founded by a trailblazer each, though there were some spawned demi-Clans that had come off of Clan Ninja Monkey, but they all took orders from trailblazer Morgan-063.
“They do, but she’s not a trailblazer…exactly. She’s a second gen Archon known as the ‘Queen of Diamonds.’”
“Queen?”
“It’s a nickname. Her real name is Kara-317.”
“What’s special about her…other than being an Archon, I mean.”
“Oh there’s something, but that’s something you don’t need to know yet. I doubt she’s here. Ghostblade has a large fleet spread out all over the place in little pieces so that if one group gets caught it won’t destroy the Clan.”
“Wow,” Esna said as they got closer and she realized just how far away they still were. “How big is this thing?”
“When stretched out like this, several hundred miles wide. We’ll slide into one of the gaps near a main strand, then smaller ones will wrap around to provide access points for the repair crew.”
“How long will we be here?”
“I don’t know. Days at least, maybe weeks. When we dock I’m going onboard and you’re coming with me.”
“Ok. Is there something I need to do?”
“You’re sticking with me until I can get you out of the Devastation Zone. Where I go, you go.”
“And where are you going?”
“To see if we can hitch a ride with Ghostblade…”
Esna traveled over to the shipyard via a very short dropship flight, landing on a deck that was mostly empty but as she and Tyrenk walked across the bay a few personnel began to be seen. They were wearing standard Star Force uniforms, but they were mostly white with purple trim in a pattern she’d never seen before. Two were Kiritas, another one Human, then when they got further into the shipyard they found a lot of Bsidd and a scattering of other races.
Following Tyrenk closely so not to get lost, Esna wove her way through unfamiliar corridors until they came to a lift car that took them rapidly through the miles of interior decks until they arrived at the control center. When Esna walked in she immediately felt out of place, with people all around at workstations and holograms that obviously outclassed her, but Tyrenk didn’t even hesitate, striding out amongst them and Esna stayed in step just behind him, feeling like she was going to get in trouble if she was found her by herself.
Why that was she couldn’t explain, it was just a feeling that unnerved her enough that she hopped a step forward and grabbed Tyrenk’s hand as she felt her mental fortitude slipping. His mind immediately reinforced hers, keeping her Fornax button safely unpressed. Right now, with all these people around working furiously, would be a horrible time to have a slip and she really didn’t understand why Tyrenk had brought her to such a congested place.
“Got yourself a girlfriend?” a Protovic asked when she turned around in a swivel chair to look at the Archon.
“Jealous much?”
“Always,” she said, looking at Esna and sizing her up. “Who’s the newb?”
“My ward, at the moment, and she’s having trouble containing her new psionic so I’m helping her stabilize.”
“Psionic?”
“She developed it spontaneously.”
“An anomaly?” she asked, standing up and walking closer. The Protovic was just a hair taller than Esna, but her face and hands were glowing so brightly that it made her persona seem bigger than even the Archon.
“Yes.”
“Now that’s rare as hell. Which one did you get?”
Esna realized she was asking her. “Fornax.”
“Oh. Well then, by all means, keep holding hands. Don’t want that going off around me.”
“No?” Tyrenk said, just before the Protovic stumbled and half fell to the ground before catching her balance.
“You Human bastard,” she snarled, but she stood up smiling. “I hate it when you do that.”
“That’s why I do it,” he said offhand. “I need a favor.”
“What kind?”
“A ride out of here. I need to get her back behind the front.”
“What’s she doing out here in the first place?”
“She was recovered from a destroyed world. She didn’t originate within Star Force.”
“Recovered?” the Protovic asked, blinking eyelids that glowed as much as her eyes, though in a different color. “You are a rare one, aren’t you? What’s your name?”
“Esna.”
“I’m Reana, a very old friend of your new buddy there, though I could never get him to hold my hand,” she said, giving him an annoyed glance. “Where did you come from?”
“Forso…I mean, Mace. I was abandoned there with my brother after my father died. I don’t remember where we came from before that.”
“Interesting. Surprising, actually. We’ve been looking for anyone the Viks had missed. How’d he find you?”
“He didn’t. We were both in a Star Force base when it got attacked, and he kept us alive until we got away.”
“Typical Archon,” Reana said with a note of respect.
“I noticed a couple hulks,” Tyrenk said, changing the subject.
“Yeah, we made a couple kills. Recycling them now, though they have made a few modifications we’re cataloging.”
“I’ve got something else for you to work on. Something the V’kit’no’sat didn’t want us to get our hands on. They smashed it up enough that my techs can’t make much out of it, but I brought the pieces.”
“How big?”
“Shipboard component with an outer hull placement. We’ve ruled out weaponry, but beyond that we can’t make any headway.”
“You had a specialist work on it?”
“No. Just some general techs.”
“Happy to take it off your hands then. Where’d you get it?”
“Off a Kaeper that took down our evac ship. They even had a badass Zen’zat onboard, so I’m guessing whatever it was needed guarding.”
“What blew it up?”
“The crew went at it by hand while I was killing them. They didn’t even defend themselves.”
“They chose to smash it rather than fight you?”
“Yeah, so it’s gotta be something important.”
The Protovic nodded. “We’ll figure it out or get it to someone who can. Any chance they’re chasing you to recover it?”
“We sat for a month stranded until this group passed through, so I’d guess no. It was a shadowing ship, so I wouldn’t expect it to be registered as missing for a while.”
“Good, but we still need to make it disappear if it’s that important. Are you comfortable handing it over or do you want to go with it?”
“Ghostblade can have it. I just need to get her somewhere safe.”
“You’re welcome to stay with us.”
Esna looked to her left at Tyrenk, but he didn’t look back, shaking his head at the Protovic.
“Not good enough. She needs to be somewhere she can develop her ability and find a niche. She’s not Clan material yet.”
“Why the personal interest? Finally found a heart somewhere in that firm chest?”
Tyrenk tipped his head and half looked at Esn
a. “This is what happens when a very skilled Protovic gets a crush and can’t let it go.”
“Why would I want to? Gives me pleasant dreams at night and keeps me from wasting time with romancing others when I have work to do.”
“A ship, Raena. Can you arrange one?”
“Sure. We’ve got enough scouts running patrols that I can slip you onto one and have them swing wide enough to drop you where you want.”
“Thank you. How soon?”
“How about now?” she said, walking up beside him and smacking him on the shoulder…at which point Esna felt a painful jolt. Her body twitched, doubling her over as she felt Tyrenk’s grip on her mind slip and her Fornax release for a split second before the Archon locked it down again, but not soon enough. Several people around them tripped or slumped in their seats, with a round of impacts audible as Esna cringed against the lingering pain.
Raena had stumbled too, but now looked at Esna with a sad expression on her face. “I am so sorry. I didn’t think that would transition to you.”
“I’m sorry,” Esna said, “my fault.”
“No, it’s mine. I zapped him and it hit you too.”
“What did you do?” Esna asked. “Are you a Maverick?”
“No, she’s a very annoying master tech,” Tyrenk explained. “Protovic have their own natural psionics, and one of them is electrical discharge. They absorb energy and can release it by touch. When she touched my shoulder she hit me with it, and some transitioned into you,” he said as Raena suddenly floated up into the air with her hand reaching to her throat. “Don’t…do that…again.”
He let go his telekinetic hold a couple seconds later, dropping her back onto her feet as half the control room was now watching them as she felt her glowing neck. “Darth Tyrenk is so sexy.”
Tyrenk sighed and rolled his eyes. “If you weren’t so good at your job I’d remove you from the Clan.”
“You can try, sweetheart, but Ghostblade would never allow it. Kara likes me too much, and you don’t outrank her,” she said, looking at Esna. “I’m sorry that hit you, but he definitely had it coming.”
“I’m alright. Sorry I can’t control myself better.”