Chapter XXI
“Shul…” Ilisk swore quietly as he stumbled out of the ruined pod. “Thank the Battlewatcher that I had the foresight to pack those holomites.”
Yet, despite his good fortune in avoiding capture, Ilisk knew that he was in way over his head. The whole plan is ruined now, all because they came too early! he thought to himself as he activated his active camouflage. It wasn’t perfect invisibility, but it would keep him hidden, so long as he stayed to the shadows and back alleys. How in Gravalg’s name were they able to do that, anyway? They started from Calavar! It should have taken them at least a month to reach here!
Ilisk ducked into a nearby, burned out house, thankful that the drop pod hadn’t malfunctioned. They were notorious for it, since their function was to not only detonate and firebomb their landing sites, but to also protect the lives of the soldiers inside. Sadly, it was the second function that had the chance of failure, earning themselves the nickname ‘Hell’s Coffins” among the troops that used them in their planetary assaults.
Ilisk knew the risks, though, and found it a far worse fate if he were caught by those infernal snake-witches. Sure, he would rather die than betray his cause, but what good was a conviction like that against an enemy that could pull the thoughts from your head?
No, it was either take a chance with the drop pod, or activate his implant’s failsafe. Since only one of those options had even the slightest chance for his survival, he had decided that the pod was his safest, fastest method of getting out of harm’s way.
Besides, Ilisk thought as he activated his tracking software. If I’m down here, I should be able to examine thirty-eight and figure out how it malfunctioned. He nodded to himself at the thought. Things might have gone sideways, but at least he was alive. On top of that, a message had already been sent to his support, apprising them of the situation.
Besides, he needed the data that thirty-eight held if they had any hope of salvaging anything from this plan.
* * *
“Hmm… that’s interesting...” Twilight said as she removed her horn from the small, metallic hole that was located on the back of the ~human’s~ neck.
“What? What happen?” ~Alex~ asked nervously as he turned his head to look at her.
“Yes, what did you find?” Princess Luna asked, taking a step forward.
Twilight scrunched her nose as she thought about what to say. It was a complex issue, one that she didn’t fully understand herself. “As we theorized, and as ~Robert~ here has testified, there are quite a few of these, ‘soul shards,’ embedded into your… device,” Twilight said, feeling a little nauseous at the thought of the nasty implant. “However, when I tried to communicate with these ‘shards’ I was… less than successful.”
Princess Luna raised her eyebrow at that. “What do you mean by ‘less than successful’?”
“There are hundreds of shards in there,” Twilight said, quickly drawing an incredulous stare from ~Alex~.
“But… not possible! There only fifty us!”
“Calm down, it’s not like that,” Twilight said, holding her hoof up in a placating gesture. “Though there are quite a few of them, I was easily able to determine that groups of these shards all originate from singular people, since many of these shards share a unique magical frequency with each other.”
~Alex~ just looked at her blankly. “I know she say words in there, but lost in technology is babbling,” he said as he leaned a little closer to ~Robert.~
Twilight gave a grunt in exasperation at that. “This is so frustrating! I can’t even explain it properly because of the language barrier!”
“Twilight, it isn’t the language barrier here that’s the problem,” Princess Luna said gently. “Rather, it is your use of exact terms and definitions that are the problem. He would have had a hard time understanding your explanation, even if he spoke perfect Equish.”
“But…”
“Your problem is that you are using complex terms to explain what, at its core, is a very simple issue,” Luna continued, before turning back to the ~human.~ “~Alex,~ if you would, please imagine a soul like a glass vase,” she said as she created an illusion of a beautifully crafted vase.
~Alex~ nodded at this, his attention riveted to the illustration that the Lunar Princess had constructed. “I like metaphors.”
“Now, when your friends… died, parts of their souls broke off from the whole,” she continued, cracking three pieces off of the vase. “The main piece left this plane and traveled through the Veil, while the rest of the pieces stayed behind.” At this, she caused the main vase to disappear, while the pieces remained.
~Alex~ nodded at this, his gaze still riveted onto the floating pieces.
“Now, what we believed happened, and what Twilight’s investigation seems to have confirmed, is that these pieces all split off and followed the connection you shared through your implants, embedding themselves into the remaining prisoners,” she said as she caused three more vases to appear, all of different colors. She then placed the shards of pottery in the three vases. “When your friends died, their souls also fragmented, leaving behind pieces. However, they also left behind the pieces that the first vase gave them.”
At this, the three vases fragmented, then disappeared, leaving behind a large number of different colored shards. ~Alex~ gasped in understanding at that. “So you say, all travel through connect, until reach only survivor?”
“Correct.”
“Though, if I may,” Twilight piped in. “Many of these ‘groups’ only have a single shard, while quite a few only consist of two or three. This makes them far less… coherent, than a full soul would be, and that’s not even considering the fact that the ones that do have more are still nothing more than the fragmented remnants of what was once a complete soul.”
~Alex~ thought about this for a second, then opened his mouth, a puzzled expression on his face. “...Now, when say they far less meaning understanding, what exactly do mean?”
Twilight looked at him for a second, trying to piece together the broken language he had used. “Oh! You mean coherent,” she said, her eyes then widened in understanding.
“...I guess?”
Twilight sighed at this. It had taken them awhile, but they had finally reached the part that she wanted to get to. “~Alex,~ the smaller groups have, at best, the intelligence of insects.”
~Alex’s~ lips tightened at this, his brow furrowed in an expression that Twilight couldn’t quite place. “How many like that?” he said, his voice catching a little.
“...About thirty-six groups are little more than vegetables,” Twilight said slowly. “Seven have the intelligence of animals; able to understand some words, but unable to speak. The rest? they have a mental capacity closer to children. Though to be honest, that doesn’t quite fit what they’re capable of.”
At this, ~Alex~ rested his hand on ~Robert’s~ back. “And… Bright Fame is one better group?” he asked.
Twilight could only nod in response.
At this, ~Robert~ started to talk, asking ~Alex~ something that neither pony understood.
“I’ll tell later. Just know it… bad,” ~Alex~ answered uncertainly. He then turned back to the two ponies, a strange look in his eyes. “Isn’t something can do? Help them?”
Twilight just shook her head at that. “I’m sorry ~Alex,~ but this is something entirely new to us. As shown by your exceptional work with ~Robert,~ some, if not all, may be transferred to new, metallic bodies. Though I would not suggest it for those that are less intelligent.”
“...Why?”
“The only reason they are still holding on at all is because of you,” Twilight said seriously. “You are their anchor. The more intelligent ones can survive in a manner similar to ~Robert,~ but the others? They’ll most likely fade across the Veil if they’re separated from you for any time longer than a second. In fact, they will eventually fade on their own, pulled away by the siren call of the Veil.”
~Alex~ nodded in understanding at this, his expression an odd mix between thoughtful and sad. “...It okay. They already gone, just…” he trailed off, unable to finish his thought.
“Just what?” Luna asked.
The ~human~ didn’t say anything at first, instead choosing to inspect his hands as tears started to form at the edges of his eyes. “For second, I just thought that not only survivor. That friends escape, however weird way they do.”
“~Alex...~” the Lunar Princess said, gently resting a hoof on his arm.
The ~human~ just stared at it for a second, then wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand. “I’m okay, just… give second, need compose self,” he said with a sniff. He then looked up at the two ponies in the room. “Could give alone? Need talk Bright Fame, tell him what told me.”
Princess Luna smiled at this, then nodded as she turned to leave. “Of course, take as long as you need to.”
With no other words, the two ponies left the survivor to break the news to the small, metallic automaton.
* * *
Akitesh’s expression became harder and harder the more she listened. Each syllable that Captain Hazalk said only served to fuel her rage, until she finally cut him off with a quick, slicing gesture of her claw. “Enough, captain.”
“I assure you, we had no-” Hazalk started to say, but was interrupted by another slice of Akitesh’s claw.
“I am not interested in hearing your plea of innocence, nor am I interested in hearing any more of the abominable practices that these degenerates have perpetuated,” she said as she stood up. “All I want to hear is what you have been doing to right this wrong.”
Hazalk bowed at that. “My apologies, Priestess. We have already sent a message back to Kazzaal, to inform the Hiarch of this treachery. They are seeking out the traitors responsible as we speak, and I was told that they had sent a message to your government to explain the situation,” he said quickly.
“...But what have you done to right this?”
“I revealed and captured the traitor that was on board our ship,” Hazalk said with another bow. “I was preparing to go to the planet’s surface myself, in an attempt to peacefully resolve this situation, but was prevented by your arrival. We believe that the traitor had planted some kind of virus into our computer, to cause the ship to attack both us, and you, upon your arrival.”
“And where is this traitor now?” Akitesh asked pointedly.
At this, Captain Hazalk’s antenna twitched nervously. “I… I’m sorry, Priestess, but the traitor used the distraction caused by our ship to escape.”
Akitesh sighed in frustration, leaning back while she cupped her face in her hands. I knew it couldn’t be that easy.
“Priestess?” Hazalk asked uncertainly.
“Understand, captain, I am not angry with you. Even your troops actions against the locals are something I can forgive, as those actions were carried out before your discovery of this atrocity, as you were simply following your standing orders. However, that does not make what we have to do any easier,” Akitesh explained. “This traitor needs to be recaptured and interrogated, before he can cause any more harm than he already has.”
“I agree, Priestess.”
“Which is why you will be ready to depart for the surface in two hours,” she said, causing the Krin captain to wince. “My team and I will fly to your ship to pick you up then. We’ll need you there when we make a formal apology to the locals, as well as our request to hunt down this interloper.”
“Yes, Priestess,” Hazalk said with a bow, after which the viewscreen changed, showing the view of the planet below.
“Computer, of the science team that was part of the survey of Gel, is there anyone that is versed in Xenobiology or Xenosociality?” Akitesh asked.
“Yes, My Priestess,” the computer responded. “Lokar is a Xenobiologist who has made it his personal mission to catalog all the wonders of life that the Creator has put under our jurisdiction, while Kivalt, his sister, is more concerned with how they organize their civilizations.”
“Thank you. Please have them come to my council, as I will need their expertise in this matter.”
“Yes, My Priestess,” the computer answered.
Jedon looked at his Priestess in confusion. “Wouldn’t it be better to have him give you that information?” he asked, referring to the ship's computer.
Akitesh shook her head at that. “Computer Aliz may have extensive records, but he isn’t linked to the main library back home. For now, the best I can do is ask our experts, and hope they have studied this particular world before,” Akitesh said as she rose from her seat. “You have the bridge, Jedon. I need to organize a team to hunt down this blasphemous fool.”
Jedon nodded at that, then turned back to the viewscreen. “I will guard the stars until your return, My Priestess,” he said.
* * *
“Why do you think we were summoned?” Kivalt asked nervously. She had never met a priestess before: Void Knights were sacred, and she sadly did not know the protocols involved in meeting with their upper echelon.
“I do not know, though I suspect it has to do with either why our original mission was canceled, or why we recently went to full alert,” her brother answered as he straightened his shirt. “With how things have been going, however, I would hazard a guess that they are intertwined.”
Kivalt nodded at this, then took a moment to examine the room they were in. It was a fairly standard council, long wooden table, chairs set around it, and a rather large cube of Spiritstone sitting in the center. Other than that, the room was almost surprisingly bare, its only other furnishing being a rather large black viewscreen positioned on the wall at the end of the table. Kivalt opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when the door to the rather spartan council room opened, revealing the Priestess of the ship.
She was… shorter, than Kivalt had imagined her. She had lovely, light blue scales that seemed to glow with an inner light, while her eyes were a deep shade of purple, which looked at the two siblings with a tired, put upon expression.
“No need to stand,” the Priestess said, waving them both back to their seats. “I don’t have a lot of time, so I need you to be as quick as possible. What can you tell me about the planet Euti?” she asked as she sat on the other side of the long table.
The two looked at each other for a second, then back towards the priestess. “I apologize my priestess, but is that the planet we are currently orbiting?” Lokar asked excitedly.
“It is.”
Lokar nearly jumped out of his skin when she confirmed that, his fists balled up and held close to his chest while he made a high-pitched, squealing sound. “Oh, I have read so much about this place! It is truly a one of a kind planet! No other star that we know of orbits a planet! The life there is supposed to be quite peculiar as well!”
“How so?” the priestess asked as she folded her fingers in front of her.
“Well, for starters, rather than a single sapient species becoming the dominant, they have a whole menagerie of sapient species! The dragons in particular-”
“Wait, Dragons? Like…?”
“Oh, no no no, they only bear a passing resemblance to the Lords of the Skies back home. These can grow to much larger sizes, and are far smarter.”
“...How much smarter?” Akitesh asked as anxiety crept into her voice.
“They have their own language, and social structure, My Priestess,” Kivalt answered with a bow.
Akitesh closed her eyes at that, then shook her head. “That may become an issue, but not one that I will be dealing with in this trip. What can you tell me about the planet’s equine life?”
The two siblings shared another look, then turned back towards the Priestess. “Well… they are… Odd,” the twins said in unison.
“Odd? How?”
“The equines come in many different shapes and varieties, though it is easier to boil them down to four basic groups: Ones with wings, ones with horns, ones with neither, and ones with both,” Lokar said carefully. “Without performing anything… invasive, our mages have been able to ascertain that three of these species all have similar traits, while at the same time something that makes them unique. These abilities are spiritual gift from the gods, and should be treated with caution.”
“...Why three? you named four species, but then say these three. What do you mean by that?” Akitesh asked as she raised an eye ridge at Lokar.
“Very astute, Priestess. There is a reason why I voiced that in that manner, but I will have to return to it once I’ve finished explaining the first three,” Lokar said excitedly. “To start with, the ones without horn, or wing, are… strong.”
“...Strong.”
“Forgive my brother, he is oversimplifying their gift,” Kivalt said apologetically. “The strength he refers to is quite beyond anything a normal creature of that size should be capable of. As with any gift, it requires training to fully realize, but even the foals are capable of feats far beyond what their bodies should be capable of performing.”
“Don’t give me the bottom tier, tell me what their maximum potential is,” Akitesh said flatly.
The two looked at each other, then back at the priestess. “Ma’am, a fully trained, hornless, wingless equine is capable of strikes equal to, or greater, than that of a meched Void Knight.”
Akitesh didn’t answer at first. Instead, she brought up a single claw, and inserted one of her digits into her ear. After she was certain that she had cleaned it, she looked back at the Xenobiologist, an incredulous look on her face. “Excuse me?”
“If it were so inclined, a fully trained, hornless, wingless equine could punch through the bulkhead of a Krin battleship in a single strike,” Lokar reiterated. “They would have more trouble with one of our ships, but that is because we supplement our hulls with spiritual energy. Though to be fair, it still wouldn’t stop them for long.”
“...I’m almost afraid to ask what the other three are capable of doing.”
Lokar just shook his head at that. “I’m afraid I’m not finished with the ‘normal’ ones,” he said with a grin.
“There’s more?”
“Oh yes. The hornless, wingless ones are also capable of Geomancy, though it is mostly related to the growth of crops and other plants,” Lokar continued. “However, we do have a few reports of full fledged Geomancers, capable of all the powers that any of ours are.”
“...Oh dear.”
“Yes, and that’s just scratching the surface. The other two races make the earth bound equines look tame in comparison.”
At this, Akitesh slammed her head into the table in front of her. “Forget about hard, this is a nightmare,” she groaned.
“Wait, you’re not planning on attacking them, are you?” Kivalt asked with a gasp. “They haven’t even become a type four civilization yet! The law-”
“No, I’m not going to attack them,” Akitesh interrupted as she took her face off of the table. “I’m trying to establish peaceful contact. However, there are a few hurdles in the way, and they may be… hostile, to us initially.”
Kivalt gave her another look, but sighed in resignation. “Well, just so you know, their civilization has historically hated violence. They have a standing military, but from the last report we’ve received, it is token at best.”
“Oh, good,” the priestess said in relief. Then a thought occurred to her. “Wait, last report? How old is that?”
Kivalt gave her brother a questioning look, then turned back to the priestess. “Nine? Ten years? It was determined that the world wasn’t ready for guidance yet, so we left it with only a few observer drones. They’re probably still active if the locals haven’t found them.”
Akitesh nodded at this as she composed herself a little. “So… onto the other species of equine…”
“Yes, sorry, of course,” Lokar said as he straightened up a little. “The ones with wings can fly, though again, that is a grave oversimplification of their power. They are capable of speeds that, again, should not be possible for a creature of their size and weight.”
“Do I dare ask ‘how fast’?” Akitesh asked blandly.
“Well, while we cannot say for certain as to their species maximum potential, expect the faster ones to be able to break the sound barrier.”
Akitesh grew incredulous at that. “How are they able to resist the friction? The gravitational forces?”
“Well, they are able to resist the gravitational forces by enacting a power that is very similar to an inertial dampener,” Lokar said with a shrug. “As for the friction caused by the air, well, even the youngest of them are able to tap into their secondary power: Aeromancy.”
Akitesh whistled at that. “Well, that explains that.”
Lokar nodded in agreement. “It does indeed, though again, it is still just scratching the surface as to what these people can do.”
“Fine then. What about the third? The ones with horns?”
“Horn. Singular. And for them, they are the most varied, and probably the most deadly if properly trained,” Lokar cautioned.
“...Why is it that everything you say about these people make me nervous about meeting them?" Akitesh asked faintly.
Lokar chose to ignore her comment, however, and continued onward. “Even from a very young age, each and every horned equine shows the promise of The Gift,” he said seriously. “I do not believe I need to say anything more on the matter, as you are far more versed in the ways of the Holy Ones than I am.”
Akitesh groaned in frustration at that. “So, I can expect steel crushing geomancers, sonic aeromancers, and void knights as well?
The two looked at each other again, then back at the Priestess. “Well, there’s one more thing you need to be aware of. If you're opening peaceful contact with them, you are certain to run into the fourth type of equine, and she is truly something that you don’t want to anger,” Kivalt said.
“...She?”
“She’s referring to the only example of the species that has both horn and wings,” Lokar said quickly. “While we don’t have too much information on her, it is believed that she has the combined powers of all three of the other races. They seem to be a dying breed though, as she appears to be the only one of her kind on the entire planet.”
“...And let me guess, she’s the ruler?” Akitesh asked faintly.
Kivalt shook her head at that. “While we can’t be sure, as our translation of their tongue is spotty at best, we believe that they see her as some kind of god. They believe that she is responsible for the movements of the sun and moon, which in their eyes, makes her the most important person in the world.”
“...Divines, we’ll be dealing with zealots and fanatics, won’t we?” Akitesh asked with a groan.
Kivalt shook her head at that. “No. Our researchers were afraid of that as well when they found out about that, but from all of our research, this being seems to be benign. She doesn’t make war on the neighboring nations, she doesn’t have her subject build monuments to her greatness, and her taxes are used primarily for the management and function of her government. In fact, I'm pretty sure she discourages worship of her, if the distinct lack of temples is any indication,” she said, putting Akitesh’s worries to rest. “However, if you were to threaten or hurt her in the presence of her devotees, I would advise running. They love her, with very good reason, and would do anything to protect her.”
Akitesh nodded at this. “Anything else I should be aware of before I leap into the lion’s den?”
The two took one last look at each other, then back at her. “One thing. Be sure to be polite. The ruler may not control the sun; I mean, seriously, no single living being has that much mana,” Lokar said with a laugh, but then became much more serious. “However, she is still extremely powerful. She’s not a god, but she’s going to be leagues ahead of any of our Void Knights in terms of power alone.”
“In addition, while she does not control the sun directly, the link that tethers the star to the planet seems to emanate from her castle. It is entirely possible that she may possess an artifact that grants her this power,” Kivalt cautioned.
Akitesh could only nod at that. This had all the hallmarks of a political minefield. Except if she made the wrong move here, it was entirely possible that she wouldn’t live to see all the consequences of her actions.
But hey, look on the bright side. At least you won’t have to ever give another public speech again, Akitesh thought ruefully to herself.