Chapter 10: Successor
["Why do you fear the Concord Talassar?"] He stopped his breathing exercises at the random question from the core. He wanted to ignore it, but it tugged at his memories on Invincible.
[I don't fear it. I'm wary of it.]
["Culling?"]
[Everyone fears being wiped out of existence.]
["You could take me home. They would protect you."]
Talassar snorted and resumed his meditation, not bothering to respond. The core's mother already wanted his head, and when it came to culpability, she would be the first victim of the Black Sun. There would be little protection to be found by her side.
To prepare for the upcoming assault, he strained against the binding, pulling on every scrap of energy he was capable of to create a complex seal to subdue the core. It took significant effort to bypass the core's Essence, the massive sea of its being seemingly stretching into infinity. It was just an illusion, his mind trying to tackle the scope of its being in a way he could understand. Already the core's Essence was merging with his own, wisps of alien energy infiltrating his powers the more he used his abilities. Crackles of lightning erupted from his fingertips as reality warped, distortions rippling through existence while the weave snapped into place, coalescing rapidly around his heart.
["Bad Talassar!"] The core raged, bouts of power smashing into Talassar's weave to hold it at bay. ["You deserve to be locked up!"]
[I need your silence, and I can't trust you to give it.] Grunting, Talassar slammed the weave in place while ignoring the core's screams of anger. A gust of wind burst from his body as the seal settled in place, the howls of forest animals echoing behind him in fear. Animals were far more sensitive to the pressure of psionic energy than humans, if not the nuances.
[That should hold it in place for a few hours at least.] Satisfied with the result, he donned a borrowed shirt and coat, checking the few blades the HLA issued him an hour ago. The grim faced quartermaster had grumbled when Talassar requested weapons, but Grey's stolid presence and the Commander's writ of approval allowed him to receive gear he was familiar with. He'd kept the Devout Blade sniper rifle, but replaced the pistol with a plasma projector as long as his forearm. The projector was a cross between a handgun and plasma cutter, able to hurl bursts of plasma across a room or release a focused beam capable of shredding through the armoured hull of a battleship. Coupled with his diminished abilities, there were several tricks he could utilise to gain the upper hand in fights. They refused when he asked for grenades though, already wary of his armaments, and the sense of vindication rising from the quartermaster behind him after his display of power meant Talassar wouldn't be able to gain access to some of the material he would require after capturing Invincible. Even thought the HLA troops weren't able to tell what Talassar had done, the overpowering weave would have made them feel like they were suffocating.
"Impressive show Favoured. Was this meant to frighten us?" Madeleine hissed from her spot beside the Commander. Tagged as the leader of the vanguard, she would be the first one through the lab if everything went according to plan. Talassar wanted to reject her presence but Soveks was adamant, trusting the violent woman far more than he would have.
"I'm warming up." He lied instead of being baited by her. "If you think I can just activate the key without some practice… You can consider it the equivalent of stretching before an intense exercise."
"So the best time to deal with a Favoured is after they've woken up?" Roquefort clenched a recorder in his fist, capturing the entire assault. Talassar knew the man was a significant threat, all trained Ironian agents were, but now he appeared to be a harmless correspondent, digging for information and knowledge.
Turning back to fix the Ironian with a flat stare, Talassar shook his head and clarified. He didn't want the HLA to get any ideas. "There's no such thing. Psions always maintain their defences, even when asleep. Powerful defences. In a way, it's easier to deal with the Favoured when they're awake."
"Interesting." He hummed, iridium eyes glistening in the faint morning light. Talassar could sense hints of excitement, but the response from his Essence was weak, like he was listening to someone talking through a door. The HLA must have given Roquefort a broken inhibitor. Without a psion to check the integrity of the device, the Ironian would assume it protected him until a weave powerful enough to break the inhibition settled on him, and for now Talassar was content to let them believe the inhibitor was fully functional.
"Enough Roquefort." Soveks pointed towards the blur that was the Holy City and commanded. "Begin Favoured. You keep your part of the promise or else…"
Talassar's lips twitched at the unspoken threat. [So dramatic. But I suppose he has every right to be. They're obviously interested with something specific on Invincible to make this slapdash attempt. Not that I care. I think you would be proud of me Niobys, stealing a warship. But then again you always had an odd sense of humour.]
With a thought, the key spun around Talassar's wrist, pulsing with ever increasing power. A deep roar rose from its depths as Talassar layered weave after weave onto the device, recalling the complex activation sequence Niobys taught him. It only took a few seconds for the air to solidify around him, the first step in the process raising a series of barriers to protect him. The key spun around his body, gaining speed until it was a multicoloured blur, pulsing waves of light turning Talassar into a being of terrifying radiance.
The HLA troops stepped away from him, cowering in fear at the vibrant projection of power. It was rare for psionic weaves to display such distinct visual effects, but Niobys always appreciated the spectacle, linking his gifts to material representations of energy. It was a waste of effort as far as Talassar was concerned, but adjusting the weave would have been a herculean task and the cowering HLA troops around him was an added bonus.
Talassar raised an arm and the drone of charging weapons drowned the resonant sounds from the key for a moment as the troops gathered themselves. The key spun ever faster, impossible to recognise except for a few flashes of light cutting through the air, beams of energy invisible to the eye tearing through who knew how many dimensions to find purchase around Niobys' lab. Talassar's heart pounded, a long forgotten thrum of excitement rising in his chest as the key locked into place. There was no denying Niobys' genius as he reached out through the key, surveying the entire lab through its various sensors and cameras.
He immediately recognised an old chair he used to lounge in whenever Niobys required some tools from his lab for Invincible and he breathed a sigh of relief that the key worked as intended. There was always a chance the new owner of Alpha section fiddled with Niobys' secret installations. With a quick thought, Talassar reached out from a unique psionic sensor to place a simple weave throughout the lab. With his curtailed abilities and the distance, it took an immense effort to even get the weave to form and sweat poured from his temples, hidden from view by the vivid display surrounding him. Threads of energy wormed their way into every room of Alpha section, streaking towards the portal as the key activation continued, locking onto the innumerable spatial locks dotted around the lab.
The portal was a twisting mass of energy that generated a tunnel through space-time and his weave ran into its emissions seconds before he locked onto its location. They'd moved it from its original possible somehow. It shouldn't have been possible, and it took Talassar far longer than he'd planned to find it but in short order the weave swept through the portal chamber.
Within seconds Talassar sensed the Acolytes around the portal, disciplined psions of the Theocracy who responded to the intrusion of his weave like lightning. Weaves exploded from them, an avalanche of overlapping shields and terrifying telekinetic surges ripping through the chamber. At his best he would have overpowered them, but now Talassar grunted and snapped an override into the turrets surrounding the portal. In quick succession they came to life and shredded the Acolyte's shields and fragile flesh before they could react. It only took a second before the portal room filled with a haze of molten metal and torn limbs.
With the portal secure, Talassar spread his arms wide and pushed even more power into the key. It unravelled under the new stream of energy, spreading across the field before him. A rainbow thread of energy demarcated the lab on the field and Talassar gestured to spin the thread at an angle and remove parts of the lab still filled with technicians and psions from the transfer. Once the boundary marker was set in place, he checked that all the relevant locks were open and pulled on an Essence battery hidden deep within the lab to power the transfer. Flashes of pain dug into his mind at the strain on his Essence and Talassar cursed under his breath at his weakened state. Closing his eyes he pulled through the key, shattering the Essence battery with a flood of power, tearing rooms out of the lab as fast as he could.
Gasps of surprise burst from the HLA troops when the first room shimmered into place, reality tearing apart at the violation of its rules. Faced with the unfathomable, many of the troops retched as their minds struggled to withstand the outpouring of multidimensional energies. Even Talassar wanted to back away despite his defences. Humans weren't designed to deal with something like this, yet somehow Niobys had managed to reverse engineer the Guardian's technology to create it.
It took almost a minute for the lab to appear before them and Talassar fell to his knees once all the rooms materialised, drained by the effort. He pointed to the portal and spoke, voice cracking in exhaustion. "That's the way in. Just step through."
Soveks simply nodded and waved his troops forward. HLA forces charged through the portal without hesitation, ignoring the broken Acolytes lying around the room.
"No time for you to rest Favoured, I'm sure your skills will be required on the other side." Roquefort pulled Talassar to his feet and moved him out of the way as a squad in powered armour hopped through the portal. "You have two minutes."
"I remember the plan." Talassar snapped, drawing a trickle of energy to aid his recovery and soothe the pounding in his skull before stumbling to one corner of the lab. He began to pull open drawers and cabinets with trembling fingers. With a flick of his wrist, the key was summoned back into Talassar's hands and he waved it around the room. [Niobys was certain it couldn't be moved, so why can't I find it? Unless this is another one of his absurd tests... oh... wait... I spun the lab and came in from the other side.] Sheepish, he dashed to the other side of the room and pulled open a cabinet, grinning at the dusty boxes filling it. This was the fruit of Niobys' labours over millennia. He stuffed it all into a backpack in a rush, ignoring Roquefort's puzzled expression and the mounting suspicion emanating from Grey and the squad assigned to watch him. Satisfied he'd emptied the cabinet, Talassar shoved the key into its depths and fumbled around until he found a deep recess which he dug into and retrieved a slim rod.
"I don't know if I should let you keep that Favoured." Roquefort grimaced and held his hand out, demanding Talassar give up the device. Without a word, Talassar waved the key over the rod and it vanished with a pulse of light.
"The lance is mine by virtue of this key and the previous owners will. It's not something which can benefit you in any case."
Roquefort hesitated for a moment, but before he said anything, orders came through the squad channel for them to move. The Ironian mumbled a warning and led the way towards the portal. "We'll talk about this later Favoured."
Talassar shrugged and followed. It was an empty threat. Everything he'd collected had been left by Niobys for his successor. The most powerful and advanced psionic technology within the Theocracy. He checked his borrowed wrist comm and frowned. They were behind schedule and many of the troops were still traversing the portal.
"There's heavy resistance in the docks." Grey said suddenly. "They need us immediately." Talassar grimaced. If they were required, there were more psions than expected.
As they passed the bodies of the Acolytes, Talassar slowed for a moment and began a silent prayer for them before catching himself. A soft giggle rose from the core at his mistake and Talassar cursed. The seal was dissipating far quicker than expected because of the strain from translocating the lab.
"Someone you know Favoured?" Grey asked, voice and emotions leaking sympathy and confusion.
"No" Talassar replied, rubbing the binding a few times, [This is as far as we go Varis. You deserved better than this, but this is the only outcome of serving the Guardians.] "Hold your breath when you go through." He growled and pulled the Devout Blade from his shoulder before jumping through the portal close on the heels of a squad of heavy weapons specialists.
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