Chapter 9: Concord
8 months before Talassar's arrest
Invincible's Dockyard
Delphi
The buzzing of plasma cutters was overwhelming, almost as loud as the battlefields on contested worlds along the Ezani front. Smoke filled the workshop despite the numerous ventilators, and Talassar was forced to pull a mask from a nearby table to protect himself. He worked his way down a half-built corridor, treading lightly over thin beams and layers of sheet metal as he approached the main battery's focus crystals. Suspended by a psionic field, the massive crystals rotated slowly within their emplacements, sending rainbow streams of light in a riotous display throughout the dockyards.
Talassar paused for a moment to let the powerful telekinetic field wash over him, attuning his Essence so it didn't get pulled along with the energy streams. The normal workers weren't affected, but the more powerful a psion was, the greater the interference they faced. With a deep breath, he slid through an incomplete doorway to arrive at the control bay for the crystal. He'd spent the morning chasing down his target, tracking even the faintest rumours until he arrived here. A wave of his hand sent a weave out to trace Essence but it collapsed under the telekinetic fields influence before it even reached a few metres distance. Unable to rely on his abilities, Talassar questioned one of the engineers lounging at an unfinished workstation. The woman trembled at his every word, terrified by his presence. She kept glancing at the symbol on his coat, awe and fear twisting in her heart with such strength, Talassar felt his senses would be blinded. The lively atmosphere in the bay died down in a flash, murmurs of apprehension coming from all the workers as they tried their hardest to be unnoticeable. He tried to smile at the engineer but the spike of fear she emitted cramped his lips and all Talassar could do was thank her for the guidance and leave the control bay.
The doors along the crystal bay weren't marked yet, so he counted until he entered what would eventually be the secondary field generator. If they didn't make any more changes to the schematic. [At this point they've changed the schematics so many times I don't think there's anyone who really knows what's going on anymore. Add in the fake plans in circulation…] He shook his head and ducked under some loose cables. [Those Engineers in the bay are working off drawings that are already outdated by two weeks. If their supervisor found out they would get into a lot of trouble.] Remembering the Engineer's fear, Talassar sent a message to one of the Acolytes responsible for the Engineering department. They would be harangued for a while but not severely punished for the lapse.
Satisfied with his revenge, Talassar approached an uncovered panel and called out to his target. "You said the ship was ready for trials Arch-Favoured. You said my assistance was necessary." Niobys glanced back for a moment before waving Talassar's concerns aside.
"We're just a little behind schedule since they changed the plans for the main battery." The old man shrugged, picked up an odd scanner to check his work and then frowned at the readings. "Hand me the tuner… Not that one Tal, the beta synth one. What kind of unholy moron uses a field-sequence tuner on a psionic emitter?"
Talassar snorted and handed the correct device to Niobys, peering at the exposed guts of the emitter. "Morons don't work on 'psionic emitters' and neither do combat-psions. Which is why I'm here. This ship won't be ready for years as far as I can tell and I haven't even heard of, let alone seen one of the most Holy Guardians." Talassar reached up to tap the symbol twice and bowed a little.
"They'll be here soon Tal. You'd think people with our lifespans would learn to have some patience."
[Favoured on the front-lines rarely live longer than one or two centuries.]
Niobys seemed to realise his blunder quickly and coughed before handing the tuner back to him. "Once my work here is done, and the Lance is operational, Lady Thrallax will arrive with a divine device to bless the vessel to completion."
"Is the Lance really so powerful?"
"It's my masterpiece Tal." Niobys' eyes glowed, and he suddenly radiated an overpowering presence. "Human psionic ability matched with the divine. Once it strikes, a pulse of psionic power will shred reality itself around the impact point."
Talassar flinched and looked down. "The Concord…" he whispered.
"We've broken so many facets of the Concord it's not something to worry about. I know you fear a culling, but for all intents and purposes this will be a Guardian vessel and we will simply be crew members." Niobys squeezed his shoulder and returned to his examination of circuit boards he'd removed from the emitter. "Lay a third grade C-7 gate on this board. At the node just above my finger."
Talassar squinted and pulled out a magnifying lens from Niobys' toolbox to get a better view of the location. "The one marked R-270?" After receiving Niobys' confirmation, Talassar drew on his Essence and with a twist of his wrist he snapped the requested weave in place. "We may pass this off as a most Holy Guardian vessel. Until we reach the Black Sun at least, and that's what worries me."
"Layer a fourth grade E-5 field over the gate." Niobys commanded before answering. "Leave those problems for those experienced in dealing with them Tal. I think it's a mistake to tell you Favoured about the Concord so soon in your lives and this just proves my point."
"As you say Arch-Favoured. If we must lay down our lives in a war amongst the heavens, so be it." Talassar replied. Irritated at the dismissal of his concerns, he lay down the next weave in an instant, the ripples emanating from his quick work drawing a grimace from Niobys.
"You won't leave this will you? There was a time you would cower in my presence. Now redo the last weave, it was pathetic."
"You're the one who taught me Arch-Favoured were to be respected, not deified."
"Made a mistake there didn't I?" Niobys chuckled and ordered Talassar to place a few more weaves on the circuit boards. "But at least you listened to some of my teachings Tal. Watch out for that small crystal on the P-5 point. Its lattice will crack if you bring a gate so close to it." Niobys cast a weave of his own, replacing Talassar's attempt with a stable version, its form shifted millimetres away from the crystal. "The Concord..." Niobys scratched his chin as he considered his next words and Talassar instantly regretted nagging the old man. Niobys was going to give him a lecture. "Guardians in the east, Seekers in the north, Healers in the west, Ezani to the south and the Black Sun at the core."
"Yes yes. Long before humanity reached for the stars the Black Sun watched over the galaxy alongside the three great Divines. Then the Ezani arrived... etc. etc. Please get to the point."
"You're the one who wouldn't let the subject be." Niobys slid the circuit boards back into place and sealed the panel before continuing. "The first war in heaven rattled creation itself, star systems dying in huge swathes and leaving trenches of death throughout the galaxy. Uncountable deities gave their lives in battle against the Ezani threat and all seemed lost until the Healers uplifted a species. That race, now long gone, was armed by all the deities. The Seekers gifted these forerunners with knowledge, the most Holy Guardians armed them with divine weapons and the Healers gave them a purpose. These forerunners tore across the stars and pushed the Ezani back with righteous fury. In a matter of decades they were on the verge of wiping out the threat, but corrupted by the powers bestowed upon them the forerunners struck back at their gods. Their belief in overthrowing the gods led to their destruction."
Even though Talassar had heard this story many times he was enchanted by Niobys rendition. The old man was one of the best storytellers amongst the Favoured. "What happened next is unknown. Whatever fragments exist are ruthlessly suppressed by the heavens and all records of that time are either destroyed or kept out of our reach. Nonetheless, there were two outcomes. First, the forerunners were wiped out of existence. Second, the great races signed a peace and divided the galaxy between them. This peace, known as the Concord, limited their ability to wage war. They could only do so through their subjects. Those subjects would have to build everything themselves without the help of their gods. If this stricture is broken, that race and all the gods who help them will be culled from existence."
Talassar took a shaky breath as Niobys trailed off, adding the final lines himself. "And the Black Sun stands as the guarantor. Those who break the laws face its power."
"Hardly so grim." Niobys chuckled. He ran the scanner over the panel and nodded at the results. "The Black Sun is not omnipotent. You of all people should know that." Talassar nodded. It was guided by rules and beliefs no sentient could truly understand. "Besides. It doesn't matter..." Niobys pulled out his little psionic toy and spun it in his hands a few times. He tossed it into the air absent mindedly and stared at Talassar long enough to make him uncomfortable. Niobys tilted his head to the side as if he was listening to something in the distance, studying the pulsing toy as it arced through the air. Before Talassar could question the odd behaviour, Niobys slapped his hands together and pointed the toy at him, waves of energy blasting out of him. "One does not doubt the most Holy Guardians, Favoured."
Talassar fell to his knees at the castigation and prayed for forgiveness. [Forgive me benevolent Holy Guardians for my doubts. I am but a weak mortal...]
The symbol on his chest flashed weakly while he prayed and Niobys stood over him tapping the toy against his wrist, considering Talassar with a deep frown. A few minutes passed and Talassar was lost, a psionic storm seizing his mind as the Guardians sealed his Essence for punishment.
"You must have faith in the gods for some time still Tal." Niobys' voice filtered through the world of flames Talassar found himself in and he struggled to look up, but the old man was already out of the door.
Weekly Power Status
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