The captive’s mind was a fragile web, splintered at the edges from his unnatural bond with psionic energy. As I connected to him through the pod’s neural interface, his thoughts came in scattered fragments, like echoes ricocheting through a canyon.

Memories mixed with emotions, and the overwhelming residue of etheric strain gnawed at his psyche.

His memories revealed an unnatural affinity for psionics, though wielding it came at a steep cost to his mental state. It was akin to attempting to control the torrent of a raging river, immensely powerful but dangerously unmanageable.

I caught fragmented glimpses of conversations between his creators, their voices discussing the costly and arduous process of producing more like him. The failure rate was alarmingly high, with many subjects succumbing to mental instability.

His memories revealed scenes of others losing control, their psionic abilities spiralling into chaos, only to be swiftly eliminated to prevent further damage to the surrounding clones

I delved into the earliest memories of his psionic training, though much of the foundational knowledge was fragmented. Even the appearances of his instructors were blurred, their features distorted by the fractured state of his recollections.

However, one detail stood clear, the structure of psionic abilities was meticulously organized into tiers, each defining a distinct level of power and mastery.

Those of the Initiate stage. It was basic, almost childlike in its simplicity. Empathic chains formed tenuous emotional links between individuals, like threads of static electricity sparking briefly before dissipating.

His attempts at psi tracing revealed a rudimentary awareness of etheric signatures, faint and fleeting as if he were groping through the dark for a candle’s flicker.

Paralysis, however, was his most intriguing ability. I witnessed his efforts to immobilize targets during training exercises, and while it lasted only seconds, the power was enough to give him an edge. It was clear he relied on this to mask his physical inadequacies in combat.

I tried to attempt to replicate the same techniques, despite my vast psionic reserves, and replicating these abilities felt clumsy. My mind, though immensely powerful, was divided into countless tasks managing drones, expanding tunnels, and strategizing for war.

My attempts to establish an empathic chain resulted in fleeting pulses of emotion, but I couldn’t sustain them. Psi tracing proved equally frustrating, while I could sense etheric signatures, the precision required to pinpoint them escaped me.

I was becoming more frustrated. It was like trying to paint a masterpiece with an unsteady hand. My mind’s vastness was both my strength and my limitation, and I realized I would have to refine my focus if I hoped to wield psionics effectively.

Leaving the first captive in his pod, I turned my attention to the remaining nine prisoners. My drones moved efficiently, herding the prisoners into individual pods. They struggled, their fear evident, but resistance was futile. One by one, they were subdued, their minds laid bare for me to examine.

Still, their minds held valuable insights. I moved methodically, diving into each prisoner’s consciousness as they were secured in their pods. The process became smoother with each attempt. I learned to navigate their memories, extracting information with greater precision.

Stolen story; please report.

From all the soldiers, I unravelled the operating mechanisms of their infantry weapons. Its various modular configurations, how to clean, store and maintain their weapons. Their energy cell design was complex but easily repaired with the right materials.

From another, I pieced together the intricacies of their vehicle systems. The configuration of their armours layered composite, even how to operate their vehicle.

Some of their armoured environment suits were maintained with a standardized set of tools, most of which I could replicate using my bio-fabricators.

The soldiers’ tactics were of equal importance. They favoured coordinated strikes, using combined arms to overwhelm opponents.

Infantry worked in unison with drones and vehicles, leveraging superior firepower and mobility, while orbital support was used for overwhelming support. It was a stark contrast to my current methods, which relied heavily on attrition and ambushes.

By the time I extracted the final memories of the ninth captive, my mind was buzzing with new knowledge. I began issuing commands to my bio-fabricators, instructing them to produce replicas of the enemy’s tools. If I could maintain the weapons and armour, they could be useful when I saw an opportunity to infiltrate their ranks.

My efforts to wield psionics continued, but progress was slow. I focused on the Initiate’s abilities, starting with Paralysis. Targeting one of the prisoners in his pod, I reached into his mind and attempted to seize control of his motor functions.

For a brief moment, I succeeded, his body stiffened, his limbs frozen in place. But then, his body began to react. The pod detected the abnormal shifts and, attempted to adjust, but it was too late. His form started to break down, leaving my captive nothing more than a floating mass, destined to be recycled.

I ordered a few burrowers to grab the pod and send it off for recycling. For a brief moment, I felt a slight fatigue from the effort, but it passed quickly.

My mind, though vast, was stretched thin by the demands of managing my drones, expanding my tunnels, and analysing the captives’ memories. The precision required for psionics was at odds with my gestalt nature.

Moving towards trying psi tracing proved the most elusive. Despite the captive’s memories of using it to track etheric signatures, my attempts yielded only vague impressions, like ripples on the surface of a vast ocean.

I realized that my mind’s division was not the only obstacle. My very consciousness encompassing countless tasks was ill-suited to the precision required for psionics. If I wanted to master these abilities, I would need to offload some of my responsibilities, delegating more tasks to my drones and focusing my mental energy, but with the current possibility of an attack coming I would need to hold off.

As more of his fragmented mind was pushed and broken, more memories were absorbed, and I uncovered traces of more advanced psionics. These belonged to a higher tier. Adepts and Vanguards, warriors with powers far beyond the Initiate’s grasp.

In his mind, I glimpsed the abilities of Adepts. Telepathy allowed them to communicate silently across vast distances, their thoughts intertwining like threads in a web.

Focus Awareness enhanced their perception, enabling them to process multiple streams of information simultaneously. Psi Infusion was their most fascinating skill, imbuing weapons and allies with etheric energy to enhance their effectiveness.

These abilities were a quantum leap from the initiates, but they came at a cost. Adepts required rigorous training to control their powers, and even then, their etheric reserves were limited. Prolonged use would leave them, drainedand vulnerable to conventional attacks.

Deeper still, I unearthed fragments of the Vanguard tier. These psionics were battlefield leaders, wielding their powers with deadly precision.

Psi Links allowed them to share information and emotions with their allies, creating a seamless network of coordination. Intrusive Hallucination was a weapon of psychological warfare, twisting the senses of their enemies and sowing chaos.

The most destructive ability, however, was the Mind Drill. I witnessed the captive’s attempts to use it against me during our initial encounter, his desperate effort to tear into my consciousness.

As I absorbed these memories, I began to see the limitations of the captive’s training. His powers were artificial, grafted onto a mind ill equipped to handle them, I needed more than practice I needed to experiment