”The problem with relying on what remains of an old race for development is that you only really get to see the final product, and even that usually isn’t in perfect condition. The Progenitors did not go from a barely space-faring race to what now remains of them in a handful of years. We can’t be sure of course, but there must have been at least a few thousand years of technical development between those two points. Because of that, most of their technologies had intermediary steps before reaching the point before their disappearance. When we study the ruins and try to copy their technologies, we miss all those intermediary steps. Even if we get some of the technology working, we don't really know how it works. We might be able to replicate it to an extent with enough effort, but we don't truly know what led to the development of said technologies. There may be potential disasters buried in that technology, only kept in check by fail-safes that our clumsy copies do not have. That’s why many races only use the Progenitor technologies for inspiration and for a basis of their own version of similar things. They are also used as a sort of ultimate goal. Unfortunately, some races are not as careful…”
- High Ambassador of the Mrrroww
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Selendil watched as the ship launched a dozen fighters and even a few mechs before slowly turning towards her. “I think that’s enough time.” She muttered and prepared for battle. She also noted that one of the mechs was piloted by a being that might be equal to a Dhar child in psionic power. The rest were rather negligible.
She sensed the ship fire some of the weapons that had come out of previously hidden gun-ports. She didn’t feel like blocking so she disappeared from the spot she had been earlier. ‘Mass drivers. Quite rudimentary but effective. More suited to combat between ships of cruiser class and above. They likely tried to take a lucky shot since you were not moving.’ Nox reported.
There were thousands of ways to attack others in space combat, but the old-fashioned method of taking something with a mass and accelerating that object to high velocities to ram the enemy still remained popular. The simplicity and ease of use appealed to many races. And all you really needed to do to make the weapon more effective was to find ways to increase either the speed of the object being launched or its mass. Of course, it was a little more complicated than that, as the object had to survive the acceleration process without breaking apart or melting, and a hundred other small variables, but the basic premise was there. The mass drivers were also generally fairly effective and remained in use for most races. Still, they were quite useless if you were unable to hit your target.
Selendil appeared behind the enemy ship and launched a counter-attack. A wave of energy flashed forward and most of the fighters crumbled under the pressure, as if torn apart by opposing gravitational forces. The large ship was intact as a blue field of energy flashed around it, though the field seemed to be heavily affected by the wave. “Oh, I didn’t think they could take that. Apparently their defenses are better than their weapons.” Selendil commented.
“They seem to be in possession of void shield technology. It would appear they have developed the technology fairly far. I assume it’s a major focus of their strategy.” Nox analyzed the enemy defenses. Void shields were a technology that even the Dhar used for a long period of time. The technology was eventually replaced by more effective methods, but it had served them well for a long time. It created a localized spatial distortion and dispersed any enemy attacks inside the distortion. Of course the shield had its limits, but could theoretically stop any attack as long as the distortion could be maintained. Any attack that came into contact with the shield that is.
At the same time, the point defense weapons of the Vindicator turned towards Selendil and several rapidly firing turrets sprayed fire in her direction. She once again vanished. The battle so far had been entirely one-sided, but it did serve as an example of the latest military developments of the galaxy, and similar results had been seen in other battles, though this was an extreme case. Void shields made any small weapons rather useless as those weapons were entirely negated. That’s why many races had focused on developing bigger ships with bigger guns that could overwhelm the void shields. On the other hand, bigger ships also had more powerful generators and more powerful void shields. A happy little combination for the races that had the biggest ships, but less so for those that were behind on the curve.
This arms race had also led to developments in other directions, namely attacks that bypassed the shields entirely. So far, that primarily meant psions that could get close enough to use their powers to destroy the enemy ships without being affected by the shields. A psion in a small fighter or a mech could avoid the shots from the large guns entirely and just destroy their target once they got close enough. Of course, if the enemy had psions of their own for defense, then things got complicated.
As Selendil appeared again, the only enemy with any real power had been able to sense her destination and unleashed a torrent of plasma bolts from his personal weapon before reaching towards Selendil psionically. “A rather clumsy attempt, though keep an eye on that one Nox. Their mind might be a little stronger and I might be able to get more out of them if we take them as a prisoner.” A shield of protective psionic energy easily deflected the plasma bolts and she casually crushed the enemy psion’s attempt to affect her mind. With a twist of her mech's wrist, the enemy mech seemed to suddenly break apart as invisible threads of psionic energy rendered it inoperable.
Heinrich cursed inside his mech as the enemy moved back towards the Vindicator. He had never faced an enemy like this. It seemed to appear and disappear at will. The fight had only taken a few seconds but the enemy had destroyed or disabled all the fighters in less than a second and now his mech was not responding to anything he tried. All his displays were showing catastrophic damage, and he had barely even noticed what had happened.
Normally he would use more direct psionic attacks, but the enemy moved so quickly that he didn’t get the opportunity. Besides, he had tried crushing the enemy mech with his telekinetic abilities at the same time as he had launched his mental attack, but it seemed like there had been no effect. None. It wasn’t like the enemy had deflected his attack; it was like the enemy didn’t even notice. And he had used full force in that attack. He was a new Deity, but he was still a legitimate one. He might not be enough to turn large battles around, but a single enemy should’ve been a simple task.
He was then forced to watch in growing horror as the Vindicator was sliced into two. The others likely didn’t even know what hit them, but Heinrich could sense a several kilometer long thin strand of psionic energy that had made the cut seemingly without resistance. What sort of an ability was that? He had heard about various abilities from other Deities, but nothing quite like this. He knew Deities could destroy large numbers of enemy ships as he was capable of doing it as well, though only barely. There were rumors of powerful psions destroying entire fleets by creating something akin to a small supernova explosion. Yet, there was something even more disconcerting about the almost casual and effortless feel that he got from the attack that had just been used. It wasn’t flashy, but he could see the results.
Even Heinrich could have destroyed the Vindicator with his power, but it would have required a lot of effort, and the psions inside wouldn’t have just allowed that to happen. This, on the other hand, had happened so quickly and stealthily that no one within the ship had managed to react. His teacher had always warned him that the most dangerous enemy wasn’t the one who had the flashiest abilities. Instead, the most dangerous enemy was the one that could kill and make it look easy.
Meanwhile, Selendil looked at the enemy ship that was now in two pieces. She had not actually expected to succeed so easily. She knew she would win this fight, but this was a bit too simple. Did the enemy have no defenses against concentrated psionic attacks? Even Dhar children could defend against the attack she had just used. Granted, they would have been squeezed to death quite quickly, but they would have at least tried to fight it. She was brought out of her thoughts as Nox sent her a notification.
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“Master, a shuttle exited the ship just as you attacked. It’s flying towards the nearest edge of the planet’s gravity well. It’s keeping a low profile, hoping we wouldn’t notice.” The AI placed an indicator on her display.
"We already let one escape. Let's not repeat that mistake." She replied. Suddenly a spear-shaped object appeared in her hand and she pointed at her target. A single beam of psionic energy suddenly lanced out from the weapon at the speed of light, connecting Selendil and her target for just a moment. Then the target was no more.
She looked towards the large ship that she had sliced in half. The damage was fairly extensive, but the cut had been surprisingly clean. Most of the people inside the ship were still alive as pressure doors isolated them from the void. She prepared to finish what she had started before a wave of emotions crashed over her. She lowered her weapon a bit while shaking her head. “I really shouldn’t have absorbed those three until after the battle.”
“Emotional feedback?” Nox asked, knowing what the problem was. They had been together for a long time after all.
“Yes. The phase-smiths and engineers always were the type to be more soft-hearted.” Selendil replied. Even though they were a warrior people, not all Dhar reveled in bloodshed, especially if the enemy didn’t put up a proper fight.
The Keepers knew that while knowledge, skills, and experience were the most important part of the people they stored, part of what made the great people best in their field was their nature. So it was only natural that a small piece of that nature was also stored by the Keepers while they did their duty. Those natures were entirely passive even when the Keeper brought those particular people to the surface, but the Keepers would still be slightly affected by those same natures for as long as the person was ‘active’ so to speak. A Keeper as powerful as Selendil could easily suppress any feelings or impulses that might come as a result. It was a little bit like someone giving their opinion on a given subject. Selendil was free to ignore that opinion, but she could also take it under advisement.
Now all three of the people she had brought to the surface earlier had shared the opinion that mercy should be given in the current situation. They had even provided arguments and advise to support their position. “Maybe I should’ve balanced things out with a true warrior. I should've expected this to happen." Still, she was aware that she wasn't in the most stable state of mind, so she entered her inner world long enough to activate one of the old military leaders that had served the Dhar for over a thousand years. It didn't require all that much effort anyway.
Surprisingly the Strategos agreed with the engineers rather quickly. It wasn't a clear cut case, but in the end, the satisfaction of killing these grave robbers didn't outweigh the potential negatives. There were two main issues. First of all, even if the ship that had escaped the system didn't make it to civilization, the race that had sent the ship Selendil had just sliced in two already knew about the existence of her ship. This clearly wasn’t a random exploration vessel that just happened to stumble on a magnificent find. So killing these people would not stop the information from spreading. In fact, it might be a good idea to leave them alive to spread false information.
The enemy didn’t know Selendil was a Dhar. In fact, while the idea likely had occurred to them, they almost certainly dismissed the idea soon after. It was much more likely that she was someone who had stumbled on the ship before them. That was what these people would report. Someone got here first and stole the ship before they managed to gain anything. The enemy would focus on figuring out which race or organization had gotten the better of them instead of trying to find a singular live Dhar just out of stasis.
Secondly, while teaching the grave robbers a lesson was satisfying, it might have bad consequences in the long run. This enemy race clearly had no respect for Dhar ruins and certainly wouldn’t suddenly gain any just because some of them died for unknown reasons. They would just be more careful in the future. On the other hand, destroying a disabled ship and killing the crew outside a war was considered a rather dishonorable act by most races. Destroying an enemy in battle was one thing, but killing them after they had lost the ability to fight back? That was considered quite ruthless. Having the reputation of being capable of ruthlessness was good, but being ruthless on the first contact was not.
While the latter reason rang a bit hollow in her ears, she was still alone in her desire to kill them. That’s why she had activated the Strategos, so it would be a bit silly to now dismiss the advice. “Fine. Have it your way.” Selendil spoke to herself. The spirits she had stored were not actually capable of hearing, but she felt the need to speak anyway.
She made her weapon disappear and started back towards her ship. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned towards the almost destroyed mech that Nox had marked and used her abilities to drag the disabled mech along with her. She might not kill them all, but that didn’t mean she would have to spare them all either. The Strategos agreed. The prisoner was the most powerful enemy present and it was only natural to disable such a weapon from the enemy side. The same would be expected of her if she was a member of a race native to this galaxy.
Heinrich’s mech was rather unceremoniously tossed on the floor, and he was jostled around quite painfully. The cockpit was capable of absorbing shocks, but that function wasn’t exactly in perfect condition at the moment. His vision inside the mech was limited, but after a tense thirty seconds that problem was rectified. The entire mech seemed to rapidly disassemble around him, and he was left floating in the air as the remains of his mech were tossed outside the hangar door.
His suit was airtight but didn't exactly have air for long periods of time, and the spare tanks had just been tossed outside. That made him panic a bit. Being a Deity allowed him to survive with less air, but not entirely without. He soon forgot about that as his sight was captured by the being in front of him. The being was mostly covered by a powerful armor that hid most features, but it still managed to look regal and exude a sort of mental pressure, which made things even more confusing. Clearly the being was powerful, but where was its halo? It must have been at the Deity level. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the being was powerful enough to have more than one.
At the same time, Selendil was wondering the same thing, though in the opposite direction. Why was this being displaying his meager ability like it was an achievement? The halo was a sign of power, yes, but it was also a rather glaring weakness. The halo made the being more powerful, but it was also a rather obvious weak point if left in the open like that. If the halo was destroyed, then the being would almost certainly die or at least go insane. Maybe he had already lost one and that’s why he had been so weak as an opponent?
“Nox, I assume you wiped their database of any sign of us?” She asked.
“Affirmative. After stealing all their information of course.” The AI responded.
“Good, then translate what I’m about to say. I have a question I need answered before I begin.” She had gained two languages from the weak female now in stasis, but she had never tried to speak the language so it was easier to have Nox translate. The AI had likely stolen language files as well, and even if it had not, it could extrapolate the language from all the data.
“Affirmative.” Nox replied. Then it addressed the prisoner. “Hey, ape! My mistress has a question which you would do well to answer.”
‘Ape!?’ Heinrich thought rather insulted. Nox wasn’t exactly the most diplomatic of AI’s, partially because her mistress wasn’t all that diplomatic either.
“Why are you displaying your achievement ring? Surely you don’t think that feeble metal ring around it would shield it from attacks?” Nox translated the question.
The question confused Heinrich rather thoroughly. “Do you mean my halo? What do you mean why? There’s no other choice but to show it. Besides, it’s the visible proof of my rank as a Deity and the device surrounding it enhances my powers.”
“Rank as a Deity? That must be a translation error. Surely you do not think of yourself as some kind of all-knowing, all-powerful being? That ring is a sign of reaching adulthood among our people.” Nox again translated.
This caused Heinrich’s mind to shudder. A sign of adulthood? Sure, there were no clear guidelines on how to become a Deity, but it was still something only achieved by only the best among the best. The entire Tetrarchy could fit all their Deities inside a single ship if necessary. Granted, a psion could become a Deity even if they had not reached the rank of P13 when measuring pure power, but usually it required at least the rank of P10. Even for a P13 it also required mastering a single ability to the level of a master. The thought of a race where every adult was a Deity was simply horrifying.
"Enough of this charade," Selendil stated. Clearly their understanding of things was too far apart. It was easier to just rip the knowledge out of the man’s head. The tip of her tail touched the man’s forehead and he too became an open book for her. This time Selendil was more careful and the mind of the man was more sturdy. She still didn’t get quite everything she wanted, but at least she had a better understanding of the state of the galaxy.
Or at least as much understanding as one could gain from a primitive race like this. “For Thondar’s sake, how can they have so many misunderstandings about the simplest things? It's going to take me hours to just sift through all the misinformation he has gathered!" She complained while tossing the body outside into space. No stasis for this being. That was the downside of this method. Just because you could take all the information they had accumulated, that didn’t mean the information was correct.
“Not the brightest star in the sky I take it?” Nox asked with some amusement.
“If that star had been any dimmer, then it would have stopped burning a long time ago.” She sighed.
"Well, that's not really the most relevant issue at the moment anyway. You have a ship to repair, remember?" Nox pointed out.
“I remember. We need to get it to a condition where we can make a jump to a safer place before I can start proper repairs. Since we have already been discovered, this place isn’t going to remain safe for long.” She replied. “I better start with the nano-fabricators. No matter what else we want to do, we need to be able to create new parts. And I need at least one functional support beacon. That should make things easier.” The beacon would actually do some repairs on its own, so fixing one would also save her quite a bit of trouble in the long run.
"Well, anything you do will require power." Nox brought up the primary issue.
“Let’s see if we can do something about the support beacon that is still working. Even one of those things should create enough power for some basic things at least. We might even manage a warp jump, or at least a phase jump.” Selendil said thoughtfully. The three engineers that she had activated were already giving her suggestions.