Chapter 133 – EVO
***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***
***Vanya***
I glared at the communication device, treating it just like the chalice of poison it represented.
Only once showing the stupid thing the contempt it deserved, did I turn my attention to the traitor as my mind went through a myriad of possibilities. Previously, I had discarded them as too unlikely to consider. Oh, I hadn’t ignored the idea of traitors, but without investigations finding any solid proof, committing more resources to a witch-hunt was out of the question.
I poked lightly at Brook’s surface thoughts, just to test his resistance while I thought.
My mental abilities may seem like clairvoyance to outsiders, but I was painfully aware they were anything but. Based on what I knew I could easily come up with a myriad of scenarios for the future, but preparing and reacting to every single possibility was simply impossible.
Now, a very unpleasant scenario had turned likely enough that it could no longer be ignored.Folloow current novEĢls on nov/3lb((in).(co/m)
Gaia’s sagging tits! I cursed.
Language! Tianna reprimanded me immediately.
She has a point, Teresa Frost commented drily while glaring at Brook.
I turned to the Aerie elder and bowed to her. With your permission, I would request the assistance of everyone you can mobilize who has the Second Sight mutation. One communication device in the hands of a Thich delegation is one thing. A second one in the hands of one of my people opens unpleasant possibilities.
Teresa clicked her tongue. Where there’s one…
She left the sentence unfinished. There was no need to spell it out.
There are more, Magnus did so nonetheless.
He stood with Gunner next to the cell’s entrance. The two had called us unexpectedly to the ship’s jail and presented the most recent result of Gunnar’s investigation.
I closed my eyes and winced. At this point, it is a possibility we can no longer exclude. My predecessor’s corruption, inviting the enemy into our halls, and now this. I have closed my eyes for far too long. It is high time to clean the house.
But shouldn’t we have found hints if there are more of these traitors? Tianna asked. I vetted everyone in a government position after the Thich delegation revealed their true colours.
I am not concerned with people in high positions, I replied stoically. They have something to lose. But… I sighed before I continued. Greta housed the Thich delegation for months. More than enough time to corrupt some people in low positions. Social pariahs without perspectives and not much to lose. At least from their narrow-minded point of view. I gestured at Brook. Like him. And if there are just a few more, they could do untold damage to our war efforts.
I narrowed my eyes and dug a little deeper into Brook’s mind when I found what felt like a weak point, so I applied a bit of pressure. He shuddered and to my astonishment, he resisted the intrusion.
I am afraid breaking through his mental defence will take me some time. I chewed on my inner cheek as I considered the implications of Brook’s resistance. Someone trained him and trained him well. A very powerful psychic.
I am surprised he isn’t already spilling all his secrets as powerful as you are, Magnus commented.
Oh, he would be spilling if I desired to, I replied. But if I tear apart his mind with force, I might not get as much information as I could if I had been careful. It’s like having a porcelain vase with information written on the inside. If I carefully peer in through a hole and take my time, I will eventually learn everything there is to know. Alternatively, I can just crush it and try to put the pieces back together. If I do that, I will get at least some information very quickly, but I have no guarantee of ever restoring all the information.
It went without mention that doing it the hard way would leave Brook as a babbling idiot. We would either have to put him down, or I would have to invest the time to painstakingly put him back together. Bluntly said, I wasn’t willing to invest so much time in someone of Brook’s calibre.
I hummed as I poked yet another spot, causing Brook to twitch. Minds are very complex puzzles.
Then I suppose we should stop distracting you, Teresa commented and turned towards Magnus. Thank you very much for your help. There is no way to tell what could have happened if this spy was allowed to roam around freely.
Magnus raised his hands. Oh, please don’t praise me for finding the bastard. Gunnar did all the work. I was only there for the final step of the investigation.
Of course. Teresa gave Gunnar a nod of acknowledgement. We thank you for your assistance and expertise in this manner.
Oh, there is no need. Gunnar scratched the back of his head. If my people join forces with yours, we would be stupid not to give it our best.
Since it was impossible to mentally grasp the creature, I turned my focus to the laughing man, hoping I could help him somehow. But just as when I had tried to look into the pair’s minds previously, there were dozens, maybe hundreds of minds at work within Magnus all at once.
And all of them knew fear, except for the laughing man who now held the creature by its throat, choking it with glee.
You are not fearing me as you should, laughing man! the creature rasped, alien and yet understandable. It grasped at the hands which held it, but Magnus fingers could just as well be steel as they combined with slithering filaments encasing the creatures neck.
Surprisingly, the laughing man stopped, not laughing like before, but still chuckling. And why should I? I fought worse things than you.
All humans know fear! the creature answered. I looked into your minds and it is an inseparable part of you!
Aah, but am I? the laughing man questioned. Human, that is?
You are wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! the thing concluded, denying reality like some child.
Its captor only nodded.
Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful, the laughing man mused as his hands wrung the creature’s neck just a little bit tighter, the slightly pointed fingertips digging into its writhing skin.
The creature’s barbed tongue shot out, sliding off the laughing man’s faceplate as it tried to find a weak spot. It tried to dig its tongue into the less protected area between the chest plate and the helmet where the neck was exposed.
Dozens of filaments answered, catching the sinewy intruder and locking it in place.
You will not end me. You are prey! the creature blasted the area not with a scream, but with yet another purely mental assault. The raw power almost brought me to my limits.
But I will, the laughing man replied, sounding amused by the creature’s claim. For I am waiting at the end of everyone’s path. Whether you challenge the world or the multiverse itself, at the end you will face… me.
The creature’s neck finally snapped as arching electricity charred its skin and armoured fingers dug through flesh and sinew, separating the monster’s head from its shoulders.
And with its death, I was suddenly free again. My mind throbbed as if I had tried to combine the worst migraine with an attempt to brain myself.
Vanya! Teresa rolled off of me and pulled me to my feet. Are you alright?
Physically, yes. Mentally, no. I held my head as tears began to well up in my eyes. My head felt like it had been split in two. Whatever the thing was, I would never repeat my attempt to suppress its psychic bomb. I tried to suppress it, but it was just too damned powerful!
Upon returning my attention to Magnus, I found him ripping out the creature’s tongue. Then he threw the monster’s head up in the air, having it spin it before catching it again. To be or not to be. That’s the question. I think I will mount you on a wall as a trophy.
All around us, people slowly regained their wits.
Teresa gestured at the guards. You, run to the bridge and find out why the ship is still tilting! You, join him and return with a damage report as soon as possible. We need to know how far the effect spread. How many ships were affected?
The two guards she had given orders to ran off.
The ship may have been affected, but I doubt the effect spread to the whole fleet, I reassured her. Psychic effects exponentially lose in power with distance. It was powerful. More powerful than anything I encountered before, but it wasn’t strong enough to reach out more than a kilometre or two.
Lets hope so. Though, that’s still far enough to affect some nearby support vessels, Teresa replied. And why was Magnus unaffected? I am not a dedicated psychic, but I received extensive training in dealing with mental attacks and I was utterly incapable of doing anything!
I pursed my lips, my eyes drifting warily to the man who had saved us. How to explain? Insanity? Multiple personality disorder? I wasnt quite sure what Magnus and his partner were at this point, but somewhere along the line, their mental state had left the ranks of normal humans behind.
Its the sub-personalities! Magnus replied, less worried than I would be in his shoes. One of them is just badass!
I almost did a double-take. Badass!?
Staying quiet would probably be better, but I just couldn’t do it any more. Badass!? I have no clue what is going on in your head, or what you ate to get the mutation which is messing with your head, but whatever this sub-personality is you have up there, it is utterly insane! I have never felt anything like it! Its a psychopath! It has no concept of fear and utterly relishes combat of any form. And that’s it! It literally has no other purpose!
Magnus smiled at me, sending a shiver down my spine. Dont worry. On the flip side, he is one of the happiest dudes I ever met. But enough about me. We should worry about what happened to the ship and the crew. I cant imagine its a good thing if everyone suddenly stops what they are supposed to be doing on a vessel like this.