Star Force: Temple Wars by Aer-ki Jyr (books to read in a lifetime txt) 📕

“Enter, Plausious,” the machine said as it stepped back and broke down into numerous parts that retreated into the wall as the weapon nodes likewise disappeared.

The Reignor breathed deeply as Davis walked around in front of him to get his attention.

“What just happened?” he demanded.

“They know what we did here,” he said meekly. “And I have been absolved of it…”

2

Plausious walked through the interior of the Maty along with Davis as the Ren’mak rode on his shoulder, but he was not stable. The station around him seemed to exude a pulse that rattled him to his core…but not in a menacing way. He felt as if he was basking in pure superiority, as if a child stepping into the audience chamber of an elder far wiser and more skilled than him without being able to gage the depth of his inadequacy.

Davis said they were going to where one of the few living Gahana on this station resided in near stasis, and had stayed quiet after Plausious had explained the trial he had just been put through…something that no other visitor to the Maty undergone since Star Force had taken possession.

The Neofan had been in this galaxy before, on multiple occasions after the building of the Temples, and not in the best interests of the inhabitants. Apparently these forays had been detected by the Gahana’s probes and cataloged, including the purging of the Zak’de’ron, for which he would have been denied entry to the Maty.

But the wisdom of its builders had made sure to examine the individual rather than just the race, and his desire to learn and grow, along with his exile and other changes to his mindset had triggered a test of intent…which he had passed.

The superior intelligence here had deemed him worthy of entrance…but had not even bothered to contest Star Force or their guests.

Which spoke bounds about how benevolent the Director’s empire truly was.

The pressure in his mind that had challenged him to go back was now gone, but his headache remained…though it was not the same. It was now mobile, and not due to the nanites he now carried. He did not know the purpose of them, but it had been made clear to him that he would not be allowed access into the Maty without them inside him…a demand he had not contested.

Plausious had explained these things to Davis as they walked, then the Human had let Plausious alone to his own thoughts, clearly sensing his instability. It was as if a spike had been implanted in his head long, long ago and he had become so used to it that he had become numb to its presence.

But now it was beginning to dislodge, and he was unnumbing as a result.

It had begun after he escaped the Hadarak planet, slowly, incrementally, with him believing it was just transitional difficulties. The Ren’mak had much larger issues, but it had fully adapted to Star Force habitation by now…yet his own discomfort steadily grew.

Something here was relieving it, as well as accelerating the spike’s removal. A blind spot was uncovering, and it was not pleasant. But this needed to happen, so the Reignor embraced it rather than trying to lock it back down.

The walk took forever, and every step of the way he became more and more certain that his destiny was going to be revealed here. Everything he had gone through in his life had brought him to this point, however clumsily it had happened, and the momentous event seemed oblivious to Davis and the other Star Force personnel that they occasionally passed during their slow trek through the station.

Was he imagining this awe? Or were they so in sync with the Natural Code that this was normal for them?

He didn’t ask the Director about this or anything else, and they agreeably walked in silence until they arrived at a random section of the station where a hidden door appeared…and inside it was a mix of Gahana and Star Force technology surrounding an egg-like vertical chamber that was an opaque blue.

Plausious twitched, taking a staggered step forward as his chest ached…and he knew it was from the nanites.

“Reignor?” Davis asked.

“There is something here that needs protected, isn’t there?” he asked, studying the room intently.

“Yes there is. What are you feeling?”

“The nanites warn me to tread lightly.”

“What you are a looking at is a Gahana inside a stasis chamber,” Davis said, pointing at the egg. “We modified the ones they used and created a better version, with their considerable help. Inside they are protected from the toxic radiation while having a limited access to the Maty. The shielding only protects a small amount, and if they are too active they will take damage. However, we can transition into the Essence realm to talk to them directly, and this room has been constructed to allow us to do so without them taking any damage.”

“They allow you to wake them at will?”

“Yes. I have been here twice before, and once at the Teurty and Snoejy. I have not been to the recently acquired Buenzy in the Core. The Gahana before you is called Apollo by us, though they have machine code identifiers of their own. There were originally 144 Gahana spawned by the lifesprings, and every one to follow has split off from those originals through a reproductive mitosis that incorporates a new Core into an identical body with identical memories. That means Apollo has the memory of one of the originals…or at least part of it. How much he has retained I do not know, but they said their data retention, while massive, was not infinite.”

“Have you spoke to this one before?”

“Yes, that’s why we came here. He is the eldest outside the Buenzy and a 6th generation Gahana. The next closest is a 12th, aside