[Fan Fiction] Looking forward to the Mirror (Completed)

[Krulle]

i am less concerned in her direct approach to securing the carrier of the information she needs.
But she is looking forward to the interrogation in a manner that makes my hairs stand up.
(which is not a bad thing, as this is just a story. And she really hates Umiak. More than the rest of all Loroi together ever could.)

I definitely dislike her chuckle after she asked Kitiiikht-14-Tahkit-Tuk “[...] what did your kind do to the one you used against us?”, apparently knowing what the device is.
This connections make my skin feel really uncomfortable.
Other interpretations of this chuckle are less serious:
- She already sees how this device (and its kins) can and will be used against the Umiak.
- The device is a heavily altered Umiak (after the Historians told the Umiak bits and pieces about telepathy). Which seen from outside seems to have been tortured more than Shadowcloud could imagine torturing Kitiikht-14-Tahkit-Tuk...


I'm looking forward to the wrap-up chapters.

BTW, I assume the Humans, in their need to switch off the device ASAP, simply killed Kt’rkrktkr 48 trkrk when they encountered him, as they did not have the means to recognise this Umiak as a technician who might know a lot more, and since the Humans do not have the knowledge yet of how dangerous captured Umiak are. Nor the ability to actually capture Kt'rkrktkr 48 trkrk alive.

[dragoongfa]

The next part will have extensive cover of the 'device's' inner sanctum; suffice to say that you are partially right on both of your hypotheses.

[raistlin34]

Question: If I have read it right, in your fic humans are, from a loroi´s psychics point of view, a blind spot which cannot be directly targeted. Yet in the original comic, Fireblade had no problems pushing Alexander in the elevator.

[dragoongfa]

Question: If I have read it right, in your fic humans are, from a loroi´s psychics point of view, a blind spot which cannot be directly targeted. Yet in the original comic, Fireblade had no problems pushing Alexander in the elevator.

Humans are undetectable and impervious to telepathy but they can be visually identified and thus targeted when they are within line of sight. Fireblade in canon used telekinesis on Alex when she could actually see him. If Fireblade could sense Alex through telepathy she shouldn't have any trouble using telekinesis on him without a line of sight. The deadly appliance of telekinesis without a line of sight is demonstrated in the fan fic.

I have a suspicion that only Beryl would have escorted Alex if he could be sensed; I high ranking and capable Teidar like Fireblade wouldn't have her time wasted as a lowly escort for an ordinary alien. But an identical alien with Lotai could end up being extremely dangerous and I have an inkling that Fireblade acted the way she acted to remind the potential telepathic and telekinetic alien not to mess with her for any reason.

[Zakharra]

Yes. I believe it has been confirmed by Arioch, that humans are invisible to telepathy and being sensed via any form of telepathy. So when a human it out of sight, the Loroi cannot sense him/her. However telekinesis isn't telepathy, it affects a physical object, such as flesh. So in that case, the human Lotai is not a shield. All that prevents is mental contact/control/manipulation, not use of powers that affect physical stuff. So a Loroi that can start fires, throw/move things, or whatever, can affect a human, IF she can see the human. Hence Fireblade being able to give Alex a shove in the elevator.

[dragoongfa]

Chapter 17, part 1

She was meeting the same human but on a different ship and under completely different circumstances; this realization didn’t make her any less tense. In fact she was probably ever tenser now that she was when they first walked up to each other back at Silverspear. Perhaps this was due to his heavy armor which reminded her of Shell Hard-Troops.

“It’s good to see you again Torimor Shadowcloud.”

“It’s good to see you too Lieutenant Allerberger.” She replied as she sized up the human marine from a different point of view. “Indeed, we would have certainly assumed the worse had you come aboard Silverspear wearing such an armor.”

“Ain’t that the truth!” He replied with a chuckle while slightly raising the sealed off stump that used to be his left arm. “Although it didn’t do me much good when one of the armored pests got too close.”

“Armored Pests? You mean a Hard-Troop?”

“If that’s what you call the armored ones then yes; tough and deadly pests to the last one, only went down when we set the mass drivers to mid and high settings.”

“Yes, those sound like Hard-Troops but… you said mass drivers?” She asked in disbelief.

“Yes, they are our standard issue personal weapons.”

“On ships?”

“Some time ago people found out that laser weapons don’t do anything against heavy ablated armor and between the options of having ships captured without much of a fight or held and damaged they picked the later.” Lieutenant Allerberger explained.

“I see, that would explain how you managed to fight off the attack on your ship.”

“They weren’t serious at first; I think that their aim was to keep us occupied while a second force sneaked into our ship unopposed.”

“That’s their standard doctrine for non-telepathic races. One force draws the enemy away and occupies them with their weapons set to wound rather than kill while another sneaks in and captures critical areas and personnel as quickly as possible. The first force usually suffers more casualties but with their heavy armor they are able to take more hits than average.” She explained.

“Their weapons were set to wound? No wonder that the pests didn’t get anyone at first despite the many hits they scored.” He commented.

“I think that the combination of your armor and weapons caught them by surprise; very few species of your tech level employ such heavy armor and weaponry aboard ships.”

“That would explain why the last two armored pests went for hand to hand kills the moment they saw us. They probably weren’t sure if the blasters would be enough to guarantee one hit kills.” Lieutenant Allerberger added.

“Yes, Hard-Troops are extremely dangerous in hand to hand combat but… why do you keep calling them pests?”

“Because they look exactly like pests.” He said matter of factly.

“Do you mean like a small animal? If you have animals that look like Shells I find it hard to believe that they would be mostly harmless pests.”

“I think that there is a misunderstanding here, what does the word ‘lanal’ mean to you exactly?”

“Lanal means small and bothersome lifeforms.”

“Ah, I understand; the Orgus taught us differently. We have a class of very small life forms on our homeworld which we call 'insects' or 'bugs'. There are myriads of different species, many of them having chitinous exoskeletons, multiple limbs and mandibles; when people first saw pictures of the Umiak they instantly called them bugs.”

“And are these ‘bugs’ dangerous lifeforms?”

“Not really; there are some highly poisonous ones like certain species of scorpions or spiders. Ants and termites are also best described as nature’s industrialists because of their nests and way of doing things. The most dangerous ones are probably the kinds that carry diseases, they caused quite a few plagues throughout history and they must be the reasons why we find all bugs instinctively disgusting to the point of wanting to kill them on sight.” He explained with a tone that sounded serious despite his helmet.

“You kill lifeforms who look like Umiak on sight?” Shadowcloud asked in disbelief.

“They are ugly and icky and our females have an overwhelming and often funny revulsion to them.”

“This has to be a joke.”

“No joke, we even have stories about massive invading alien bug hordes.” He replied with the same serious tone as before.

“These stories of yours will make some of us wonder if some humans can actually see the future.” Shadowcloud joked.

“I will start contemplating this myself if there are talking lizards and various tentacle monsters we have yet to meet.” He commented with a chuckle.

“Such things do exist.”

“Damn, could it be that we are a different kind of telepaths?”

“Maybe you are…” She replied with a forced chuckle before continuing. “But I think that both of us aren’t here for idle talk.”

“Indeed…” Lieutenant Allerberger replied with a nod. “We found and secured something of great interest to you with the help of your medic.”

“Yes Doranzer Needle has informed me.”

“Then you already know that both… individuals we secured are alive and that the equipment involved is mostly intact. You can consider both of them, their equipment and everything that has to do with them yours to do as you will. However we consider the rest of the ship and unrelated equipment to be our property.”

“I can agree with that.” She replied and Lieutenant Allerberger nodded.

“I have been informed by Doranzer Needle that you have dispatched all remaining Umiak and as such I don’t see a reason for either of us to maintain so many armed combatants on this ship. Once our wounded and dead have been extracted I will leave only two guards who will monitor the ship to make sure that it doesn’t suffer any accidental damage. They won’t bother you or ask questions unless someone starts breaking something that they shouldn’t.”

“That’s understandable…” She couldn’t read his expression with his helmet still on but it was safe to assume that they still didn’t trust them or perhaps this was their way of not making themselves look subservient to them; the Barsam liked to do this a lot. “We will also extract our dead and wounded before fully focusing on what is ours. I will leave a squad to guard our specialists as they extract said persons and equipment. Once that is done they will leave this ship; no one will stray to any unrelated parts of the ship nor will they damage any unrelated equipment.”

“I can agree with such an arrangement.”

“I also want to offer assistance in treating your wounded with the equipment back at our ship.”

“That will certainly be a welcome gesture…” He replied as he briefly glanced at his severed limb. “We would also like to extract our team from your ship as soon as possible.”

“Of course, as you have already been told they are all unharmed but a little agitated with everything that happened.”

“That’s understandable…” He replied with a nod. “Before I go back to tend to my subordinates I would like to inform you that our captain will like to meet you in person as soon as possible.”

“I will be eager to meet your captain once everything has been taken care of.”

“I am glad to hear this. Now if you will excuse me Mizol Torimor, I think that both of us have things to tend to.”

“Indeed.” She replied before both of them turned and walked back to their waiting subordinates.

“Teidar Sezon Razormist, you are to coordinate the extraction of our dead and wounded. A squad comprised of a Teidar and three Soroin are to guard our prize at all times until we extract everything. They are not to wander off or damage anything else on the ship. The Shell captain is to also be transported to Silverspear and only I am to be allowed access to it.”

“What about the humans?”

“The humans will leave two of their armored marines as guards to look after their trophy, they won’t bother us if we don’t bother them.”

“Understood.”

“Teidar Coldsword and Soroin Torret Darkwing, follow me to the Shell…telepath.” Both warriors were perplexed with her orders but they didn’t object. The Teidar was curious about why she was picked while Darkwing was just resigned to whatever fate befell her. She nodded when they approached and begun walking towards the human positions with the two of them in tow.

“Teidar Coldsword, with the death of Teidar Longblade I find myself with only two assigned guards. I am using the authority granted to me by the admiralty to assign you into my entourage, as such you will report only to me and Teidar Sezon Razormist.” The Teidar was shocked and taken aback by that and even waited briefly for a retort by Darkwing which never came. “Teidar Sezon Razormist has described you as steadfast and sensible in the brief time we have been together while your actions during this operation have been praiseworthy.” This was true as far as she was concerned, Longblade died because her lack of combat experience made her inflexible. She failed to adapt when sensing became useless and that was her undoing. Coldsword who was able to adapt and act on her own despite their handicap showed some promise. Shadowcloud hoped that she would have the time to properly drill this new addition to her retinue before going into another mission.

“Soroin Torret Darkwing, Silverspear and her crew performed beyond any reasonable expectations while under unpredictable and extremely difficult circumstances. I will make sure that the ship’s name will be carried again by a warship without its honor besmirched. I regret to inform you that the need of secrecy will postpone proper citations and awards to it and its crew. Nevertheless, the survivors will be short listed for promotion, given enhanced access privileges to males and their wishes for their next postings will be respected. Furthermore you will ascend to the Torrai caste once you are deemed fit for further duty.”

“Why should I accept such ascension?” The Soroin snapped back angrily at her.

“Because you will be far more useful to the war effort as a Torrai than just a Soroin.” Shadowcloud replied calmly and pointed forward, towards the piles of torn apart Shells who died while attacking the humans. “The wrath of the Torrai needs to be focused on the Shells and not those who have the misfortune of looking like us while also having a natural and impregnable Lotai. The humans may prove themselves a threat in the distant future but for now they acted better than some of our so called allies; the Torrai will know this truth and you will be the one who will carry it to them.”

“Don’t expect me to become a sympathizer to any alien, Mizol!” She replied angrily.

“I have no reason to expect that but I do expect that a Soroin will pass along the truth as she saw it.” Shadowcloud felt that the Soroin wanted to rebuke her just for her pride's shake but stopped herself from even thinking about lying; instead she focused on something else to change the subject and ease her mind.

“What weapons did the humans use to cause such damage to the Shells?”

“Their standard issue personal weapons are mass drivers.’

“On spaceships? Are they insane?” Darkwing asked out of reflex and the Teidar readily agreed with her.

“They may be that under that Lotai of theirs.” Shadowcloud half joked before continuing. "Both the Delrias and Barsam preferred to use mass drivers on ships at that tech level since such weapons were the only way for them to pass through the heavy armor their marines carried at the time. The human approach to armor seem to have forced them onto the same path, something that was fortunate for them since mass drivers are the only weapons in such tech levels that can kill Hard-Troops." Shadowcloud replied as they reached the intersection in which the humans held the Shells at bay, the same intersection that the Shells attacked them right after the Shout started.

“Their armors do look impressive.” Darkwing agreed once she saw the assembled humans who were in the process of taking care of their own dead and wounded.

"Probably what helped them keep the Shells back; the alloys of their tech level are able to stop a blaster on low and some moderate settings if they are thick enough but wouldn’t do much against a lethal setting. This fact, along with their weapons must have confused the Shells as to how to deal with them, forcing them to resort to their stupid shock assaults."

“And they don’t have cybernetic enhancements to help them carry that much weight?” Coldsword asked.

“No but they do have the muscles necessary to carry all that. Their marines are probably as strong as a Delrias and even a Barsam would pause for thought if faced with two of them at once.”

“They can’t be males.” Coldsword commented in disbelief.

“I assure you that they are fully endowed males Teidar. Just bigger than ours and far more numerous.” Shadowcloud replied.

“Ours are cuter!”

“That they are Teidar.” Shadowcloud replied with a chuckle and cleared her mind as they slowly approached their destination.

“However Darkwing, you passing along the truth about the humans isn’t the only reason as to why I will make sure you will ascend to be a Torrai. You will now witness the other one and I will let you come to your own conclusions.”

A lone human marine was standing guard outside the room in which Doranzer Needle was tending to the Shell the humans caught and the prisoner the Shells used, if she could even be described as a prisoner anymore. The human turned at them with his sizeable weapon at ease before addressing them.

“I have been informed that you are here to relieve me.”

“Yes, you are relieved.” Shadowcloud replied and gestured to Coldsword to stand guard as she and Darkwing walked inside. Doranzer Needle was leaning into a torn off panel of the enclosed amplifier in which the Shells had stuffed their prisoner into; the feint mental signatures of an adult Loroi and the fetus she was carrying were now easy to distinguish from each other.

“Doranzer Needle, how is the prisoner?”

“Unconscious and heavily sedated. I have been looking into the extent of the... farseer's cybernetic implants as you requested. From what I have observed they are all very invasive but all of their connections to the machinery have manual releases which should allow us to get her out of there with relative ease.”

“I will take over from here, go tend to our wounded and prepare them for transportation back to Silverspear.”

“Yes Mizol.” Darkwing approached the farseer amplifier, curious to see inside of it as it looked too small when compared to theirs but Shadowcloud wanted to show her something else first.

“Over here Soroin and don’t touch anything.” She sent and stood next to the heavily altered Shell that was sprawled unconscious, thanks to Needle’s injection, onto a cybernetic chair that connected it with the Loroi inside the amplifier.

The Shell looked like an unholy mix between a Loroi and the ugliest specimens of their kind; its head looking even more horrid to her eyes than normally, with just two large eyes looking forward instead of the three large ones which provided great peripheral vision and the four smaller, forward looking ones. It had a pair of arms that looked very much like a Loroi’s, without the claw on its right arms, but with the distinct hard shell still fully covering them. Its only pair of legs also looked very much like a Loroi’s without hooves but with shell covered feet much like its hands.

“Relatively early in the war the Shells begun testing our own theories about telepathy; the pictures of the end results I have seen looked a lot like this one. They didn’t have telepathy and they required machine assistance to just move themselves. The Shells considered them a failure but it looks like they combined this project with another failure to bring forth some results.” Shadowcloud explained and knelt next to the chair’s connection with the amplifier, where numerous fat cables were forcefully ripped off their sockets, undoubtedly by the humans who wanted to keep everything as intact as possible. “The second project’s aim was to cybernetically connect a Shell with a Loroi in order to have the connected Shell gain direct access to the Loroi and her telepathy. Normal Shells proved impossible to interface and the initial reports showed that the project was scrapped but many of us who knew about both of these projects theorized that the initial problems would be overcome if the two would be combined. We never found any report of them doing so but the evidence is right in front of us.” Shadowcloud stood up and shook her head before continuing.

“But the end result would still be a failure because even if they were connected, that connection would only be a crude mimicry of us touching each other. We all know that touching doesn’t allow the use of our telepathic talents without the full and intimate cooperation of everyone involved and even then the powers would not reach their full potential due to the inevitable conflicts of the minds that would arise. A Loroi is always a Loroi and no matter the circumstances no Loroi would willingly cooperate with a Shell to such a degree. They tried getting such cooperation with drugs and cybernetic virtual realities but what they got was a meager level of cooperation only after their victims stopped being lucid from all the drugs that they were given.”

“But we now know that they did manage to overcome this as well.” Darkwing pointed out.

“Indeed…” Shadowcloud replied and stood next to the amplifier while gesturing for Darkwing to look inside. “The first thing that the Shells do for all their breeding and test subjects is to surgically remove the arms and legs as they are completely unrelated to telepathy and thus useless to them. They also consider it a logistical bonus since the body doesn’t have to sustain the limbs anymore and as such it requires less food. The next step is to remove the jaw, the tongue, the vocal chords and the top part of the esophagus, a cybernetic implant which pumps a nutrient paste into the esophagus is then put in place in order to sustain the captive. Other implants are also put at the end of the intestine track and at the kidneys in order to handle the resulting excrements and urine. The step after this is the surgical removal of the eyes, ears and nose together with their accompanying nerve clusters in order to completely cut off these three senses. The final step of the procedure is to insert several cybernetic implants into the brain and spinal cord, in order to allow the Shells to monitor the brain activity and to completely cut off the sense of touch." Shadowcloud paused again at that as she gathered her thoughts before continuing.

"Even after all these procedures a Loroi is still a Loroi, the captives still had each other through telepathy and the few Teidar among them still had their telekinesis. No one would cooperate and the Teidar would still fight to the death. The Shells stopped even that by chemically induced comas and that was the only way they had to fully control our bodies. Millions of prisoners that have been deemed worthy have gone through such procedures, the rest were just killed. The unlucky survivors are used as breeding stock, artificially inseminated and in a perpetual coma, they are forced to give birth to the next test subjects. Currently the third generation of such inseminated Loroi is being born and given this treatment. Never having being sent to, never touched, never spoken to, never even learning what they truly are but even they instinctively know that the Shells are their enemies because they are still Loroi. Now the Shells have taken even that from them by putting a new kind of biological implant into their brain. I don’t know what exactly it is or how it works but it must be what gives the Shells what they always wanted, their own pet telepaths. The Doranzer found it easily, immediately realizing that it is Soia-Liron in nature and that it had been surgically implanted. Fortunately the child she is carrying doesn’t carry such an implant.”

“The Shells cannot have the technology to create such a thing!” Darkwing cried out.

“They don’t, this is something beyond them but they do have it and it’s the only way that they could finally break the will of a Loroi.”

“How old is she?”

“She is between 7 and 8 tozons old, part of the second generation of bred Loroi.”

“What will we do with her?” Darkwing asked.

“We will have to keep her sedated until we get her back to our territory. There I will make sure that her child is moved to an incubator before anything else. After that, she, the two shells and all of the equipment will be handed over to the appropriate researchers.” Shadowcloud replied and frowned in thought. “Now that I know that the Shell Lotai is a form of jamming field I will see if there is some way to counteract it somehow. To do that I will have to get some answers from the two Shells, hopefully this one will be cooperative, especially if its name is full of ‘R’, the Shells hate making that sound with their mandibles and they use it only for outcasts and the unmentionable scum of their society.”

Chapter 17, part 2: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 517#p22517

[dragoongfa]

Let it be know that I hate Christmas.

Now with that out of the way, I remember some time ago saying that a certain revelation would be dark...

[Sweforce]

The loroi captain was blown to pieces and stillrestored within hours. Technologically, they should be able heal that prisoner. Mentally however, who knows.

[dragoongfa]

The loroi captain was blown to pieces and stillrestored within hours. Technologically, they should be able heal that prisoner. Mentally however, who knows.

Darkwing had two missing limbs, an arm and a leg that had to be cut off at elbow and knee height, half of her face was also burned off, with an eye and her nose completely destroyed. She was fully lucid and cooperative in the regenerative operation which lasted for a little more than two hours, was VERY painful to her and required regular injections of concentrated nutrients in order to keep up with the metabolic demands for regrowing the limbs. She also had the advantage of having her limbs lost relatively recently and as such her mind could easily reaffirm control over her newly grown ones.

The 'device' on the other hand...

The cybernetic implants are very, very invasive, especially those at the brain and spine and need to be removed before a regeneration process can begin. As for her mind, suffice to say that she thinks that she is a machine for a reason and she is a farseer.

Then there is the fact that the Loroi will want to examine how the 'device' works up close in a controlled environment, in the hopes of gleaming something useful that could prove vital in combating the new Umiak telepathy.

Many Loroi, like Shadowcloud for example, will want to help those who went through such an ordeal for a variety of reasons; ranging from personal to wanting to maintain a semblance of honor for their kind. Suffice to say that the Loroi won't intentionally harm the one behind the device but she is dangerous and they need all the help they can get in order to win this war.

In the end, the answer is Grey because there can't be a pure black and white resolution.

[dapple26]

A Christmas update! Merry Christmas everyone.

[Grayhome]

Awesome Christmas present, amazing chapter.

[Krulle]

SpoilerShow

Chapter 17, part 1

[...]

“Ain’t that the truth!” He replied with a chuckle while slightly raising the sealed off stump that used to be his left arm. “Although it didn’t do me much good when one of the armored pests got too close.”

[...]

“That’s they standard doctrine for non-telepathic races. One force draws the enemy away and occupies them with their weapons set to wound rather than kill while another sneaks in and captures critical areas and personnel as quickly as possible. The first force usually suffers more casualties but their heavy armor is able to take in more hits than average.” She explained.

[...]

“Teidar Coldsword and Soroin Torret Darkwing, follow me to the Shell…telepath.” Both warriors were perplexed with her orders but they didn’t object. The Teidar was curious about why she was picked while Darkwing was just resigned to whatever fate befell her. She nodded when they approached and begun walking towards the human positions with the two of them in tow.”

“Teidar Coldsword, with the death of Teidar Longblade I find myself with only two assigned guards. I am using the authority granted to me by the admiralty to assign you into my entourage, as such you will report only to me and Teidar Sezon Razormist.” The Teidar was shocked and taken aback by that and even waited briefly for a retort by Darkwing which never came. “Teidar Sezon Razormist has described you as steadfast and sensible in the brief time we have been together while your actions during this operation have been praiseworthy.” This was true as far as she was concerned, Longblade died because her lack of combat experience made her inflexible. She failed to adapt when sensing became useless and that was her undoing. Coldsword who was able to adapt and act on her own despite their handicap shows some promises. Shadowcloud just hoped that she would have the time to drill this new addition to her retinue properly before going into another mission.

[...]

“Yes Mizol.” Darkwing approached the amplifier, curious to see inside as it looked too small when compared to theirs but Shadowcloud wanted to show her something else first.

[...]

The Shell looked like an unholy mix between a Loroi and the ugliest specimens of their kind; its head looking even more horrid thatn normally with just two large eyes looking forward instead of the three large ones which provided great peripheral vision and the four smaller ones who looked forward. It had a pair of arms that looked very much like a Loroi’s, without the claw but with a hard shell covering them, while its only pair of legs also looked very much like a Loroi’s without hooves but with shell covered feet.

[...]

Whew, heavy reading...

Now we know, and the level of fine-tuning of the shout was incredible, as "she/it" was able to exclude the Umiak from the shout, which the normal farseers did not seem to be able to do....

Indeed, awesome chapter.
Thank You!

[dragoongfa]

SpoilerShow

Chapter 17, part 1

[...]

“Ain’t that the truth!” He replied with a chuckle while slightly raising the sealed off stump that used to be his left arm. “Although it didn’t do me much good when one of the armored pests got too close.”

[...]

“That’s they standard doctrine for non-telepathic races. One force draws the enemy away and occupies them with their weapons set to wound rather than kill while another sneaks in and captures critical areas and personnel as quickly as possible. The first force usually suffers more casualties but their heavy armor is able to take in more hits than average.” She explained.

[...]

“Teidar Coldsword and Soroin Torret Darkwing, follow me to the Shell…telepath.” Both warriors were perplexed with her orders but they didn’t object. The Teidar was curious about why she was picked while Darkwing was just resigned to whatever fate befell her. She nodded when they approached and begun walking towards the human positions with the two of them in tow.”

“Teidar Coldsword, with the death of Teidar Longblade I find myself with only two assigned guards. I am using the authority granted to me by the admiralty to assign you into my entourage, as such you will report only to me and Teidar Sezon Razormist.” The Teidar was shocked and taken aback by that and even waited briefly for a retort by Darkwing which never came. “Teidar Sezon Razormist has described you as steadfast and sensible in the brief time we have been together while your actions during this operation have been praiseworthy.” This was true as far as she was concerned, Longblade died because her lack of combat experience made her inflexible. She failed to adapt when sensing became useless and that was her undoing. Coldsword who was able to adapt and act on her own despite their handicap shows some promises. Shadowcloud just hoped that she would have the time to drill this new addition to her retinue properly before going into another mission.

[...]

“Yes Mizol.” Darkwing approached the amplifier, curious to see inside as it looked too small when compared to theirs but Shadowcloud wanted to show her something else first.

[...]

The Shell looked like an unholy mix between a Loroi and the ugliest specimens of their kind; its head looking even more horrid thatn normally with just two large eyes looking forward instead of the three large ones which provided great peripheral vision and the four smaller ones who looked forward. It had a pair of arms that looked very much like a Loroi’s, without the claw but with a hard shell covering them, while its only pair of legs also looked very much like a Loroi’s without hooves but with shell covered feet.

[...]

Whew, heavy reading...

Now we know, and the level of fine-tuning of the shout was incredible, as "she/it" was able to exclude the Umiak from the shout, which the normal farseers did not seem to be able to do....

Indeed, awesome chapter.
Thank You!

That actually falls in the telepathic explanation that I will cover in one of the next two chapters. Let's say that what Shadowcloud discovers after some time with both Shells will prove certain theories right, disprove others and provide a long term nightmare for the Loroi even if they do defeat the Umiak.

Hint:

SpoilerShow

The Loroi are a special kind of weapon.

[raistlin34]

“The first thing that the Shells do for all their breeding and test subjects is to surgically remove the arms and legs as they are completely unrelated to telepathy and useless to them. They also consider it a logistical bonus since the body doesn’t have to sustain the limbs anymore and as such it requires less food. The next step is to remove the jaw, the tongue, the vocal chords and the top part of the esophagus, a cybernetic implant which pumps a nutrient paste into the esophagus is then put in place in order to sustain the captive. Other implants are also put at the end of the intestine track and at the kidneys in order to handle the resulting excrements and urine. The step after this is the surgical removal of the eyes, ears and nose together with their accompanying nerve clusters in order to completely cut off these three senses. The final step of the procedure is to insert several cybernetic implants into the brain and spinal cord, in order to allow the Shells to monitor the brain activity and to completely cut off the sense of touch."

I wonder how much willpower have the Loroi as specie to retain their identity and ability to resist after such atrocious experiments?

[Argron]

Looking like the makings of an epic chapter.
And holy shit those umiak are sick fucks, hope the loroi send them the way of the trilobites before humanity has to face them in a war alone.

[dragoongfa]

Chapter 17, part 2

Captain Asteios barely managed to prepare himself for his Loroi guest before Marine Lieutenant Allerberger entered the office section of his in-port cabin.

“Sir, Mizol Torimor Tigomenial has come to see you.” The Marine, dressed in his full dress uniform, announced after saluting. He smiled at the sight as unlike many of his colleagues he always found the Marine’s obsession with protocol somewhat endearing. The Scout Corps’s traditions were chosen specifically to annoy both the simulator jockeys and the Marines but that didn’t mean that the Scouts shouldn't respect and adhere to certain standards of behavior. He momentarily glanced at the Marine’s reattached left arm before nodding and in turn the Marine stepped aside to let the Loroi in.
Seeing her in person made him realize just how human looking the Loroi were, he had seen many of them through the various videos feeds but he couldn’t fully comprehend the similarity until now that he saw one in person. Sometime ago he would have found absurd just the mere thought of an alien looking so much like a human but there she was, a telepathic and telekinetic blue elf who represented one of the two superpowers which were embroiled in the genocidal war that humanity was about to be embroiled in.

“Thank you Lieutenant, that will be all.”

“By your leave sir.” The Marine replied, turned on the spot and walked out of the room.

“I am pleased to finally meet you Mizol Torimor Shadowcloud.” He said in Trade as he stood up from his chair. “It is customary and a sign of friendship for the host to stand up and shake hands with their guest but I have been informed that touching is a social taboo among the Loroi.”

“That is correct, Captain…”

“Where are my manners? I apologize!” He said once he realized that he hadn’t introduced himself yet. “I am Captain George Asteios, Captain of the ECS-175 Matveyev of the Terran Colonial Authority Scout Corps. You can address me as Captain Asteios.”

“I am pleased to meet you Captain Asteios. I am Mizol Torimor Tigomenial, Mizol is the name of my caste, Torimor is my rank within it and Tigomenial is my spoken name which means Shadowcloud. It is proper to address me as Mizol Torimor or Torimor Shadowcloud.”

“I understand, please be seated Torimor Shadowcloud.” He said as he gestured towards the empty sea in front of his desk.

“Thank you.” The Loroi replied as she sat down at the same time he did. “May I have the honor of knowing what your name means?” He managed to fight back the usual grimace that came out whenever someone pointed out his name but his mental defenses weren’t enough to stop the involuntary sigh that just slipped out.

“George is my personal name and means farmer, Asteios is my family name and means funny; so my name means funny farmer or farmer of fun.” The Loroi instantly took a shocked expression at that, probably realizing the faux pas she unwillingly committed. “The ship commanded by Captain Funny, that’s how the fleet used to describe Matveyev before they realized that I don’t have a sense of humor, not with them at least.”

“That’s… understandable…” She managed to reply.

“I wouldn’t be here if I let such a minor issue be a hindrance.” He replied as he smiled reassuringly. “If I remember correctly, Commander Summers informed you about the nature of our mission.”

“That is correct.” She replied with a nod “Although I wasn’t told anything other than you were sent out to contact both sides.”

“A seemingly impossible task with a first glance; trying to convince one of the two combatants that we would be allies worthy of protection. The mission planners worked with the assumption that we would at most be an irrelevant minor combatant in this war, too distant from the main front lines and without any historical animosity with either of the two major ones; the problem was our obviously inferior technology which is a major handicap for our defensive prospects. With this in mind, if this war was a reasonable one humanity would just sit aside in neutrality as the two major combatants solved their differences on their own; however we know that this war is not reasonable. With both sides denying neutrality and committing genocides the Terran Colonial Authority had to act for humanity to survive a war in which we are just outclassed.”

“Personally I find that the course of action chosen by your leaders to be prudent.” The Loroi commented and he let out a brief smile.

“The Orgus refugees we took in informed us that we had to make a choice or be subjected to the same treatment their species got; this may not be our battle but it is better to be proactive and learn what’s happening on our own.”

“As I said already, a prudent course of action.” The Loroi repeated.

“In the end our mission was to come in contact with either of the two combatants, somehow distinguish who had the best odds at winning and promise them whatever humanity could offer so we wouldn’t suffer the fate of those least fortunate before us. However there was no way that such a plan could account for a small detail that is of great interest to both combatants.” He continued with an even voice.

“The Human Lotai, your total immunity to telepathy.”

“Indeed, a fool would think that since it’s something that the Umiak Hierarchy needs then Humanity should ally with them in order to get some concessions from them. Even if that was a possibility however, such fools rarely think far enough ahead to account for the full repercussions of such hastily thought plans.” He commented.

“From my experience fools are all like that.”

“True, the only certainty of such a choice would be that the Loroi Union would send its full might to obliterate our worlds while the Hierarchy’s past record of protecting its allies is poor. Then there is the fact that even if we were adequately protected by the bugs, we would never tolerate being their obedient slaves for long.” Captain Asteios added.

“That’s a reasonable assumption.”

“Of course we have many more kinds of fools, there were some that believed that between the Loroi and the Umiak we should choose the Loroi just on the grounds of how the Umiak treat their allies. They argued that although that they didn’t know what you would demand it was hard to imagine worse than the enslavement of our species. Many sympathize with the sentiment but I firmly believe that we should make the decision about which side to gamble our future on after we gathered as much information as we could. However reality doesn’t like to give us much time to decide and sometimes others decide for us.” He shook his head in resignation before continuing. “With everything that happened one would thing that I would be in favor of siding with the Loroi but as a friend of mine put it: This mission ain’t about picking the safe option and since we now know that the Umiak also have telepathic abilities I can’t really see a way forward without some more information.”

“I admit that the Umiak having their own pet telepaths is an unfortunate development.” The Loroi commented.

“I imagine that it is…” Captain Asteios replied as he took out a tablet computer from one the drawers. He fiddled with it for a few moments before offering it to the Loroi in order for her to see a particular recording that the marines brought back with them. “My marines were taken aback when they ran into these two… individuals but they kept themselves focused through all that. You have certainly thought about this development from your nation’s point of view but our point of view is very different. Tell me Mizol Torimor, with what you now know, can the Loroi Union win this war?” The Loroi was visibly surprised at that but she wasn’t taken aback by the question; she just chuckled before replying.

“Yes because the balance of power may have shifted into our favor with this.”

“How so?” He asked in disbelief.

“Because we Loroi have been using telepathy in warfighting for as long as our species has existed, we may not know how it works but our entire society and way of life has been shaped by the combination of war and telepathy. The Hierarchy may now have its own telepathic puppets but these puppets cannot draw from the experience that is derived from our history.”

“Surely the prisoners who have undergone such torturous body modifications still remember everything that they learned.” He pointed out.

“This Loroi isn’t a prisoner of war, she has been bred by the Hierarchy in massive breeding program whose main facilities are hidden deep inside their territory. The breeding stocks, who do know something, have never cooperated with them even after undergoing the same treatment. This is why they are kept in perpetual comas in order to keep their offspring clear from their telepathic influence.” The Loroi replied without flinching.

“Your prisoners still resist after all this?” He asked with agitated disbelief.

“Yes because they are Loroi!” Torimor Shadowcloud replied angrily before composing herself.

“Please forgive me for this outburst and what I am about to say. This isn’t a boast or an insult but merely a statement of fact. To us all aliens are weak willed to the point of cowardice because they are not telepaths. No one but a telepath can understand the mental fortitude required from an individual in order to survive in a wholly telepathic society where one’s surface thoughts are often read, scrutinized and judged by everyone in close proximity. We need to be strong in will in order to defend our own selves for every day of our lives; we can’t hide ourselves, we can’t lie about how we feel, we just are who we are. Telepathy doesn’t allow the survival of the mentally weak and our society reflects that with our caste system. Even the lowest ranked warrior has gone through a tough and often brutal training regime whose sole purpose is to cast out the weak minded who are destined to make up the dredges of our society. The ones with a weak mind will always yield when their beliefs and opinions are opposed, they always falter when pitted against true warriors and they cannot be trusted to fulfill the strict obligations that all societies put on those who look after their vital functions. Such a system ain’t a form of brutal oppression like some of our allies believe but a necessity in order for our society to function since every individual knows that their mind will sooner or later be open to everyone else around them.” The Loroi explained.

“Some humans have theorized that a telepathic society would inherently be a tolerant one.” Captain Asteios commented.

“And those humans are fools!” The Loroi replied in an instant. “How long would it take for any human to be embroiled in a violent confrontation because someone else didn’t like their way of thinking?”

“That’s where the need of tolerance comes in.”

“Tolerance has its limits for any and all individuals, especially when irrational interpersonal hostility takes hold of one’s mind. All species have this and we Loroi are not an exception. Any and all individuals always end up loathing others for an infinite variety of reasons, ranging from the rational to the completely irrational. Some may not even know the reason as to why they loathe someone, just that they do and that they can’t stand their mere presence.” The Loroi explained.

“I think that I understand what you mean.”

“Non telepaths can hide this loathing they feel for others but we Loroi can’t. We instantly know who loathes us and who wishes us harm; we sense that in our minds every time we pass close to them and no individual can truly tolerate such sentiments. This is why confrontations that often lead to violence became common and were the reasons behind the endless feuds that would go on for generations. In the end our society had to form in a way that would at least guarantee a modicum of respect to those who make it work even if they are loathed by some of their peers. This is why every Loroi warrior respects the armor of another warrior, we all know what they went through to be allowed to wear it and that alone is worthy of the respect necessary to tolerate many of the things we sense in their minds; whether it is interpersonal hostility or beliefs that go against the norm. It’s this very respect that allowed our species to be united as one political entity.”

“I think that I can understand the issues the way you present them and I can even relate to the need of having something common to respect. We humans only stopped our ever escalating warring with each other when we reached a point when further escalation would mean the extinction of our race through the combined use of nuclear, chemical and biological weaponry. This didn’t stop a large number of wars and massacres but we did stop from trying to completely annihilate each other.”

“You are a rarity among non telepaths then, most just back down after some heavy conflict and silently agree on not pushing certain subjects that will be mutually forgotten after some generations of not being pressed.” The Loroi commented.

“Some humans tried doing that, it was a futile endeavor.” He said and leaned back on his chair before continuing. “Suppose that I do believe you when you say that the Hierarchy cannot draw anything from your telepathic expertise. Can your people turn this expertise into a war winning advantage?”

“Yes.” The Loroi seemed fully sincere with that single word answer and he couldn’t help but break a brief smile at that.

“This is good to hear.” Captain Asteios replied and stretched his legs under the desk to shake off the tension that had been building up on him. “The end of our mission would be my ship escorting a designated representative from either the Loroi Union or the Umiak Hierarchy back to our relay vessel which hosts a diplomatic team that would draft out a proper treaty before sending it to our leaders to finalize it. I would like your help to get this done as quickly as possible but I suspect that this will be impossible for us because of what you got out of the Umiak ship.”

“Indeed, the Loroi Union needs to keep this whole affair a close guarded secret for reasons that are easy to understand.” Torimor Shadowcloud replied.

“I was afraid of that…”

“Although the various Hierarchy agents are not anywhere near as capable as the Mizol caste they do have excellent intelligence gathering abilities for the non telepaths they are. We even let some of them function undisturbed in order to misinform them.” The Loroi explained.

“I understand.”

“This doesn’t mean however that I cannot help arrange another, proper, first contact once a reasonable amount of time has passed. I also want to assure you that by that time the leaders of my caste and Emperor Greywind who herself used to be a Mizol will have learned of the great help you provided in order to secure everything we now have in our possession.” The Loroi added.

“If I understand correctly the Mizol is the caste which specializes in intelligence gathering and diplomacy?”

“That is correct.”

“Then you must understand that the knowledge of everything that happened here has to reach our leadership in order for humanity to align with the Loroi Union but this won’t be enough for my superiors, they will need something of substance to alleviate their concerns about the very survival of our species, especially when they learn of our… Lotai.”

“I assure you that when the truth reaches the Emperor she will take measures to ensure Humanity’s safety.” The Loroi said reassuringly.

“I believe that my second in command told you one of our human sayings when you met aboard your ship.”

“Actions speak louder than words.” She recited. “I have a perfect memory.”

“Indeed, from what we observed your society places great emphasis on the truth; we do as well but we need to see the truth through one’s actions in order to accept it."

“And our historical actions have not been something to be proud of.” The Loroi commented with a sigh.

“That’s one way to put it.”

“You know however that I am not in a position to offer you anything other than my word.” The Loroi pointed out.

“Perhaps… Try to see this whole equation from a human perspective. We are about to be placed in the middle of a genocidal war in which both combatants now employ telepathy. As the only known species with total telepathic immunity we are an inherent threat to both of these combatants and since we don’t have the technology necessary to enforce our neutrality we are forced to pick a side and stay with them till the end. On one side we have the Umiak who enslave their allies and are committing genocide against you. We don’t know if we will have a better fate than their enslaved races and we certainly cannot be sure if they won't go for two genocides because of our physical similarity and the Lotai which is a threat against their new telepathic puppets.” He paused for emphasis at that and looked her in the eyes before continuing. “Then we have the Loroi who are telepaths and have already committed two genocides, one against a species which also had an immunity to telepathy and another against an ally of the Umiak. You do claim to treat your allies well but our Lotai is and will remain a threat to you.” He sighed at that before continuing. “Only a fool would not consider the possibility of your kind betraying us and killing us all the moment we wouldn’t be of any further use to you.”

“That’s a reasonable fear which has a solid rationale.” Torimor Shadowcloud said before contemplating something for a few moments. “Such an act however will result in the Loroi Union being torn apart if it is done without proper justification and even if such justification is provided such an act by us would be beyond unforgivable.”

“How so?” Captain Asteious asked.

“There are certain factions within the Loroi Union who will see humanity favorably the instant they see a human. Their reasons will vary but most will put a great religious emphasis on the physical similarity between our two species.”

“And the unforgivable?” The Loroi sighed at that.

“Our similarity and your Lotai are intimately connected; you would come to this conclusion in due time if you haven’t done so already but I cannot tell you anything more than that.”

“I see… so there are several potential human sympathizers in the Loroi Union; them being present during the negotiations will alleviate a lot of concerns. There shouldn’t be any problem if a mutually beneficial arrangement can be reached with them as witnesses and guarantors.” Captain Asteios commented.

“Out of curiosity, what will your diplomats consider mutually beneficial?”

“Protection from Umiak Hierarchy attacks, weapon and defensive technologies so we can defend ourselves, the recognition of our right of self-determination as sacrosanct and the groundwork for long term economic ties that will provide a stable, peaceful and mutually profitable co-existence. In return humanity will fully align with your nation as long as the Umiak Hierarchy remains standing.”

“I find such wants reasonable but that doesn’t mean that the terms and conditions will not be negotiated during the formal negotiations.”

“I expected nothing less than that. After all, my mission is to deliver our wants and hear yours while trying to see if you are winning this war and we if won’t suffer from you afterwards.” He reminded her.

“What I and the Union require of you now is utmost secrecy.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, a certain set of our orders cover a contingency in which utmost secrecy is mandated.” Captain Asteios replied with a crooked smile.

“What sort of contingency would require that of you?” Torimor Shadowcloud asked with a frown.

“Should we run across a piece of advanced technology we should do everything in our power to recover it and return with it as quickly as possible.”

“I see…” The Loroi said while nodding. “One could say that our ship easily filled that criterion.”

“Some of my officers pointed that out and the history of the star system we are in wasn’t in your favor.”

“Yet you didn’t try to do such a thing. Why?”

“Because it was…” He stopped in mid sentence and chuckled as he leaned back onto his chair for a few moments. “I was going to say because that it was the right thing to do but it’s more than that; I don’t know how to properly explain this… We humans use mirrors when we freshen ourselves in the bathroom and take care of our outward appearance.”

“We Loroi do that as well.” The Loroi commented.

“Makes sense; sometimes we just pause and blankly look at our mirror image without really thinking about it. I asked my father when I was little why he did that and he said that he did that because it was the only time he could judge himself for what he had done in the past; in the end everything comes back to haunt us when we blankly stare at our idol because we cannot hide from the undeniable truth it represents. I could say that I wouldn’t want to look myself to the mirror after ordering such an act but it goes deeper than even that. The Scout Corps’s honor hinges on us acting like the sea sailors of old whose honor demanded to help castaways in every way possible. Should I break the honor that bounds my ship? Should I condemn my crew with living with the eternal regrets that the murder of castaways would bring forth? I decided not to do that without much thinking but after some thought I realized that Matveyev herself was the one who lead me to the correct decision. The ship’s motto is ‘Looking Forward’ in order to highlight the fact that we are not afraid to face the challenges in front of us and that we hold no remorse for our actions behind us. The ship had a challenge in front of her and she would see it through without looking back in shame afterwards.” Captain Asteios said.

“She?”

“We like to pronounce our ships as ‘She’, it’s an old tradition.”

“That’s… a very spiritual and philosophical way of thinking.” Torimor Shadowcloud said after some thought.

“Indeed it is but that’s the only way for me to explain why I chose the course of action that I chose.”

“It’s reassuring to know that our males and you have something in common in that regard.” The Loroi commented.

“I skimmed through the relevant data files you sent us, the only thing I remember is that there is 1 male for every 8 females and that they are shorter and physically weaker than you.”

“Among other things.” The Loroi said with a giggle. “They are also seen as our philosophical and spiritual guides in times of turmoil.”

“Most human philosophers and spiritual guides have also been male.” He said while nodding slightly.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

“I have to say Torimor Shadowcloud that meeting you in person has been very informative so far.”

“Likewise, I even found this exchange somewhat enjoyable.”

“I am glad to hear that because I am prepared to offer you another trade.” The Loroi instantly frowned at that. “It doesn’t involve anything outrageous, in fact it’s something that I fully expected you to propose already.”

“I see… that’s an accurate assumption from your part. The longer we stay here the stronger the possibility that another Hierarchy ship will come to investigate. What we have secured must get back to our territory as quickly as possible and the nearest Loroi fleet asset will take at least one maybe two nanapis to get here after we contact them telepathically. I believe that I can extract the patrol routes of any Hierarchy ship in the area as well as solid information about the telepathic abilities that they carry from the two prisoners we hold.” Torimor Shadowcloud said.

“That’s good to hear, if you also provide accurate star charts of the area we should be able to avoid coming in contact with any Hierarchy ship.”

“So you will take us and our prisoners to a rendezvous point with a Loroi flotilla?”

“We can take on your crew, it will get cramped and we will have to boost to our life support systems somewhat but it is doable. There are a few things that need to be done first though.” Captain Asteios replied.

“Such as?”

“You were brought in the ship through an umbilical because the shuttle bay took the brunt of the damage during the fighting and is still being repaired; there is more damage throughout the ship but my engineers estimate that everything will be fixed in a day, a day and a half. Then there is the Umiak ship, I want to take some equipment from it, namely a plasma focus, an electromagnetic screen and some of its computer systems. That’s another day, day and a half.” The Loroi frowned at that, even deeper that before. “Understand Mizol Torimor that I will have something to show for the deaths of my subordinates.” She seemed momentarily surprised at that comment.

“I understand.”

“I also want to see if we can somehow get the ship buried but I don’t want to waste much time doing that. Once everything is taken care of I will take you and your crew to your rendezvous point after that Matveyev will return to the relay ship for refueling after having suffered a nearly catastrophic accident which killed several members of the crew and forced us to abandon the contact mission. After we get refueled the diplomats at the relay ship will dream about reading certain nonexistent reports while I and my ship return to TCA territory. Once back at base I, my second in command and most of my officers will be arrested and placed in custody awaiting trial for the gross neglect that lead to the aforementioned accident during such an important mission. Matveyev will then be towed to a military dry dock for much needed repairs and refit while the rest of the crew will remain on station awaiting further deployment orders.”

“That’s… an impressive way to keep a secret.” The Loroi commented.

“Such are the risks that came with this mission; now I want to hear what you are prepared to offer me in exchange for taking a roundabout route back to the relay ship while I am trying to ascertain the full extent of the damages that my ship suffered.”

Chapter 18, part 1: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 613#p22613

[dragoongfa]

This marks both the end of Chapter 17 and Act 3, the two or three chapters that follow should be considered an extended epilogue.

[Grayhome]

Woot! So much drama in this chapter. Awesome.

[Krulle]

SpoilerShow

Chapter 17, part 2

[...]

“That is correct.” She replied with a nod “Although I wasn’t told anything other than you were sent out to contact both sides.”
There is just something missing. It can be corrected in other ways too, (e.g. "Although it wasn't anything other than...") I just wanted to point out that something is missing.

“A seemingly impossible task with a first glance; trying to convince one of the two combatants that we would be allies worthy of protection. The mission planners worked with the assumption that we would at most be an irrelevant minor combatant in this war, too distant from the main frontlines and without any historical animosity with either of the two major ones; the problem was our obviously inferior technology which is a major handicap for our defensive prospects. With this in mind, if this war was a reasonable one humanity would just sit aside in neutrality as the two major combatants solved their differences on their own; however we know that this war is not reasonable. With both sides denying neutrality and committing genocides the Terran Colonial Authority had to act for humanity to survive a war in which we are just outclassed.”

[...]

“The Orgus refugees we took in informed us that we had to make a choice or be subjected to the same treatment their species got; this may not be our battle but it is better to be proactive and learn what’s happening on our own.”

[...]

“True, the only certainty of such a choice would be that the Loroi Union would send its full might to obliterate our worlds while the Hierarchy’s past record of protecting its allies is poor. Then there is the fact that even if we were adequately protected by the bugs, we would never tolerate being their obedient slaves for long.” Captain Asteios added.

[...]

“Of course we have many more kinds of fools, there were some that believed that we between the Loroi and the Umiak we should choose the Loroi just on the grounds of how the Umiak treat their allies. They argued that although that they didn’t know what you would demand it was hard to imagine worse than the enslavement of our species. Many sympathize with the sentiment but I firmly believe that we should make the decision about which side to gamble our future on after we gathered as much information as we could. However reality doesn’t like to give us much time to decide and sometimes others decide for us.” He shook his head in resignation before continuing. “With everything that happened one would thingk that I would be in favor of siding with the Loroi but as a friend of mine put it: This mission ain’t about picking the safe option and since we now know that the Umiak also have telepathic abilities I can’t really see a way forward without some more information.”

[...]

“I imagine that it is…” Captain Asteios replied as he took out a tablet computer from one the drawers. He fiddled with it for a few moments before offering it to the Loroi in order for her to see a particular recording that the marines brought back with them. “My marines were taken aback when they runran into these two… individuals but they kept themselves focused through all that. You have certainly thought about this development from your nation’s point of view but our point of view is very different. Tell me Mizol Torimor, with what you now know, can the Loroi Union win this war?” The Loroi was visibly surprised at that but she wasn’t taken aback by the question; she just chuckled before replying.

[...]

“Please forgive me for this outburst and what I am about to say. This isn’t a boast or an insult but merely a statement of fact. To us all aliens are weak willed to the point of cowardice because they are not telepaths. No one but a telepath can understand the mental fortitude required from an individual in order to survive in a wholly telepathic society where one’s surface thoughts are often read, scrutinized and judged by everyone in close proximity. We need to be strong in will in order to defend our own selves for every day of our lives; we can’t hide ourselves, we can’t lie about how we feel, we just are who we are. Telepathy doesn’t allow the survival of the mentally weak and our society reflects that with our caste system. Even the lowest ranked warrior has gone through a tough and often brutal training regime whose sole purpose is to cast out the weak minded who are destined to make up the dredges of our society. The ones with a weak mind will always yield when their beliefs and opinions are opposed, they always falter when pitted against true warriors and they cannot be trusted to fulfill the strict obligations that all societies put on those who looke after their vital functions. Such a system ain’t a form of brutal oppression like some of our allies believe but a necessity in order for our society to function since every individual knows that their mind will sooner or later be open to everyone else around them.” The Loroi explained.

[...]

“This doesn’t mean however that I cannot help arrange another, proper, first contact once a reasonable amount of time has passed. I also want to assure you that by that time the leaders of my caste and Emperor Greywind who herself used to be a Mizol will have learned of the great help you provided in order to secure everything we now have in our possession.” The Loroi added.

[...]

“Then you must understand that the knowledge of everything that happened here has to reach our leadership in order for humanity to align with the Loroi Union but this won’t be enough for my superiors, they will need something of substance to alleviate their concerns about the very survival of our species, especially when they learn of our… Lotai.”

[...]

“Indeed, from what we observed your society places great emphasis on the truth; we do as well but we need to see the truth through one’s actions in order to accept it.”

[...]

“Perhaps… Try to see this whole equation from a human perspective. We are about to be placed in the middle of a genocidal war in which both combatants now employ telepathy. As the only known species with total telepathic immunity we are an inherent threat to both of these combatants and since we don’t have the technology necessary to enforce our neutrality we are forced to pick a side and stay with them till the end. On one side we have the Umiak who enslave their allies and are committing genocide against you. We don’t know if we will have a better fate thatn their enslaved races and we certainly cannot be sure if they will go for two genocides because of our physical similarity and the Lotai which is a threat against their new telepathic puppets.” He paused for emphasis at that and looked her in the eyes before continuing. “Then we have the Loroi who are telepaths and have already committed two genocides, one against a species which also had an immunity to telepathy and another against an ally of the Umiak. You do claim to treat your allies well but our Lotai is and will remain a threat to you.” He sighed at that before continuing. “Only a fool would not consider the possibility of your kind betraying us and killing us all the moment we wouldn’t be of any further use to you.”

[...]

“What short of contingency would require that of you?” Torimor Shadowcloud asked with a frown.

“Should we run across a piece of advanced technolodgy we should do everything in our power to recover it and return with it as quickly as possible.”

[...]

“Because it was…” He stopped in mid sentecte and chuckled as he leaned back to his chair for a few moments. “I was going to say because that it was the right thing to do but it’s more than that; I don’t know how to properly explain this… We humans use mirrors when we freshen ourselves in the bathroom and take care of our outward appearance.”

[...]

“I see… that’s an accurate assumption from your part. The longer we stay here the stronger the possibility that on otheranother Hierarchy ship will come to investigate. What we have secured must get back to our territory as quickly as possible and the nearest Loroi fleet asset will take maybe two nanapis to get here after we contact them telepathically. I believe that I can extract the patrol routes of any Hierarchy ship in the area as well as solid information about the telepathic abilities that they carry from the two prisoners we hold.” Torimor Shadowcloud said.
In the previous paragraph you also spelled "another" in two words. It seems very wrong to me, but in that situation it might fit, but here it just seems wrong.

[...]

“You were brought in the ship through an umbilical because the shuttle bay took the brunt of the damage during the fighting and is still being repaired; there is more damage throughout the ship but my engineers estimate that everything will be fixed in a day, a day and a half. Then there is the Umiak ship, I want to take some equipment from it, namely a plasma focus, an electromagnetic screen and some of its computer systems. That’s another day, day and a half.” The Loroi frowned at that, even deeper thatn before. “Understand Mizol Torimor that I will have something to show for the deaths of my subordinates.” She seemed momentarily surprised at that comment.

[...]

“I also want to see if we can get the ship buried somehow but I don’t want to waste much time doing that. Once everything is taken care of I will take you and your crew to your rendezvous point after that Matveyev will return to the relay ship after having suffered a nearly catastrophic accident which killed several members of the crew and will force us to abandon the contact mission. After we get refueled the diplomats at the relay ship will dream about reading certain nonexistent reports while I and my ship return to TCA territory. Once back at base I, my second in command and most of my officers will be arrested and placed in custody awaiting trial for the gross neglect that lead to the afore mentioned accident during such an important mission. Matveyev will then be towed to a military dry dock for much needed repairs and refit while the rest of the crew will remain on station awaiting further deployment orders.”

[...]

Wow. That guy is willing to go to lengths to keep a promise towards ladies he has barely met and might not even meet again.

Sure, a deal will be struck, since he does bring back valuable loot, and the admirality might get a report that will never be written down, but if the Hierarchy ever gets hold of one of those who knows this secret, Humanity is damned beyond slavery.

Awesome drama.
Looking forward to the epilogue.

[dragoongfa]

Wow. That guy is willing to go to lengths to keep a promise towards ladies he has barely met and might not even meet again.

Sure, a deal will be struck, since he does bring back valuable loot, and the admirality might get a report that will never be written down, but if the Hierarchy ever gets hold of one of those who knows this secret, Humanity is damned beyond slavery.

Awesome drama.
Looking forward to the epilogue.

This plan isn't something that he came up on the spot, just something that an admiral said out loud when taking an unrecorded coffee break that lasted a couple of hours because the coffee was divine.