Chapter 6, part 1
“They may not know anything about Teidars or Farseers but they seem to know plenty about Mizols.” Razormist commented telepathically full of amusement as she read Shadowcloud's flabbergasted thoughts.
“That’s not funny Teidar.” Shadowcloud replied full of annoyance, not sharing her bodyguard’s amusement.
“I am certain that Human legends are as accurate as ours.” Razormist continued to amuse herself.
“After all Firestorm did burn all of the unclean ones from Deinar.”
“Some legends do have a basis on reality.” Shadowcloud replied before cutting Razormist off so she could reply to the human.
“This is an interesting legend, I assume that there are many stories about these…elves?” Shadowcloud asked.
“There are plenty.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied dryly.
“And in these stories are the elves and humans always enemies?”
“Enemies? No, there are stories where misunderstandings turned violent when both sides failed to respect each other but elves and humans are always depicted to fight together against a common enemy, ignoring most petty differences.” The human explained.
“Common enemies?”
“Forces of darkness and destruction that sought to defile everything. That short of thing.” The human replied with a smirk.
“These legends sound…interesting.” Shadowcloud commented.
“They are great tools to teach children how to behave in order not to push away potential friends.” The human replied while keeping his smirk in place.
“I see…”
“I was wrong...” Razormist commented.
“They don’t seem to know, they DO know plenty about Mizols.”
“I thought that you were certain that they were a Shell trick.” Shadowcloud replied.
“I have yet to be convinced to the contrary but I do believe that you had his last comment coming.” Razormist commented.
“Having the Listel tap into and listen to their comms is the best way to see if they are taking orders from a Shell.” Shadowcloud pointed out.
“True but it was a gamble and as a certain Mizol once said to me some tozons ago…”
“Aliens are not fools and they do not like us acting like they are fools.” Shadowcloud recited.
“At least they voiced their displeasure in a diplomatic way.”
“That same Mizol also told me not to push aliens in an untenable position.” Razormist added.
“At least one of you Teidars has been paying attention to what I have been saying.” Shadowcloud commented as Teidar Longblade reached them.
“Lieutenant Allerberger, we are ready to continue.” Shadowcloud said to the human officer.
“Please follow me.” He replied and gestured them to follow him. One of the two humans that were with him followed the small group from a respectful distance while the other went back the way they came, undoubtedly going to their injured comrade and his caretaker.
“Mizol, the humans stopped using the ‘bloo elves’ phrase in their communications and are now saying Loroi.” Listel Sininran Sulfur sent to her telepathically.
“Acknowledged, keep me informed of anything out of place.”
“Mizol, I have been thinking.” Teidar Longblade begun, sending her thoughts both to Shadowcloud and Razormist.
“I know that out of all the species we have run across, only the Mannadi proved difficult to detect and read.”
“Yes that's because of how the Mannadi’s peculiar higher brain system is distributed throughout their bodies, with multiple small brains instead of a singular one.” Shadowcloud replied.
“I haven’t run into one but I have heard that they have signatures similar to small animals.” Longblade continued.
“That depends on each individual but it is correct.”
“These humans however are completely undetectable even from up close, so that means that their Lotai is vastly different than the Mannadi one.” Longblade pointed out.
“I have realized this.”
“But the only way that this can happen is with a conscious Lotai, to block ourselves completely in our minds and to not let our thoughts wander to anything else than ourselves.” Longblade replied.
“Not true.” Razormist replied.
“Strong and skilled telepaths can cover an entire area with telepathic jamming which makes telepathy nearly impossible in that area.”
“If it was jamming then we would be unable to use telepathy near them, I ruled that out first.” Shadowcloud commented.
“Both Lotai and Jamming are conscious techniques.” Longblade continued.
“Maintained by ones mental discipline and telepathic strength. These humans don’t look like they are mentally concentrating and one of them was stabbed. If he held a Lotai up he would have dropped it from the shock.”
“That’s true.” Shadowcloud admitted.
“It has to be something natural.”
“Looking at them it is easy to see that they have a large singular brain and they may as well have a spinal cord like we have. We have to rule out something like the Mannadi because of this.” Razormist commented.
“That’s something a Listel would say.” Shadowcloud commented.
“
I have been around plenty of Mizols and Listels, maybe they are turning me into one of them,” Razormist joked before turning her thoughts serious.
“If everything we know about telepathy is true then these humans should be easily detectable just from the singular brain; that’s not the case and we have to rule Lotai and jamming out.”
“Then this is something new and probably natural, something that they probably evolved with.” Shadowcloud agreed.
“But what evolutionary purpose would a natural resistance to telepathy serve?” Razormist asked.
“I don’t know, I am not a Listel, Teidar.” Shadowcloud replied.
“I doubt that even the smartest of Listels could think of something.” Razormist commented.
“If they are not a Shell trick then we will have to bring them under our full control and cull their numbers for the safety of the Union.” Shadowcloud stopped walking and turned to face Longblade before she even finished her thought.
“Have you learned nothing from our history? The Mannadi subjugation nearly flung us into a war with every other species eons ago and the whole Tithric affair nearly cost us this war and our continued existence as a species!” Shadowcloud replied full with anger and contempt.
“Shadowcloud she was just…” Razormist tried to intervene.
“No… I don’t want to hear any excuses for fatal mistakes ever again.” Shadowcloud cut her off while eyeing Longblade who had brought her full Lotai up to keep her thoughts to herself.
“Torimor Shadowcloud, is there a problem?” Lieutenant Allerberger asked, drawing Shadowclouds attention away from Longblade.
“No, nothing of concern Lieutenant Allerberger, just a minor difference of opinion regarding diplomatic protocols.” Shadowcloud replied.
“I see…we are almost there.” Lieutenant Allerberger said as he pointed to a nearby open blastdoor.
Right behind the open blastdoor was another human in a space suit. This one had also taken off his helmet, revealing the same extremely short, nearly shaved haircut that the other five humans has as well, it was obvious some short of a warrior tradition and completely the opposite of Loroi traditions in which the length of a warrior’s hair was a way to indicate seniority.
This human was armed with a shotgun, a type of weapon that the Loroi used as well since the weapon provided a lot of versatility due to the different kinds of ammo that it could be loaded with. Such weapons however were used mainly for ground warfare as their recoil made it hard to control in a zero gravity environment.
“What do you think Razormist?”
“The human said that it was loaded with non lethal ammunition, so it would make sense to bring one if their energy weapons don’t have electro stun capabilities.” Shadowcloud agreed with that assessment and walked up to the airlock the humans had installed to examine it up close.
“It looks robust.” Razormist commented.
“See how they installed support tethers on this side? I bet that a small umbilical extends on the other side so a shuttle could offload personnel quickly without the need of a space walk.” Shadowcloud commented and turned to Lieutenant Allerberger.
“You and your team have done everything we asked for Lieutenant Allerberger, in fact more than even I would be comfortable doing considering the incident earlier.”
“I am glad to hear that. Can we now proceed with the treatment of my subordinate?”
“Yes, time is of the essence for that…” A quick thought crossed her mind, something that she wouldn’t have considered if Lieutenant Allerberger hadn’t explained what the elves were earlier. “Before that however I believe that I have to make some things clear to you. I told you earlier that we cannot telepathically detect you, nor read you. I also told you that we believed that our similarity and your Lotai made us believe that you were a Hierarchy trick. I didn’t tell you however that the Umiak have created bio engineered constructs in the past in order to trick us and infiltrate our territory. The reason I asked for us to treat your injured comrade was to see firsthand if you are bio engineered or real.” Shadowcloud said.
“We had… realized that you intended to run tests on him before we agreed for you to treat him.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied, his expression filled with confusion.
“That however was not the sole reason, we also want to fully test your Lotai by physical contact.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It is simple, from a distance our telepathy has certain limitations but if we physically touch the one we wish to telepathically contact then those limitations are lifted; surface thoughts and sentiments are read with little issue and all mental shielding techniques are bypassed.” Shadowcloud explained.
“So you want to test this…Lotai of ours as you called it?” Lieutenant Allerberger asked while frowning.
“Yes.”
“I have…trouble understanding why you are telling me this.” Lieutenant Allerberger said after some thought.
“We Loroi value truth and honesty deeply, our telepathic communications are truthful and to the point with barely any deception to the message that is passed. For us all aliens seem deceitful because they rarely say what they truly believe. I believe that you value truth and honesty as well; am I wrong in believing this?”
“No, you are not.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied instantly.
“I also don’t believe that you are fools so I will say it as it is. Your telepathic immunity is of great concern to us and it should be for you as well; the Hierarchy is a monomaniacal nation that doesn’t stop at anything to get what they want and you have something they really want. Once they realize this immunity they will capture the entirety of your species, run the same kind of gruesome experiments they run on our captive populations and when they get what they want they will make sure that they are the only ones who have it.”
“That’s something that we have to consider…” Lieutenant Allerberger paused for a few moments before continuing. “We know that the Hierarchy practically enslaves its allies but the Loroi are known to have wiped out two species, one of which was also immune to your telepathy.”
“I personally consider both of those events to be the greatest mistakes of my kind but I understand the flawed reasoning behind them. First I would like to say that we didn’t exterminate either of those species. The Mannadi repeatedly attacked our allies and when they lost the war they refused to cease hostilities. They were a threat that refused to see reason; and despite what many believe a large, self sustaining population still exists in their territory under quarantine. They still exist as a species and a culture. The Tithric on the other hand knew of the war of extermination that the Hierarchy had launched against us. They knew of the tens of billions of murdered Loroi and they chose to help the Hierarchy for a profit, first ‘discreetly’ under a false neutrality and openly when we found proof of their dealings with the Umiak. In the eyes of many of us the Tithric are worse than the Shells but still we didn’t kill them all; we removed all technological capabilities that could be of use to the Hierarchy; their former territory is seen as a wasteland but there are still sizeable populations of Tithric in their homeworld and in some scattered colonies.” Shadowcloud said without controlling her tone and expression, letting what she felt show in her face and her mannerisms.
“I am… not in a position to judge you for those actions.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied reluctantly.
“We ask neither for forgiveness or condemnation, what we want is to know where everyone stands. Far too many of us have died in this war already and we cannot allow any other profiteering nation to help add to those numbers while hiding behind a fake neutrality.”
“That is understandable but I am not…able to give you an answer to that question.” Lieutenant Allerberger replied.
“I don’t ask for you to vouch for your entire species, I only ask you to carefully consider the situation both of our species are in.” The human remained silent as he eyed her carefully.
“What are you doing Mizol?” Razormist asked, her thoughts full of confusion.
“Are you, a Teidar, asking me why I was honest with someone?”
“There is no reason to be honest with someone who is dishonest. You yourself have told me that.” Razormist replied.
“Have they acted in any way that shows dishonesty from their part? Or do you believe that only lies hide behind their Lotai?”
“I can’t answer that.” Razormist admitted.
“Will someone who comes in physical contact with you be in any danger?” Lieutenant Allerberger asked drawing her attention back to him.
“No.”
“Are you able to read the mind of someone when you do that?”
“Only surface thoughts and thoughts that are triggered to come to the surface.” When hearing that the human briefly spoke with someone using his suit’s comms before turning to his two subordinates.
“I need a volunteer.” Lieutenant Allerberger said in Trade.
Both humans visibly hesitated for a few moments before one of them, the one that followed them to the airlock, raised his hand. He and Lieutenant Allerberger spoke in their tongue before turning to her.
“Private Westwood has volunteered so you can test our… Lotai on him.” Lieutenant Allerberger said with a steady voice.
“I appreciate it.” Shadowcloud replied before walking up to the human volunteer. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.” The human replied nervously.
She raised her left hand and gently touched his forehead, he was warm to the touch as she expected him to be and that was the only thing that felt as she expected it to be. What her telepathic senses felt however where wholly confusing; she expected some form of mental block, that at least would make some sense but the sensation of practically touching a telepathic jamming field was unbelievably surreal.
“Do you feel anything odd?” She asked the human as she tried to push inside the jamming.
“I don’t know how to put it, it’s like an electric current in my head.” She knew that this meant that she was past the jamming but if that was the case she should have gotten some mental feedback as a result unless the jamming wasn’t there to keep her out.
“I can’t read anything; this resistance seems impossible to penetrate.” She said to the human, knowing that it was a partial lie but she couldn’t accept yet what she felt; she lowered her hand and turned to Lieutenant Allerberger,
“You have done all I asked and I believe it’s time to take care of your injured subordinate.”
“I am glad to hear it, please follow me.” Lieutenant Allerberger said as he gestured to his two subordinates to stay at the airlock.
“What did you feel Mizol?” Razormist asked.
“It’s a jamming field.”
“But we can use our telepathy.” The Teidar pointed out.
“No it’s different; it’s like their entire body is a self contained jamming field that is somehow aimed inwards, not outwards.” Shadowcloud explained.
“Inwards?”
“I don't know how but it’s not something that keeps telepathy out but something that keeps telepathy locked inside.”
Chapter 6, part 2:
http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 059#p19059