(Throne Room, Aurum Throni, Terran Orbit)
I took a glance around the bridge. The crew were all frozen
in place, literally, like a video where someone had pressed the pause button.
That was a good sign. It meant that, at some level, the Empress had control over
the mindstate, and wasn’t being controlled by it. Most likely, her subconscious
had pulled her here, retreating in the face of the psychic onslaught her powers
caused, bringing her someplace that was familiar and safe.
That was all positive. Now, I had to convince her of the
truth, without threatening the temporary calm. I took a breath, and then looked
Captain Vaughn in the eyes, and smiled. “Tell me, what is the last thing that
you remember?”
Captain Vaughn took a breath, and looked around, frowning at
the sight of her crew obviously frozen in place. She waved a hand in front of
the helmsman’s face, and just nodded slightly when she didn’t see a reaction.
Turning, she looked at me, and said, “I-I am having trouble remembering. I know
you. But you were never on this ship! And I haven’t been captain of the Purity
Blade in years! So, how is it that I’ve been suddenly transported here? And
why is my crew from back then frozen?”
I didn’t answer her, not directly. I couldn’t. She had to
remember for herself if this was going to work. All I could do was guide her. “What
do you remember? You know you are not the Captain of the Purity Blade,
so what are you? Who are you?”
She straightened herself up, and said, in a clear voice. “I am
Empress Merida Vaughn, ruler of the Terran Empire!” A pause, and then, “Now,
how in the hell are we here? What is going on?”
I nodded once, a smile on my face. “Excellent. Now, before
we start talking in earnest, why don’t we move somewhere a little more
pleasant. Think of the private dining room where we ate last time I came to
Terra. You remember it, don’t you? Can you picture us there?”
Merida’s face blushed as she clearly remembered some of the
discussions that went on that night, where her little sister suggested that I
give Merida an heir to the throne. It was… well, not the kind of situation that
happened often, even in a strange situation like mine. I decided to give her a
bit of a nudge. “Focus. The room, not the conversation.”
The blush got deeper, but I could see her focus. The world
began to blur, to shift. She and I remained in focus, but everything around us
faded, changed, and reformed. When things came back to clarity, we were in the
dining room. I nodded once. That was good. Not an instant change, by any means,
but she did not struggle too much.
Merida, on the other hand, gaped, her eyes disbelieving at
what she saw. “What the hell? How is this happening? Mollen, what the hell is
going on?”
“It is simple, Empress. We are not really here, in this
dining room in the Inner Throne of the Aurum Throni orbiting Terra. Just
like how we were not really on the bridge of your old destroyer, the Purity
Blade. Just like you aren’t really wearing that uniform you have on.”
The Empress, blinked, and said, “What? What do you mean I’m
not wearing my uniform? Clearly, I am! Just look at it!” A shriek escaped her
lips as the uniform faded into smoke, and she quickly covered herself with her
hands. “What did you do?”
I bowed slightly. “I did nothing. That was you, Empress. And,
might I say, thank you for the meal.” I chuckled as she blushed again, and
said, “Picture the clothes you wear normally, when you don’t have formal events
to deal with.”
The Empress concentrated for a moment, and then smoke formed
around her, forming the military-style outfit she normally wore when she didn’t
have to be involved in formal gatherings. She looked down at the clothes,
wide-eyed and open-mouthed, and then looked up at me. “How?”
“It is simple, Empress. We are not in the ‘real’ world. This
is the world of your mind. Your subconscious, actually. Everything here is the
way it is because you will it to be so. Well, except for me, that is.”
“If this is my mind, then what the hell are you doing here?”
“What is the last thing you remember?”
“The battle against the… whatever they were that came
through the rift. The rift that opened just as you said it would. And then… a
warning about something coming from the rift.” She paused, thinking. “And then
I was on the Blade, trying to keep the ship from being torn apart. What
happened?”
“The battle on Pluto was hard-fought, but won. The battle by
the rift was going well, with the creatures being unable to stand against some
of the weapons we brought to bear, but the casualties were high. In the midst
of the fighting, some disturbance in the rift caused a massive wave of psychic
energy to crash across the system. This wave awakened anyone with latent
psychic abilities, and enhanced many of those who already had psy powers.”
I took a breath, and looked her in the eye. “Unfortunately,
for some people, the process was more than just suddenly being able to light
candles with their minds. These people, who were mostly those of some influence
or importance, were empowered by the energy of those who supported and believed
in them. People like, say, an Empress.”
Merida nodded slowly, and said, “So, I’ve been, what, not
only made into a Psy user, but empowered somehow? What does that mean for me,
exactly, and for the children?”
“For you, it means that you are the most powerful psy user
in the Empire. Perhaps in the galaxy itself. And people were not meant to just
suddenly ‘flip on’ that much power all at once. Sure, massively powered individuals
exist, but they’re meant to grow into their powers, not simply wake up with them.
The good news is that the children are safe. Your subconscious shielded them
instinctively, but I don’t doubt that they’ve been changed in some ways by the
experience. On the other hand, you’ve been unconscious for days, radiating
psychic power to the point where even your guards can only approach you for a
minute or two at a time.”
“Wait, what? I know those guards, and the training they go
through! How powerful am I? And how did you get into my head if I’m that strong?”
“Simply put, your body is working to shield itself while
your mind fights to keep control and keep sane. I was able to, for lack of a better
word, launch myself at you, inside the bubble of pressure you were putting out,
and slip through the shattered defenses left by the awakening of your powers. I
inserted myself into your head, so that I could try and lead you out.”
Merida took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “And I
assume that there’s a reason you had to try and ‘lead me out’, instead of
something else?”
I nodded. “Oh, plenty. But they all basically revolve around
the fact that making the kind of changes necessary for me to lock down your
powers, and then slowly release them over time, as you got used to them, would leave
you open to all kinds of allegations of being my mind-controlled puppet Empress,
a slave to my will. And while I admit that has a certain appeal, I would rather
not start down that road. If I did, I’d probably never stop.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simple, really. When I was first able to break free of the
research lab on Luna where I first entered this world, I found my way to Choson
Ring. There, I found a black-market shop that had items for sale, which could be
used to increase my power, something I desperately needed at the time. One of
those items was a tattoo with psychoactive inks to increase my power.”
“But power always, always, always has a price. If you cannot
tell the price off the bat, then it is likely larger than you can afford. The
price, in this case, was that the tattoo gave me hoarding instincts, I guess
you could say. Except what I hoard are weapons and slaves. The instinct the
tattoo gives me is to gather them, and to ruthlessly strike down anyone who
threatens them.”
“Now, that is simply an instinct. A powerful one, no doubt, like
people ducking for cover when they hear an explosion, but it is just an instinct.
And instinct can be controlled, it can be managed. I have a massive stockpile
of weapons, more than any person could ever use, especially if you count my
Navy, and my people are always working on new things. This pleases my instincts
greatly, and I don’t fight it, because it makes my other goals easier, as well.”
“But with slaves? Well, much of the Black Star Company is
enslaved, or the family of slaves. And I’ve indulged myself greatly with the
slaves who are my property. But I have to maintain control, or I’d be no better
than those idiots from the Hundeherstellar world, who just slap collars on any
female they see. You see, I have been training my restraint and control even
before I left the Luna facility. The more I work on it, the easier it is to
fight down the instinct, like a firefighter who runs into a burning building to
rescue someone trapped inside. Instinct is tempered by training, but not
removed. If I gave in, and enslaved someone as powerful and desirable as the
Empress of the Terran Empire, I would find it very hard to stop there.”
Empress Merida nodded slowly. “I can certainly see that. And
I appreciate your candor on the subject. But, then, what were you hoping to
accomplish here? And how does this relate to the psychic power I was apparently
putting out?”
“Simple. I could not shut down your powers without risking
far too much temptation. However, I could get in, and persuade you to shut down
your powers, even subconsciously. That is a much… less invasive method, which
wouldn’t impede your will, or tempt me to do unfortunate things. Now, with you ‘powered
down’ for the moment, we can work on rebuilding your defenses, and your
control.”
“So, just how did I get so powerful that you had to come into
my mind and talk me down?”
“Well, you were threatening to collapse the Aurum Throni
in on itself. As in literally straining the energy fields helping to keep the ship’s
structural integrity intact. And, right now, if you tried using your powers you’d
be inundated with the unshielded thoughts of everyone who didn’t have psychic
training within your range. And with your power, that could easily be all of
Sol System. So, we will work on your defenses, and on keeping your power
clamped down, and then, when we return to the real world, you’ll arrange for
tutors to come and teach you the skills you need to know.”
Merida blanched. “That sounds… unpleasant. Is that what all
you psy users go through? How do you all keep from going insane?”
I shrugged, and said, “It is the same way as you don’t go
insane trying to analyze every detail the eye can see. You learn to filter out
some things, and focus on others, while keeping everything ‘in view’, as it
were. It is something you usually have trained before your powers can passively
‘read’ someone more than a few feet away from you. You don’t have that option,
so we’re going to work on your defenses, and then you can gradually ‘open up’
your powers, without destroying things accidentally.”
I took a breath, and said, “Now, shall we begin?”
Previous Chapter Table of Contents Next Chapter
Be sure to read my published works!
Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):
Frozen Soul - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT
Tales of the Void Traveler - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37
Memoirs of a Supervillain - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R9NWS8J
Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy GameLit):
Volume 1 - Tutorial
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB
Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354XBook I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL
Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y
City of Champions Online (Superhero GameLit):
Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1
Lewd Dungeon (Dungeon Core GameLit):
Book 1 - Welcome to the Apocalypse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB34DHF
Omnibus 1 - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FBPF6HR
SCI Stories (Dark Supervillain story):
Book 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RL93VQN
Winterborn (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):
Book 1 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082S3S3K8
No comments:
Post a Comment