Restless - Chapter 15

The ship exited Umbra a couple days ago on the edge of the system, slowly drifting through space as we neared our destination. I asked Chief Engineer Yor, who looked seriously banged up and drained after being run ragged to jury rig a fix for the sabotaged Reality Anchors. Something about having to be careful with the Umbral Guillotine so it won’t affect inhabited planets. 

I’d been carefully testing my limits with the Instability all this time. After the Lyzar fight, my time outside the anchor doubled. I felt confident enough to make five-minute trips out of the AOE without any fear. It was a nice break for my psyche to get out of the gilded cage, though admittedly I couldn't go far.

After using my power against the Lyzar, I’d only managed to trigger it a couple of times. Each time it was seriously draining, though that was to be expected. The first time, I exchanged a small bolt of torn fabric in one hand with a loose screw in my other hand. Even just a small swap like that nearly knocked me out as my energy drained in an instant.

I tried a few more things, though I’d found an issue with my power already. It wasn’t true teleportation. I was required to exchange one item for another. I couldn’t simply teleport the screw into my empty hand. I had to swap it with the bolt of fabric.

Of course, it was an incredibly exhausting process, so I really didn’t get to study it all that much. Combined with my extended Instability endurance training, the occasional visits from Yor and the captain of the squad that fought the Lyzar with me, and my lacking ‘stamina’—for lack of better words—I didn't have much of an opportunity. 

Still, there was a streak of relief with what I had learned. Although it was incredibly weak, I did indeed have a power. With that Lyzar assassin’s attempt on my life and previous experiences, I was becoming intimately aware just how vulnerable I really was.

I was a true Herald- a chosen of the Pyre. A target of the galaxy, each wanting to nip me in the bud. Even if I grew in strength, there'd always be another threat. And that wasn't even mentioning the Nightmare which I knew next to nothing about. Not how I saw my life turning, but I really didn’t have much of a say in the matter. 

Before long, we arrived at our destination. I tried to remember what Warden Candus called it, but the planet's name stayed just out of reach from my tongue. Or, at least, I assumed we arrived as a large group of Gloomguard entered the room. 

A rather short, old-looking man stepped past the lot, carrying with him a rather large briefcase. He wore a white coat over what looked like some kind of void suit. He pushed up a pair of glasses further onto his nose as he stared at me for a moment. “Indeed… unstable.”

”Sorry?” I stared at the man, trying to figure out what was going on.

”Ah, right. Arch-Scient Steiner, at your service.” The man bowed his head slightly. He was shorter than me though, so the bow pointed the bald spot on top of his head right at me. “You must be Jasper, correct?” 

I mutely nodded my head. At my confirmation, the man gently put the briefcase down on my bed and popped it open. What looked like a bastardized mixture of power armor and a harness sat inside, completely surrounded by other devices. “What’s going on?”

The man wasted no time using the various devices, waving them in my direction. Scanners of some kind, if I had to guess. They were sleek, completely different from the typical clunky and retro devices I was used to seeing. At least, most of them were different. “You have a problem staying in one place, yes?”

”You could say that.” I shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably as he continued to use the several scanners. One of them started beeping sharply.

”Good- er, not good. Good for research though.” He grabbed two rods connected to some kind of small screen and handed them to me. “Hold these. Oh! I’ve assigned myself to help you with your… particular problem. Warden Candus should’ve mentioned something, no?”

Oh, was this the Reality Anchor harness-

“Gah!” I flinched, nearly dropping the two rods as a shock of electricity ran through my body. If it wasn’t for the muscles in my hands tensing up, I would’ve.

”You may feel a slight shock.” Steiner muttered as he stared at the screen with a frown. “Hmm… readings are worse than expected.”

“A little- Gah!” Another shock came through the rods. This time I wasted no time dropping the electric sticks. 

The old man frowned slightly before putting away the device and pulling out another. It- it looked like a needle, only with a bunch of extra scanners attached to the back end of it. Super clunky looking, more inline with the tech I was used to. “Just need a hint of blood.”

 I backed away slightly at the sight of the needle. After the shocks, I was way more hesitant about anything he wanted to do. “What is that?”

”Genetic sequencer. Perfectly normal, I promise. Need to make sure you’re really you.” He held the needle up, and motioned for me to pass over my arm.

I hesitated for a moment before offering my arm. He was assigned to help me, right? So surely this wouldn't be too bad. “Uh- is that a problem? People not being themselves?”

”All sorts of doppelgangers or worse in the galaxy. Not to mention the Xath.” He shook his head tragically. “Once had a ‘kid’ turn into a horrendous abomination upon closer inspection and try to rip out my spine! What a day that was.”

Steiner stabbed my arm with the needle, pulling out a bit of blood. A whirring sound emitted from the device before a light on the back flashed green. Once it did, he waved to his retinue. “See? Just as I said I'd be; I'm safe. Leave us for a few moments?”

A heavily armored man, seemingly the captain of the Arch-Scient's guard, frowned as he stared at me with intense eyes. Eventually, he nodded to the rest of the squad as they filed out. "Just call me if you need anything."

"Yes, yes." The little old man waved a hand as he pushed up his glasses and focused on yet another of his sensors.

As the guards left, I couldn’t help but ask the older man, “Do all Fledgling Heralds go through this?”

”Genetic Sequencing? Yes. Rather important. Having an Arch-Scient assigned to them? No. Not at all. Quite rare, actually. Most, uh, flaws as you would call them, are quite straightforward." The man shrugged. "Even a Scient Minoris getting assigned is rare. You, however, particularly interested me, so I accepted the case. We can history, my young friend! I have so many theorems just waiting to be proven!”

I barely held back a flinch as he looked at me. It's like he was a starving dog staring at a piece of meat. More accurately, a researcher finding his ideal specimen. Deeply unsettling. “W-with my Flaw?” 

The old man’s face twisted in irritation as he muttered, “Hate that Flaw caught on.”

”Are they not Flaws?” It seemed as though I was quite flawed, what with fading out of reality against my will. Can’t really see how it’d be anything but.

The man pushed up his glasses and put the last of the sensors away. “Merely misunderstood gifts of the Lord. He never makes mistakes. Calling it a Flaw implies so.”

I shook my head. No way I'd agree with that- not with what I had to deal with and Warden Candus’s tale. Not that I’d ever claim the Lord makes mistakes. Such a thing- well, there were less painful ways to die than at the hands of a fanatic who sees heresy. 

Then again, what do I know? This guy was probably better versed in everything than I was. Arch-Scient, right? They don’t just hand out titles willy-nilly in the Republic. He must have the wisdom and intelligence to match. Besides, if he looked old, he was probably already past at least a millennia.

I kept silent as he pulled the bastardized armor from the crate and handed it to me. It was surprisingly heavy and covered in mechanical bits and bobs that stood out harshly. Wires went every which way, protruding out sharply from the body. It was an ugly, clunky piece of tech. It looked almost as if someone had taken a power armor chest plate and then pulled out every bit that made it aesthetically pleasing. “Put this on. We’ll see if it works.”

There were a series of buckles and clasps he helped me get around to get the chestplate on. It was incredibly uncomfortable, the cold metal pressing into my skin in a way I wasn’t ready for. It thrummed with power, pulsating as if another heart.

And then he flicked it on. Immediately, I felt a stronger suppression than even the Reality Anchor cover me. It was… rather unpleasant? I’d gotten used to the hollow yet hyperactive feeling in each of my cells. Instead, now I felt incredibly restricted. Almost as if every fiber of my being was held in a vice.

The sensation of another heart increased, feeling as though I’d actually had another one implanted into my body. Already I could feel my actual heart speeding up to match. I forced myself to take slow and calm breaths.

“Come along, Jasper.” Steiner closed up the briefcase and headed for the door, pausing slightly as he waited for me. “Let’s test my prototype.”

I hesitantly followed the man, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with each step as I got used to the heavy piece of armor and machinery. I half expected the cold hollowness to return as I stepped past the edge of the Reality Anchor’s AOE. Nothing. I still stayed whole even without having to focus. I couldn’t help the smile that sprung to my lips.

”Good, good.” The researcher waved yet another sensor at me. This one looked familiar. It was a chunky box with a slow beeping noise and a purple light on top. “You didn’t collapse into a black hole.”

The smile dropped my lips as I felt my entire face turn pale. “W-was that an actual possibility?”

“Well… Gifts sometimes react weirdly.” He shrugged and walked around me, inspecting the harness. “No point worrying what could’ve happened. It was only a one percent possibility anyway. Nothing to worry about.”

Only one percent!? Has this guy never heard that if something could go wrong, it can and often will go wrong? Collapsing into a black hole- it’d kill me and everyone else on Dawn’s Glory! “J-just one percent?”

”I was eighty percent confident the prototype would work. How’s it feel though?” Steiner poked and prodded at the device as he inspected it. He hit a dial on my side, causing the entire thing to emit a deep humming for a few moments.

”Clunky? And- and a little unpleasant. The suppression feels, I don’t know, a little too strong?” I wasn’t quite sure how to describe it. It was like I was used to being free, and now crammed into an extremely tight space. Deeply unsettling, enough so that it was starting to trigger my claustrophobia.

”Interesting.” Steiner nodded several times, muttering rapidly under his breath. Eventually, he grabbed the briefcase and rapped on the door. “Well, it is just a prototype to test the technology. Function before comfort.”

The door opened up, revealing a rather cramped hall. Between the Gloomguard that had followed Arch-Scient Steiner and the guards already on duty, it was a tight squeeze. The old man didn’t seem to care as he forced his way forward. “Come along now, my young friend. Our shuttle awaits!”

We left the Reality Anchor behind, heading into the depths of the voidship. It was… an enlightening journey. The Reality Anchors’ rooms had been lit by fluorescent lighting, keeping back the shadows and darkness at all times. 

Out in the rest of the ship though? Back to lanterns and flames. Sure, there were electrical lights everywhere too, but the fire let its presence be felt. Everything also had a certain… ornate feeling too. The Reality Anchor had been strictly function over form. Lots of fire engravings, solar symbols, and small alcoves to hold candles were scattered along the halls we walked.

So many people too. All kinds, from the clerics and Unctuous Curates offering prayers to the voidsmen hustling to do their jobs all across the massive ship. It almost felt like I was back home being in the hustle and bustle of the voidship.

Our retinue caught quite a few eyes as people got out of our way, though thankfully I didn’t have to face them as I listened to Arch Scient Steiner talk about various matters. 

And Pyre could he talk. From when we left the anchor to when we arrived at the shuttle’s landing bay, he hadn’t stopped. It must be known that voidships, at least from what I know, are particularly big. It was at least a thirty-minute walk to get from where the Reality Anchor sat down to the landing bay as we cut through crew quarters and gunnery bays, avoiding the main halls for some reason.

“Ah, here we are! Auxiliary Shuttle Bay Thirteen. My lucky number.” Steiner laughed to himself as we arrived before a particular door.

We entered a massive room with a gigantic blast door sealing the place in. In the middle of the space sat a ship with several people running inspections and checks on it. 

The ship itself looked a bit like a brick with four blocky thrusters sticking off of its sides. It was absolutely covered in bits and bobs, from the several turrets sticking out of it to the dozens of sensors, dishes, and devices. 

It was big, but not nearly big enough to transport every Fledgling Herald down to the planet. “What about the others?”

”Others? Oh! Yes, the others. Different shuttles. This is my private research vessel. Being an Arch Scient does have a few benefits." He waved to the tinted windows of the cockpit, and a ramp lowered down from the side of the shuttle. "Now come along, I really do need to see how you interact with different levels of Dimensional Supression."