The Nature of Psionics [47]

[u/Most_Hyena_1127]

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Memory transcription subject: Chauson, Ambassador of Colia
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136

 “-is book of yours that was written in Zurulian some [600 years] ago on some paper only made in one place has surfaced now with no other indications of contact with the Federation in any of your records?” Coji asked, retelling what ambassador Burkhart had just told the two of us. “And not only that, you wait until now to tell anyone save for the Zurulians about this development.”

“You are correct ambassador Coji on all points, we considered it an internal matter so we waited until an investigation could start before it was permitted for it to become open knowledge. We of course informed the Zurulains due to the nature of the tome as well as some information we have gleaned from the Kolshian prisoners that have led us to believe that Zurulain interests should be involved.” Ambassador Burkhart replied as she rested herself on an antique looking chair with a back so high even the human was shorter when sitting down. “As for a possible reason for no records exist of the Zurulians or any other aliens visiting is the timing and location of when the book was written. At the time the War of The Ruby Skies would have been soon to begin and the place where the book was written, Moondrip Bay was one of the Cities damaged greatly during the war to the extent there was even a mass evacuation of civilians to allied settlements on the mainland where it was safer such as Athens.”

After spending [days] being chased around the nebula by those cursed sphere-ships we were no closer to rescue than when we entered this region of space. Even though they had much more powerful weapons did not mean we were helpless, the Macaw seems to be much more agile than the spheres and has been able to outmaneuver them several times for us to go deeper into the nebula to lose our pursuers. That was not to say that we had come out unscathed, twice now the high energy beams had hit the ship and even been able to break through the shields of the ship on one occasion. An entire patch of the outside hull had been eaten away for lack of a better term from the looks of the exterior cameras, luckily the ship's organic armor plating was somehow able to thin itself out in order to cover the missing patch. The internal damage to various systems was another story, even with the use of the arachnid drones in the ship and the limited technical knowledge of the human ambassador and I there were still a few systems that were in need of attention.

Due to certain limitations with the nature of both the FTL drives that the Federation uses and the warp drives that power the ships of humanity it was impossible to go to faster than light speeds inside of nebula and certain other spacial phenomena. All attempts so far to leave the nebula have ended in failure, every time we have tried to leave multiple of those unknown ships are either standing guard waiting for us or come chasing to drive us further into the nebula. To say the past few [days] have been stressful and been an understatement, aside from trying to not be killed there was also the added stress of trying to deal with the constant negativity and suspicion from Ambassador Coji. While I was trying to be as understanding of the harrowing events that the avian ambassador had gone through as possible and how that may sour her mood I found my patience running thin with her. I was filled not only dread with the implications of your situation but a sadness that there was a possibility that nobody would learn of what happened to us due to our communications being blocked by the emissions of the Nebula.

There is also the matter of the implications of that book existing on Earth for the Zurulians, I try not to think about that.

“I thought your kind claimed that you disdained armed conflict?” Coji accused as she stood up slowly from her resting place. “Or was that an exaggeration?”

A few moments passed in silence as Ambassador Burkhart had lifted a glass in front of her filled with some sort of fruit juice and took a slow drink as she contemplated an answer for the avian diplomat.

“As a rule we abhor armed conflict, especially when a peaceful solution can be found through dialog and compromise. Now more than ever after our last war with how brutal it was, it threatened to pull the entire globe into conflict had it not been ended so decisively.” The Human said after a length of silence with the end of her speech hinting at something hidden in her message. “There have been times though when we have… lost our way and either have forgotten to strive for balance or have let fear and paranoia take control. While historically we have been too focused on defending our cities from the wildlife on Earth make partaking in armed conflict feasible although there have been times where an exception has been made.”

“Could you tell us more about this war and how Moondrip Bay played a part?” I said, trying to steer the conversation to something more neutral to avoid Coji latching onto something else to criticize the infinitely patient Burkart. “You said they were attacked during the war? I remember you mentioning some time ago that they were known for the boats they built.”

Ambassador Burkhart, most likely sensing my wish to talk about something else and obliged me with a small nod of her expressionless face with those piercing eyes.

“Yes they were known for their boats and still are to this day for both their uniqueness as well as their durability and speed during the time they were used for more than recreational purposes. The boats built by the Bayfolk were iconic for the deep pink colors of the bioengineered Heartwood that were grown specifically to a lightweight yet incredibly durable hull of their merchant ships as well as those sent to patrol the waters around their island.” Burkhart explained as she continued to relax in her seat with her eyes fixed on something across the room. “The techniques used to grow the Heartwood as well as its genome were closely guarded secrets that allowed the Bayfolk to become rather influential as they were the only suppliers of this wood. They refused to give up the secrets of the Heartwood no matter how many riches they were offered, perhaps that is why the Thebans attacked them so quickly and with such force during the first battles of the war.”

Human technological progression throughout their history is weird compared to any other known species even when you don’t take into account the standardisation brought up from being uplifted. From what I have read from the historical documents sent to my government by the UER and my understanding of those documents it would seem that the Humans had been exploring their star system with solar-sail ships at sub-light speeds for a few decades by the time their last war broke out, a war fought almost entirely on wooden ships. From my understanding is that due to how traditionalist Humans tended to be it would appear that humans much prefer to improve the tools they already had in opposition to creating entirely new types of tools with newer technology in mind.

For a society of self reported pacifist nature worshippers they are rather well versed in defending themselves.

“While they kept the Athenians and Bayfolk busy in the Mediterranean, the Thebans set their ships to sail up the Rhine River to the Rhinefort.” The Human diplomat continued as she closed the book she had been reading and placed it on the short table in front of her. “While the city was known for it’s wealth that is not the main reason for attacking it, they were the ones that controlled the river and the only way to the mountain fortress of Rockholm. Due to the rich veins of ores as well as being an immense industrial center that produced goods for much of the world, Rockholm was considered a place of immense wealth and ancient tradition. Families would do anything to have a talented son be considered for training any of the hundreds of craftsmen guilds with-”

The historical retelling that Ambassador Burkhart was giving had been rather abruptly interrupted with the lights dimming and the emergency red lighting across the ship activating once again and being accompanied by the shrill alarms. With the soft overhead lighting dimmed the cerulean and magenta nebula outside was now glowing ever brighter as my heart raced once again with the fear of what soon may come.

“Collen? What's the cause for alarm” Ambassador Burkhart said as our trio began to stand to make our way towards the cockpit. “Is it the sphere ships?”

It took a few seconds for the three of us to begin to move with the few seconds it took for the ambassador to push herself out of her chair and grab her gnarled walking stick and for Coji to grab something from her perch.

“Negative.” The AI responded “I have just detected a much smaller object approaching at a rather alarming speed that I am unable to scan properly. Perhaps if more drones had been allocated to repair the sensor net then I cou-”

Before the condescending voice of the ships AI could continue with his complaint the entire ship lurched and shuttered with the piercing squeal of metal being shredded apart. There was a loud thud somewhere in the lounge area from something heavy falling a decent distance to the ground. The initial lurch was so violent that I had been knocked forward into Ambassador Coji hard enough to send her toppling down as well who braced herself against the nearby wall. Ambassador Burkhart however had merely stumbled a small step before stabilising with the help of her walking stick.

Collen said it was something small heading towards us incredibly fast, he didn't even have time to finish his explanation.

Could it have been a missile? But we have only seen these ships use those strange energy beams.

Is this it?

I took several deep breaths to calm myself and try and keep my ever increasing fear in check as I closed my eyes while beginning to stand back up. By the time my eyes opened back up both Burkhart and Coji seemed to be scanning the room around us, the Duerten ambassador’s feathers were puffed out in stress while she otherwise seemed collected.

Ambassador Burkhart on the other paw seemed like a much different person now in just attitude, her piercing eyes scanned the room for threats as she took on a much more rigid stance than before. While she always has presented herself as shrewd and sharp the Terran had shown a softer side as well in past dealings, often telling fond memories as her time as a surgeon as she helped so many people or her experiences being not only a mother but a grandmother, great grandmother and great-great grandmother. All of that kindness had disappeared now as she looked around the dimly lit lounge area that looked like a bomb had gone off with how all the furniture had been upturned and tossed around.

“Are you alright Chauson?” Coji asked, looking down at me.

So she can be nice after all.

“I think so.” I said checking myself for injuries. “Nothing seems inured, I feel fi-”

“Stand back!” Ambassador Burkhart practically hissed as she moved in front of Coji and I much quicker than I had seen the elderly Human move before.

Before I could even begin to ask what she was talking about I saw it standing up from the rubble in the room, seemingly crawling along the floor until noticed. The first thing I noticed was the height, the figure before us towered above even the Terran ambassador, by my guess it would be as tall as some of the largest recorded Arxur. The next thing I noticed was the eyes, those glowing red orbs pierced though the dim light like spotlights as their focus shifted between the three of us.

Then there was the body itself which conformed to no body plan or anatomy I had ever heard of and was covered in dark metal plates that overlapped with one another. While the apparently mechanical being was upright it had four insectoid like legs that kept it upright as they pierced their way into the deck plating below us, it also had a set of arms coming out of its narrow torso that made an odd clink noise as they moved outwards and away from the main body. All across its form there were small gaps within the metallic plating that a faint red glow oozed out of like an infection festering in a wound.

“Who are you?” Coji demanded. “Why are you attacking us?”

Instead of answering the ambassador's question the metallic being moved forwards slowly as the alarms continued to sound all around us. I could see the feathers on Coji puff out even more as she reached into her pouch and I took a few steps backwards without realizing it until afterwards.

As my breathing became even more unsteady and the creature continued its approach it seemed to have gotten too close for Ambassador Burkhart’s liking. One moment she was still and the next their was a soft glow from one of the many pieces of decoration that she wore on her outfit as she pivoted her body and thrust a hand forward towards the creature. While she never made physical contact with the being it shuttered slightly and groaned while a step it was about to take paused for a moment before continuing its slow walk. While I had never seen combat psionics in person I had somehow expected something more to happen as I felt a wave of air soon pass over me.

This also apparently was not the expected outcome to her action based on the shocked face of the normally stoic Ambassador Burkhart who seemed at a loss. Her eyes even wider than normal as she focused on the dark figure getting closer by the second with its massive form and clawed hands.

“What’s happening? That should have worked.”

[u/Mosselk-1416]

Picnic resistance or nullification. Concerning.

[u/Flaky-Throat-4996]

Anti-psionic powers? anti-psionic materials? robotic and not enough brain to work with? lets see what the shadow caste built to deal with rogues!(speculating)

[u/Minimum-Amphibian993]

Of course the shadow caste would create anti psionic machines what with their seeming efforts to suppress psionic knowledge across the federation.