C76 Of Cat and Mice.
( A.N. : Fair warning, work-life is currently rather demanding, so for the next two month, I will likely be posting at a slow pace. I will try my best, but I can't make any promises until things normalize at work. )
Of Cat and Mice.
Queen’s Palace on Eden, Cradle Sytem
42 hours after the attack on Allistor.
Roland Luggan, A Hunter-killer type of Psyker, working for the Terran Commonwealth, with ties to various high ranking officials within High Command. The most notable being with someone in the Terran’s intelligence branch, information that, to Modaran, felt like a bad joke right now.
It had been nearly a day since he contacted the personal in Merag, asking for Mathew by name, and for contact to be established with Modaran even. It was suspicious, deeply so, no one but a select few should know that he was Mathew, or that he was even within the Siren territory.
Anthony would likely not share it with the Terran’s, Marianna, Thomas, and Aria had no reason to as well, which left only a few options from outside individuals. Nimilia, Nighthaven the Weaver, Kashir the Warden, and the Sisterhood, those were the once that could likely know of him, or notice him even in disguise if he was careless.
There were a few others, like his two oldest sisters, but neither they, nor any other of relevance was nearby to be of significance right now, not unless they somehow managed to sneak up on him. But, for what purpose ?
Realistically, so he thought when placing the Padd down onto the table before him, it could only be Kadim, though their movements did not suggest them to have deviated from their watch of Anthony.
He could observe some of them, through his clones, acting outside the milky way, establishing their worlds, with increasing numbers of them materializing in normal space. That in itself was strange, as they usually hid them away within what they called, a Vall’adur, a pocket of artificially created space.
Something was going on, and he did not like being unaware of what it was.
“ Aria, prepare a shuttle for me to Haven station. “ He spoke.
“ Will do, and there are new developments. Hope just established contact through the Sovereign android. Apparently the Xa’Leen have launched another offensive against the Commonwealth. “ Aria reported.
“ Already ? “ Modaran spoke, finding yet again something that moved outside his expectations. The Xa’Leen should not be able to move so quickly between systems, unless they had multiple fleets moving ?
“ What happened exactly ? “ He asked then.
“ Multiple large scale attacks on Commonwealth Systems, by what Hope could gather, it was 5 systems altogether. The Terran’s lost three of them, and one of the surviving Systems, Allistor, was defended in cooperation between the Terran’s and Sovereign.
But during the course of their cooperation, Anthony demanded the Commonwealth to hand over Allistor to him. Hope suggests that, for the time being, we distance ourselves from Sovereign. “ Arie reported.
“ So, he essentially declared war on the Commonwealth ? “ Modaran asked.
“ Not yet. She is not giving details as she needs to talk with Anthony first, but she considers it as a likely scenario. “ Aria responded.
“ Needs to talk ? “ He uttered, leaning back in his chair, his gaze narrowing as he played those words in his mind.
“ So, he overdid it again, like with the Seltran ship before ? “ He then asked, assuming her lacking ability to converse with Anthony was likely the result of him being unconscious after overusing his ability.
“ Physical and mental exhaustion, due to over one and a half days of constant combat, by what she is saying. There is no appearance of a strain on his Psykic energy as his network between systems remains stable. “ Aria responded.
“ How large was the attacking force ? “ He asked then. If the battle lasted that long, there must have been a lot of back and forth.
“ She can’t make any statements about that yet. “ Aria answered.
It made Modaran furrow his brows. He had expected this sort of development for Anthony, having assumed him to take charge of Eden at some point, which was prevented with Modaran taking control of the situation, but the general direction was there.
His ability, the sense gathered by other Psykers, and the fact that Nimilia indirectly supplied him with the means to grow, even how the Siren’s around him seemed to be treated and drawn to him.
His sisters, in general had a favoritism for men that took charge, for those with power, someone that would entrap them and turn them into objects of desire. It was one of the habits he disliked the most about them, but which also gave a clear indication of potential in Anthony’s case, despite his initial weaknesses.
Daring to challenge the Commonwealth with as little as Anthony had right now though, that seemed, outright stupid. Granted, with his ability and Hope’s assistance, he had an unprecedented industrial base that could run non stop, likely to outclass the Terran’s in a few years, given that he had no population to support or worry about.
“ No. “ Modaran uttered to himself, running the claws of his right hand through the fur below his muzzle.
Looking at it more critically, Anthony could reach the Commonwealths resource production capacity within a year, as his use of androids and automation could permit exponential growth. And he already had around 4 systems by what he could tell, possibly more. Utilizing those fully, he could outproduce the Terran’s easily as they relied mostly on manpower and standardized automation that was based on a living workforce.
Right now, the Terran Commonwealth should have around 6 million military ships of varied classes. 2 million of which are spread out in various systems across the commonwealth, with most stationed within military systems. 1,5 million on active border patrol near the Neutral and Seltran systems, just in case there was a new front about to open. And the rest was in active warfare or reserve against the Seltran, a front that barely saw any movement at all.
Considering Anthony’s capacity for growth, if he spread out into around, perhaps 15 to 20 systems, he could start producing ships on a massive scale. It still be around two to three years perhaps until he could match the Terran’s in numbers, but using his hidden position, and his Psykic ability, he could easily whittle the Terran’s down even before then.
But to dare make demands now ? That seemed, more then foolish. Or, was he counting on his ability to stay off their radar and use the jump ship of his to run surprise attacks ? It would hurt the Terran’s, but they could likely react by moving their fleets around. Probably even break off their engagement with the Seltran, as the Seltran were not interested in war to begin with.
“ Shuttle is on approach, it should land in 15 minutes. “ Aria announced, giving Modaran a light frown as he could not put together a decent picture of the situation yet.
“ Keep me updated on Sovereigns situation, and see if you can find out anything else. “ Modaran spoke, shaking his head as he rose from his seat, to make his way towards the shuttle’s landing area.
“ Received. “ Aria confirmed the order, and then watched in silence as Modaran left the room, while once more assuming the form of Matthew Mornings.
30 Minutes later, Haven Station, in orbit around Eden
Modaran reached Haven station about 5 minutes ago, and on his way, he could see the VDN Queen of Hearts through one of the observation decks he passed. It was a sight that briefly gave him pause, as he could see the two brawlers attached to the main vessel.
It was a standard procedure amongst VDN vessels. Linking up systems and reactors to turn one specialized ship, into a moving fortress. A measure that was situational in its advantage, but if properly utilized, could pose a significant threat. Especially the Terran’s found themselves at odds with strategies like this one.
High maneuverability that was nearly as good as Siren specialized vessels, and close to no ammo constraints with their laser heavy approach. As long as they had enough fuel for their reactors, they could outlast most Terran ships, even if an appropriate supply line had been established.
“ Do we have anything on the VDN vessel of theirs ? “ Modaran asked, moving on again as Roland Luggan was already situated within the main diplomatic conference room.
“ VDN Military registry suggests the ship to have been put out of service and given to a man named Jacob Soldren, for distinguished services. An obvious misdirection as the aforementioned person is, quite capable, but lacks any distinct achievement.
Ship registries suggests the ship has been the active lead vessel of a recently established Mercenary outfit, registered under Mr Luggan. “ Aria reported via Modaran’s communicator.
So, some kind of undercover operation run between Commonwealth and Vorden territories ? “ Modaran asked.
“ Highly probable, goals of such an op seem obscure at the moment. But it places them within the range of the first Xa’Leen attacks. “ Aria responded.
Modaran nodded in silence, agreeing with Aria’s initial assessment. The Vorden territory permitted registered citizen’s to buy even military ships, but the Queen of hearts was visibly a newer generation destroyer. Releasing ownership to someone that had distinguished himself seemed not to far off.
But Aria was using Seltran based information gathering tech, if she could not find a reasonable explanation as to what achievement warranted the hand off of a newer vessel, then this was either corruption at work, or a cover-up, left to be obvious to appear as though it was corruption at work.
“ Good, make sure we remain undisturbed. I don’t want any information leaving this room until we know what exactly we are dealing with here. “ Modaran ordered as he approached the conference room.
“ Received. Shall I keep ships on combat alert, just in case ? “ Aria then suggested.
“ No, someone is pulling strings from behind the scene’s, and I have a good idea who it is. If aggression is shown from their side, I will personally deal with them. “ Modaran insisted, as an increasing certainty in his assumptions begin to settle in.
“ Received. “ Aria once more responded.
Then Modaran stepped into the conference room, with the door promptly closing behind him again. His gaze quick to settle on the man that now rose from his seat, trying to gain a quick, initial assessment of what, by their information, may as well be a professional assassin, usually let loose on undesirable Psykers within the Commonwealth.
“ Mr Mornings I presume. “ Roland spoke up, looking towards the man that appeared younger then him, perhaps, no older then 25, 30 at most maybe ?
By his outward appearance anyway. But Roland kept reminding himself that he was not facing a human at all, but supposedly a shape shifter, much older then anything he could think of.
“ Indeed, and you must be Mr Luggan. “ Modaran responded in his human disguise, approaching Roland to offer a hand in greeting.
“ Yes, pleasure making your acquaintance. “ Roland uttered, planning to go step by step in his approach, starting only with Andrew for now.
“ Same. So, you been looking for a person called, Modaran ? “ Modaran begun in his disguise as Mathew Mornings.
“ Yes, I have recently been in contact with another Psyker that dabbles in information exchange. And by his claim, this, Modaran character, can help me find a man named Andrew Parker, formerly captain of the TMS Wrath, a drone carrier that was lost in the Vigla incident.
By what I am told, Andrew may have ended up within Siren territory, and his grandfather, a high ranking officer within High Command, is dearly concerned about his wellbeing. “ Roland begun.
He was trying to keep Kadim entirely out of it, not to use her name unless he absolutely had to. His aim was to build a bridge of goodwill between Karlo and Modaran, even if indirectly, and through it, establish himself into a position where he could gain access to Anthony, at least, base contact, through which he could enact his next step.
“ I see. “ Modaran responded, seemingly in thought for a moment there. He had not fully considered that angle yet, the involvement of a Psyker acting as an information broker.
It was unlikely for a Psyker to effect him or any other high tier Nah’Rahan. But in this case, Marianna, and Thomas, they could be a weak point that could unintentionally leak information.
Their move to bring in Psykers could actually work against them here, and as unlikely as it seemed to him, that avenue could not entirely be excluded, not with how strong he had seen Psykers of other races become in the past.
“ So, did this contact of yours, make any suggestion how Modaran may be able to assist you in this ? Does he, know where this, Andrew Parker is at current ? “ Modaran asked, trying to fish for a little more information, while playing his role as Mathew.
“ Not exactly. Apparently someone close to Modaran has had his or her hand in taking Andrew away, and apparently they deposited him together with some Psykers amongst the Siren.
I am working under the assumption that Modaran may be the quickest route to establish contact with Andrew. “ Roland spoke, weaving his web of lies and truths to steer the conversation, with the convenient excuse of a third party Psyker, just as he did before with Karlo.
“ With Psykers ? “ Modaran asked, as their gathering of Psykers should not be official, so even if Roland seemed to have information about it, he had to at least try and feign a lack of knowledge of such.
“ Yes. Supposedly, Andrew is a latent Psyker. Not awakened to his ability yet, and whatever it may be, his Grandfather has every intention to keep him save. “ Roland added, twisting in an olive branch of unspoken benefits, of possible cooperation between both sides, with Andrew acting as the root of this cooperation.
“ Yes, depending on what he would awaken to, the Commonwealth would likely not be to fond of him, or, prospectively, vastly restrain his freedoms. “ Modaran mused, his assumptions interrupted enough by how Roland worded his approach, that he could no longer risk probing into another direction.
“ Indeed. So it is in Admiral Parkers interest to find Andrew, with or without Modaran’s assistance. I have a few files prepared on him, in case it may assist finding him. And, once his situation is determined, I think, Admiral Parker might be quite interested to know his grandson is situated comfortably, away from any, more troubling developments. “ Roland then spoke, laying out the lure.
He was giving out beneficial terms for the Siren’s, the connection towards a high ranking officer within High Command, that could adjust the stance towards the Siren, all based on the fact that Andrew would not come to harm.
And while that could be abused by the Siren to some degree, depending on what ability Andrew woke up to. Roland counted on the fact that Karlo would be prone to seek assurances about Andrew’s well being.
The simplest path was that Andrew was currently presumed dead, so the logical path to take, would be for Andrew to remain within Siren territory, until his ability could be determined. And based on what it was, it may even become prudent to keep Andrew out of Commonwealth space, and by extension, the Siren out of the Terran’s aim.
Either way, he was proposing grounds for closer cooperation between Siren and Commonwealth, and means to keep the Siren’s Psyker smuggling ignored.
Roland was sure that Modaran would see it the same way, as it should not be hard for him to realize that Karlo leads the Intelligence branch, and thus had the means to cover their movement’s within Commonwealth space.
“ Well, I can not speak for Queen Marianna, but I will relay your concern to her. I do feel confident however that she would be interested in a swift resolution of this issue. “ Modaran spoke, suggesting that the final say in this matter was in Marianna’s hand, even if, at current, that was far from the truth.
“ I would very much appreciate it, and a quick resolution of this matter. I am sure you can tell by the use of the Vorden vessel, that I am not talking in an official capacity. But I sincerely hope we can use this opportunity to build lasting relations. “ Roland suggested.
And those words irked Modaran. Roland felt like a snake, a poisonous one, and it fit perfectly with the profile he had of him. Too perfect in fact, he did not even try to hide it, which gave Modaran a sense that he was hiding something else.
“ As I said, I will forward these concerns to Queen Marianna. And in light of this, if you could provide me with the relevant information about this, Andrew Parker, and Modaran, I will see to it that the matter will be looked into. “ Modaran assured.
“ You have my thanks. There are, other concerns I would like to get into with you, but perhaps we can postpone for now ? It more or less hinges on finding Andrew Parker. “ Roland spoke, to which Modaran would nod slightly.
The remaining talk between them was, uneventful. Too uneventful for Modaran’s taste, it nearly made him doubt his intuition, which seldom had ever been wrong. Even after Roland had handed him the data on Andrew Parker and Modaran, he could not shake the feeling that he was overlooking something glaringly obvious.
“ I will inform you the moment I have news. “ Modaran uttered as Roland moved to leave.
“ I look forward to it, and our cooperation. “ Roland responded, nodding briefly towards the other before he left the conference room, about to leave Haven station again via a shuttle.
At that point Modaran leaned back in his chair, his mind racing to look for the detail he may have missed, because no matter how he looked at it, Roland’s tale was just too perfect in a way. A suspicious character that acted and spoke just as suspicious and outright, manipulative as one would expect of such a person.
“ He’s got you good, didn’t he ? “ The voice of a young woman then spoke, interrupting Modaran in his search for a reasonable explanation for the gap between intuition, and the reasoning Roland had offered him. And when he looked for the source, he would look upon the ghostly figure of a Kadim.
“ Was that, your work ? “ He asked, part of him still doubting the validity of both, his own assumptions, and the conclusion Roland had allowed him to reach.
“ Right idea, wrong Sister. Itwen’s daughter has dealings with Luggan. “ She responded, and then moved to occupy the seat previously used by Roland.
“ Kadim, Daughter of Myrwan. “ She then introduced herself, in the way similar to any Kadim. But Modaran was a little taken aback now as she had moved.
The simple act of, taking a seat, appeared alien to him when facing a Kadim. This one was different, devoid of the usual habits of stoicism and aloofness that her kind was well known for. The way she moved so, leisurely, the hint of a sigh when she sat down, and even that faint smile she wore, they were, more alive then any Kadim allowed herself to show.
“ Your a Rogue sister, aren’t you ? “ He asked, guessing that this Kadim had left the Sisterhood a long time ago, which allowed her to deviate from her siblings not only in behavior, but likely in far more ways then was obvious right now.
“ Hm, interesting. Not the reaction I expected. It seems Luggan is not the only one that did a number on you. “ Kadim seemed to observe, her head slightly tilting to the side, watching Modaran like one would perhaps a petri-dish. With an unbridled interest and curiosity reserved for a fascinating specimen that had to be prodded to see how it worked.
“ What ? “ He uttered, feeling both annoyed and confused now.
“ Your Mother, she thinks she is forging a weapon. And while she is not entirely wrong, she is overlooking some minor details. Though I admit, even my siblings seem to fall for the same mistake. “ She spoke, ignoring his concern, even to blatantly stomp it down, by derailing their conversation into a whole new direction.
“ What do you know of her plans ?! “ He demanded, latching right onto her lure. And it was not that hard, given that he has been trying to figure out her machinations for a while now.
At that moment, Kadim raised the palm of her right hand before herself, allowing a stream of light to form a projection before herself. It was a still image, three dimensional, of Noc, and the beast besides her, an image that had Modaran pause momentarily.
“ What, is that thing doing here ?! “ He then demanded to know, as there was no way it could have been here, it could simply not occur naturally within this universe.
Nimilia, she crafted this reality. She was, for all intent and purposes, the god of this realm, and the barrier she placed around this reality, it should not permit for the beast to even be a memory in this place.
“ And why is one of your sisters with it ?! “ He then added, looking at the ghostly girl besides the beast.
The beast was one thing, an occurrence that he encountered a few times in the past, and wherever it appeared, bloodshed and war followed. Until the beast vanished, usually by it’s own self destructive tendencies.
But that girl besides the beast, she was clearly one of the Sisters, albeit strangely choosing details that deviated from the usual appearance of the others. Kadim, every Kadim within the sisterhood, they each were like a carbon copy of one another.
Pale skin, white hair, white eyes, white dress, long, elven like ears. It was the same for every Kadim, and not even rogue Kadim changed their appearance. More importantly the Sisterhood, they usually treated the beast like a wildfire, something to avoid at any cost.
“ She is a Sister, but she is not Kadim. Her name is Noc, and she is Anthony’s creation. “ Kadim explained, watching Modaran’s reaction to this revelation with unbridled fascination.
“ Anthony ? He, is the host ? “ Modaran uttered, and he felt like finally some of the pieces he had been missing, begun to click into place.
" Nothing is as it seems, Child of Logic. “ Kadim spoke, addressing him by a title that he was not particularily fond of.
“ What is the meaning of all this ? And what for are you here at that ? “ Modaran grunted with a lowly simmering fit of anger, which was a rare occurrence for him.
“ You do know, what a Kadim is, do you ? “ She inquired instead of answering him.
“ In very simple terms, your like an AI. “ Modaran responded, though he was quite unhappy with her choosing a roundabout way to respond. Though by now he should probably be used to it when it came to the Sisterhood.
He was about to elaborate a little further, since Kadim bothered not to honor his words with a response of her own. But then the final piece clicked, and he understood what she was doing. She was pushing for him to find the answer on his own, and the resulting solution that posed within his mind made him feel like he’s been ignoring, outright denying the obvious.
“ Your telling me, that thing, is a Builder ?! “ He uttered, partially not believing the words that crept across his own lips.
But the truth had always been there. The appearance of Anthony’s androids, they looked just like a more mature version of Kadim. Even Sovereign’s appearance was within this frame, if the only male variation he had seen so far.
No, that was not true, there was also Elijah, but just as with Anthony’s androids, that similarity had never truly occurred to him. Like, something was blocking his perception on purpose.
“ I see your starting to grasp it. “ Kadim finally spoke, earning herself a slightly annoyed look from Modaran.
“ Before it was the beast, it was a vengeful guardian. Though few ever knew it even existed. The Sisterhood itself is not fully aware that it was around long before they noticed it. “ She then added.
“ What is going on here ? “ He asked, unsure for the moment what to think of this. If someone was blocking his perception of something so obvious, then it must be something powerful enough to not only evade his, but also his Sister’s attention.
Many of the older Nah’Rahan knew of Kadim, and while they were not readily aware of it, the moment they searched their memory for Kadim, they should have known. Marianna should have realized it too, back when he made her aware of the Sisterhood. Was this Nimilia’s doing ? Or was someone else at play here ?
“ When you see your Mother, let her know, Fate is on the board. She has been for a while, and the Xa’Leen are only the beginning. “ Kadim now spoke.
“ Fate ? “ He uttered, unaware of the connection it should imply. Though there was that creeping suspicion that, what Kadim was referring to, was the likely cause of his inability to see what was before his own eyes.
“ The Xa’Leen died, about 115 years ago. “ She responded, again evading to give him a straight answer, and instead simply giving him another sliver of information.
And with that, she simply disappeared, causing Modaran to sigh with open frustration. She obviously insisted for him to find the connection himself, and he hated that part of the Sisterhood with a passion right then. Not even a rogue Kadim seemed to care discard this particular habit of theirs.