Elder Cultivator

Chapter 969

Getting any sort of reliable information from Turilia was quite difficult, as Alliance scouts weren’t able to freely move about the system with them on high alert. However, that didn’t mean they were entirely unsuccessful. It was clear that recent battles had made a significant dent in available ships moving around any of the Compact’s systems.

It was still difficult to get an accurate assessment of remaining enemy forces due to planetary barriers and various detection systems making close approaches risky. There had been information coming in from the Son of the Queen and the Sergeant until the assault, after which the Sergeant had been drawn away from Turilia itself. The status of the other void ant leader remained in question.

That was, until they received a single image- though perhaps even calling it that was an exaggeration. They received a corrupted transmission that had almost been disposed of as junk, and it took a team several days of effort to retrieve functional data, revealing part of an image of some formation markings. That indicated he was still alive, but it didn’t directly reveal much else of use. It was recognizable as the inside of a Numerological Compact ship, and not much more.

Given that they had very little to work with, Harshal- a member of the intelligence team- took what they had very seriously. He first passed around the images to formation experts, who could only verify that what they saw was standard for what they had seen of the Numerological Compact, and most likely from a ship. However, with the limited angle and the corruption of the image, they couldn’t say much more than that.

It would have been reasonable to leave it there. The corruption was not a message, and they could clearly tell something had happened to the device sending images. That already told them enough, including that the Son of the Queen was probably still alive.

Even so, Harshal wasn’t quite ready to give up on the scrap of information they had. On a hunch- no, perhaps a bit of cultivator intuition- he sent the image to Anton. There was some connection, after all, and the man had sufficient clearance to receive such messages.

“Received this partial image from Turilia,” he included with the message delivery. “Can you pick out any relevant details?”

The response came almost immediately. “That’s Endymion’s ship. I have the feeling it should have been damaged and might be under repairs.” He followed up with, “Some of the ruined parts of the image might be due to lingering Ascension energy interfering with the device. Though I imagine the device is also damaged somehow as well.”

That was a nice confirmation. “How certain are you?”

“I was very briefly aware of the surroundings, but that was enough.”

Harshal nodded to himself. There were probably a million small details that would confirm that to Anton. He considered how to work his next statement. “What do you think about the results?”

“Unfortunate that it remained intact enough to repair. Endymion most likely survived, but I already expected that aspect,” Anton replied.

“Do you know if there is any further meaning to the image?”

“Based on my experience with various void ants… Queenson thought it was something that had to be logged. And my bet is we failed to get a large number of other images since the previous incident. I wouldn’t expect a deeper message from him.”

“Is it alright to disseminate the information on the damage?” Harshal asked.

Anton’s reply was once again swift. “I’m certain enough that’s what it is, but since it is under repair I think the more relevant information is that it will be functional again.”

Two sides of the same coin. But that option focused on people being prepared for action. Certainly the more important wording. Now then, if there were other images coming in… how could they receive them? Perhaps the engineers could find some way to boost the receiver, even with a damaged device on Queenson’s end they might get something of value.

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Once he was able to watch Byron in action, Devon could see the connections. They had been vaguely warned of his existence by the void ants, but the details of the man had still been mysterious after he appeared- strapped onto Elder Joetta’s ship.

All of those events had precipitated various actions and reactions, leading to where they were now. The entire system around Waral and Alyni under control, if not entirely stable. The hiveminds saw the Alliance as saviors. The rest were less convinced, though they were not entirely opposed to new conquerors replacing the old guard. At the very least, they seemed to find keeping their heads down to be valuable. That was good enough for the moment.

Returning to Byron, Devon finally found a moment to sit down with the man personally. “So… we understand a few things. You were the first of the Confluence cultivators?”

“Yes,” Byron nodded.

“And the Numerological Compact copied you?”

“More or less. Though I would say they corrupted my technique.”

Devon nodded. “Yes, I felt you draw from the restrained cultivators. I felt you would have given them a choice, if possible. I hear you’ve been teaching the formation masters quite a bit.”

The man shrugged. “How should I say this… things have advanced significantly since I was actually captured. I have learned as much about the Compact’s developments from your people as I have taught them. And to think, you’ve only been aware of these systems for a few months. You’ll have to tell me about your Alliance more, sometime.”

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“Preferably when times are better,” Devon agreed. “There’s only so much we can share, in case of spies. Just know that we are larger than a mere few systems, and have been developing since before the last cycle.”

“I’ve heard about these ‘cycles’, but we haven’t experienced them here. Or rather… with the presence of the Numerological Compact, we were likely insulated. Or maybe it’s easier to say we were already conquered. I was vaguely aware of their strength, but I was among the first to fall to them. I haven’t learned much from them during my captivity… I hadn’t ever expected an opportunity to actually be rid of them.”

“And it might not have come, had they been a bit more polite. But that is an issue of those with great power,” Devon admitted. “They think they are the best, only to find out that they aren’t. And for the record, I am quite aware that there are people stronger than me. Certainly in the upper realms, and potentially here in the lower realms.”

“I will admit to knowing very little of the upper realms,” Byron said. “Ascension never appealed to me. Confluence felt… right. At least, my version of it.”

“There will always be those who twist things to serve them,” Devon said. “We work quite hard to keep them out of our ranks. Now, this might be rude, but do you know of any weaknesses in Confluence?”

“I think you’ve already figured it out, frankly,” Byron shrugged. “It requires the power of other cultivators, otherwise we’re nothing much. I’d say that is at least as true for the Numerological Compact.”

“So no secret formations that will shut down all of their ships, then.”

“I would have created one, but they didn’t give me a pen during my confinement,” the man joked. “But no, much of this is new to me. I do think I can help accelerate the process of retrofitting the ships, though. Especially here with proper facilities. I’m even capable of controlling a Magnitude III ship, I believe. Sadly, I didn’t keep up my growth to match the Elders.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t take long,” Devon said. “But I think it’s of no benefit to us to delay. Raeburn has been taken away, and he won’t be an issue any longer. That leaves two we know of, though highly populated planets are… somewhat of a concern. We could really use local support.”

“You know how many motivated people there are. We’re just working on the ships. Fortunately, we have plenty of hands.”

“I’m concerned how the power grids are set up,” Devon said. “Not in some sort of worries about danger, but societally I don’t think these worlds can maintain what they are useful. No, I know they can’t, as it functioned on the backs of slaves. And we have rather strong backs, so once we stand up straight it’s hard to get us back down.”

“I have no issues there,” Byron said. “I much prefer the cooperative approach myself. Unfortunately, I’m cut off from my people. I know it’s somewhat risky, but I’d prefer to assault Turilia with priority.”

“It is a risk,” Devon agreed. “But it would also be a decisive moment. If we can get the timing right and not have to face Elder Joetta… I’m sure it will work out. And I do have confidence, as we’ll be coordinating with Anton.”

“A venerable elder such as that is a great boon. I felt his power. No, I still do, faintly.”

“The details on that are secret here,” Devon said. “But I can say you’re not wrong to feel it.”

“Are there many like the two of you? … Enrichment cultivators?” Byron asked.

“There are enough of us,” Devon replied. “And as you know… power can come from cooperation. Everything would function without us.”

Discussion on cultivation followed, and while Devon was not the sort to combine his power with others directly, the details were of interest to him. Obviously the style he had paved the way for had some connection to the current hiveminds- though it didn’t seem to be his intention. It was a side effect that even the Numerological Compact seemingly hadn’t expected, as they had never thought to free anyone. Certainly not large groups all at once.

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Preparations were made for the upcoming assault. The Alliance forces were being bolstered by local cultivators, but they couldn’t wait forever. Strife might develop from those cultivators who had been free, and of course the Compact was likely advancing their own plans. Even if they’d been beating them back consistently, they were not defeated just yet.

The matter of Elder Joetta was one of concern, specifically the potential of the two Magnitude IV ships they were aware of working together. It was likely that, in addition to Devon, they would have their shields adapted to Anton. Yet if they could take out both ships at once, the enemy forces would have little to stand on. On the other hand, fighting them in sequence was less risky.

The decision was made for them, however. News came of Elder Joetta’s vessel and other ships heading to reinforce Turilia- or at least handle some business in the system. With Endymion’s ship hopefully still being damaged, they still intended to make the assault soon. However, they also had to be certain they could keep a proper foothold. Anton would be binding the local star, and he had some good points about not leaving formation experts alone with that.

Thus, they had to commit to any assault they made. While they could try to take over the third enemy system, it would be fairly meaningless if they couldn’t take down any of the elders- and they couldn’t occupy an unlimited number of planets while still having the mobility to deal with enemy forces.

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Queenson waited, silently. The repairs had been completed. Now was time for the inspection. That might mean Elder Endymion showing up… and if he did, it was best to deal with him directly. Sabotage might be all well and good if they could guarantee it would work, but the risk to their allies was high.

Sadly, rather than Elder Endymion the person that showed up was just some old lady. Not strong enough to be another elder, in Queenson’s assessment. So they just watched.

“Perfect,” she declared when she was done. “Make sure nothing happens to it.”

At that point, the core of the ship was left, for the first time since they had seen it, empty. Guarded, yes, but only on the outside. Most likely they would notice if the void ants caused any chaos, but… they were here for subtlety. And more importantly, they were already inside.

There was a brief thought, to simply keep waiting. Endymion would have to show up eventually to use the vessel. But no, Luci had a point. There were many other things they could do, instead of sitting around waiting. If only the Sergeant was still with them. But she wasn’t, instead hopefully off doing other important things in space. The details on what happened there were still fuzzy.

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