Plausious upped his output to maximum, intent to see if she could go any higher, only to have her output skyrocket so high he was flying backwards though the air and slamming into the closest wall before he realized what happened.
“How’s that for a hello?” Jasmyn said in a much better mood as she walked up to him as he sat crumpled on the ground and not rising as the Ren’mak hovered over him protectively.
“You’re a Nuv’ernor,” he said flatly, angry at his underestimation of the Maverick.
“We’re called Jinxes here. I believe you call us weapons’ components.”
“We have done a great many horrific things, Maverick,” Plausious said as he stood up and towered over her. “I am here to end them.”
“Davis explained in his message. If you can convert them, you can have them. If you can’t, they stay here and I get to keep working on them.”
“Have you had any success?”
“Limited, but you guys are so long lived there’s a lot of brainwashing to be undone.”
“Brain conforming would be the more appropriate term.”
“What’s the fear from?” she asked. “They are scared of leaving your mental parameters, and it’s more than the threat of exile.”
“Neofan wrongly believe that our powers are so great we must maintain rigid control at all times, for if we stray it is like falling off the edge of a knife and there is no way to recover. We are told we will go insane and destroy ourselves, and to save others from the fallout those labeled insane are exiled to meet their fate elsewhere.”
“And what’s the truth?”
“The truth is that we are so advanced that our bodies and minds will contort when young if not held to a rigid standard. But once we achieve a certain level, those boundaries are not safeguards. They are a darkside prison keeping us from achieving our potential, but one that has allowed our civilization to survive and dominate where others have torn themselves apart with far less to lose. I will take what assets we have and tear away the rest and remake the Neofan into a force that can aid Star Force in the coming war.”
“Which one?”
“The War,” he said, giving no further elaboration. “It is not upon us yet, but its heralds beckon. I have no time for games, Jinx Maverick. I must act swiftly.”
“Just so we know who the stronger one here is,” she said, looking up at him curiously. Her face wasn’t that of a Human, and he wasn’t sure if he was reading the expression right, but she didn’t seem overly hostile. “That’s all you Neofan seem to respect.”
“Superiority drives us…yet we have been blind to its true nature.”
“And that is?”
“The lightside.”
Jasmyn sighed. “Well, at least one of you can learn. Is it true that no Neofan is a Siphon?”
“For an unknown reason we have never developed the ability. It is believed that Nuv’ernor is a malfunction, and we are too advanced to suffer it.”
“Nah, it’s not. A breach would be a malfunction. I have a nozzle to control it, and it was there since the beginning. That’s not an accident, nor a part of my body that could break. It’s an element of my Core.”
“And you assume a Core cannot malfunction?”
“Never seen evidence of it. All problems in this universe seem to be attributed to physical or mental breakdown. You guys probably labeled it a malfunction because it hurt your pride too much to admit you were inferior in some way.”
“You are probably right,” he said, looking at her upraised chin as her two headtails jiggled slightly as she shifted position on her feet back and forth.
“Damn. I was hoping to get you to attack me again, but you’re too agreeable. All the other Neofan are too weak to give me a proper workout.”
“In your situation I imagine there are few that can, but be warned, even a moment of hesitation can allow a lethal attack to penetrate. Raw power is not the only deciding metric in Essence combat. And if I were to get closer, I could break your body with a single physical blow.”
“It’d take two or three with my hardened bones,” she scoffed, knowing the truth of his statement well. “That’s why I never let them get close to me, and I never let my guard down. I haven’t lost a single person since this facility was constructed, and I don’t intend to start now. Nor do I intend to just lock them away and throw away the key. They’re my assignment, and if you’re really capable of helping, then I’m glad you’re here.”
“Not glad enough to pause your workout though.”
“Only in emergencies, and your arrival doesn’t count,” she said, finally looking up at the hovering Ren’mak. “Does the bird have a name?”
“I am Ren’mak,” it said, startling Jasmyn.
“You talk now? That’s cool, but do you have a name other than that of your race?”
“None of the others talk, so why would I need another name when only I respond to it?”
The Trinx frowned. “Alright, you got me there, Ren’mak. Why are you here?”
“I go where he goes.”
“And he goes where I go,” Plausious insisted.
“The other Neofan will kill him on sight. They’re so wired they take chunks out of the walls to let out frustration, and almost always destroy our drones that deliver supplies. They see him they’ll snuff him out in an instant.”
“We can protect ourselves. He is not your responsibility. And soon, neither will they
