13th July
10:02 GMT
My escort peels off as I enter the Admiral's office… No, more of a lounge, really. The Admiral himself grins broadly as he turns his attention away from a screen showing me come up behind my Hellwraith and 'overpower' it, sucking it into the ring.
"I had assumed that it would be somewhat more complicated. No? Or is it a matter of personal skill?"
He's lounging comfortably on a… It looks a bit like a chaise longue, something he could be comfortable lying or sitting on. There are five other Citadelians in the room in a similar state of repose. No weapons or armour. Unusual.
"Something like that. If Larfleeze had been concentrating on that particular Construct-Lantern, things could have been a good deal more… Complicated. Fortunately, he wasn't."
"And if he had been?"
"Then… It would have been a contest. His needs against mine." I take another look at his companions. They seem a little more attentive than other Citadelians I've encountered. I can't see outward signs of cybernetics… Worth the risk of a scan..? "Unless it was controlled by someone else, of course." He tilts his head slightly as the rings feed me all information on the other Citadelians that they can gather passively. "I mean, if I can use an orange ring for an extended period while remaining free of the Beast's influence, it would be foolish of me to assume that I'm the only one."
"Wise of you. Though if you'll forgive me, perhaps not something you want to announce to the other party in a negotiation?"
"I doubt that your Emperor would be best pleased if I negotiated in bad faith."
"No, but you aren't obliged to tell us things until we are formally allied." He turns his head aside, looking towards a doorway. "May I offer you a drink? I was maintaining a reserve of.. quality product, but since our work here is nearly done we may as well finish it."
The other Citadelians aren't showing any of the usual symptoms of cybernetic grafts… The Admiral does… Skin pigmentation suggests that they're younger… Though that's not a precise guide…
"Thank you."
"Anything in particular?"
"Surprise me."
"Htcha!" He grins. "I should think I can manage that." He presses a concealed button on his chair. "Slave! Nectar of the Abyss, two glasses, twenty seconds!"
I wait for a moment, then frown. "Twenty..? Seconds..?"
"Yes, this may interest you. If there's one technology we Citadelians know, it's cybernetic neural interfaces. We-" The doorway he waved at opens and a Tamaranian woman in a ragged dress walks in, her eyes locked directly ahead of her and two large glasses containing a murky dark grey liquid balanced on a tray in her hands. "-have been experimenting on our… Excess labour pool." The woman stops next to him, standing completely still with her eyes still not wandering. He reaches a hand up and takes the closest glass before nodding at the other. "Take it."
I extend three filaments, lifting the glass from the tray. Ring, chemical analysis? Oh. Well, it's… Not toxic as long as I wear a power ring. I take the glass in my right hand and raise it to him in a toast. "Your health."
"Oh, no." He takes a snip. "There's nothing in here good for my health."
I smile and sip-. Oh it tastes like a horrible combination of raw fish and coal! Ring, facial expression!
Compliance.
Uraghuraghuragh!
"The world will seem so much better when we reach the bottom of our glasses. Slave, put down the tray." She bends her legs, lays the tray flat on the ground and then stands up again. And again, without looking around. "Twelve seconds, good."
The woman gasps, her eyes widening for a moment. Then she collapses, curling up on the ground and breathing heavily.
"What.. did.. you..?"
"A simple conditioning technique. Some slave masters use punishment and kindness to train their slaves. Citadelians are not kind. A few wires here, and the slave experiences terror or agony. A few wires there, ecstatic pleasure. Far simpler."
I…
I picture… Very clearly… Cutting him in half with a construct blade and.. not quite killing him immediately.
"That… Seems like an unusual expenditure of resources…"
"True… But I can't spend all day raping them. Even we Citadelians only have so much endurance. Up, slave. Five seconds."
I-. I'm not red, anger. When I am confronted by the horrors of the universe I rejoice-
The woman pushes herself up slightly with her right hand twitching as she tries to get her feet under her.
-for when I am done there will be one less.
Five seconds.
"Ooooowwwaaaagh!"
The woman collapses again, twitching spasmodically and exhaling a constant crying moan.
"Is..? This what this facility is for? Better slave indoctrination?"
"No. Quite the opposite. Better Citadelian indoctrination."
"I didn't think that the Citadelians were at all remiss in brutalising those who stand against them?"
"When they created the First Citadelian, the Psions used any number of.. additives, to alter the way his Branx and Okaaran components melded together. Then X'Hal levelled their laboratory -and most of their cities- and their records were lost."
"You're trying to reverse engineer it."
"Oh, no. Interfering with the First's body is… Unthinkable. But learning to duplicate their work is a desirable objective. My friends here-" He gestures to the room. "-are better. Not on a par with the First, but far more capable than our usual neonates."
"Wise, but why tell me? And why hide it? I'd be surprised if everyone didn't already assume that you'd be trying something like this."
"Why conceal it? Timing. We don't want anyone to have time to prepare themselves. Why tell you?" He takes another sip. "I want to show you that we're genuine. The Citadel will rule, not through proxies as we do now, but directly."
"And the Gordanians?"
He leans back. "They can make themselves useful. We will still pay for their services. But they will no longer be… Essential."
I nod. "I'd… Like to inspect your facilities. I need to be certain that you can actually deliver."
"That can happen. If you hand over one of your rings as security."
"I'll do better than that. I understand that the Citadel has recently acquired two Tamaranian princesses?" A momentary expression of mild surprise and curiosity passes over his face. "If you would be prepared to give them to me..." I take the Ceebiss ring out of a pouch on my armour's torso. "I would be quite happy to give you this ring in return."
What's ANAD stand for?
