[CYA] Chapter 186: The Yomi System (Patreon)

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<Alex, Real - Dorgon Calls for Aid, Innominate Duty Station>

Alex finished the countdown, all of his companions confirming their various systems ready for the transition. He spoke levelly, the process becoming almost rote. “Jump.”

For a moment, the Innominate was an oral story, told with fervor and tradition. It was heard by a passing scholar who saw fit to write it down.

Through the march of years, that written record was carried across the land until finally, it arrived where it needed to be.

Alex’s mind swam as the destination star system came into focus.

No one knew how long it had taken for this jump, and they never could. After all, time is relative and subjective, both.

He shook off that lingering certainty and checked the quest timer.

We didn’t lose any time. Good. He didn’t think it was possible for a jump to take days to fully actualize, but there was an irrational fear within him that it might.

Regardless, they’d arrived.

The star was standard enough, seeming like the sun to Alex’s vision as he oriented, following Natasha’s guidance toward the planet where their passengers were waiting.

John sent a communication to the waiting platoon, informing them of their presence in the system as well as their ETA to achieve orbit of the planet.

This was anything but an empty star system, with more than a dozen planets, four asteroid belts, and a score of habitation stations.

Billions called this system home, and Alex was momentarily confused why a good number didn’t go to the colony world, an easy jump away.

The answer was easy enough to find.

Every world, every station, had a worldspirit, and they all felt… similar? It was akin to a family resemblance, and when Alex glanced into the data banks with those parameters in mind, it turned out a family was basically what it was.

This was a ‘family’ of worldspirits, all working together, and all close to pushing to the next tier. As a result, this star system was one of the safest and easiest to live and work in within a few jumps, and so it seemed most didn’t wish to leave.

I guess not everyone prizes elbow room.

It also didn’t hurt that the tier up would benefit all citizens as a consequence of the change, whenever it happened.

This abyssal proto-tear had seemingly upset the order of things quite drastically, but the Imperium Mechanus Minora had been near enough that the issue had been dealt with swiftly, barely causing a ripple in the local ebb and flow of daily life.

Alex looked over Natasha’s scans, even as he guided the Innominate around shipping lanes and other intra-system traffic.

Yomi-Six was the most Earth-like of the planets and had been turned into a nature resort for the rest of the star system; though it still held cities and modern amenities.

From what Alex was reading, it was like pre-System Hawaii, quite developed in many ways, but with at least some care taken to maintain the natural beauty and amenities.

The platoon they were recovering was in the southern hemisphere, deep in a mountain valley at over ten thousand feet despite it being more than hundred miles across.

As they drew closer, Natasha was able to provide more information, and when she tapped into the local resources, she filled in the rest.

The valley was a blasted wasteland where once there had been a thriving city and hot-spring complex.

There weren’t even enough remnants to see where the buildings had been.

Instead, there were great rents in the ground, gushing forth acrid steam.

Nothing obvious remained of any enemies.

The event log of the local sensors let him know what had happened.

The proto-tear had been covered up, because the local magistrate didn’t want to interrupt the ‘prime season’. It honestly reminded Alex of a part of the plot of Jaws…

Regardless, there was nothing in place to mitigate damage when the abyssal foothold had come through, intent on manifesting the tear fully.

Only then, as the city burned, did the call go out. The platoon arrived and did what they did.

It seemed that the process was normally a two platoon affair, but no others had been within range, and they’d been ordered to engage anyway given the advanced state of things.

The result was six of the fifty-five man platoon had died.

'Standard Operating Procedure is standard for a reason'. Alex shook his head at the decimation.

A small part of him was glad that people were still people, even under the System, but the folly was still disheartening.

He brought them into a geo-synchronous orbit over the battlesite, and John communicated with the platoon below.

Alex shifted into bridge mode. “John, where do they need me to land?”

John shook his head. “No need, but they will need you to come to low orbit. Their suits can reach that high, but they aren’t willing to break the gravity well, not with the damage some of their suits took.”

That was… impressive. I think I might want one of those suits…

He laid in the course and indicated to Natasha. The woman performed the calculations, noting the timing and sent that over to John.

John looked it over with Kaylee before smiling. “Good.”

Kaylee nodded. “I’ll forward this their way.”

With their connection to the local infrastructure, Alex and Natasha were able to see the burst of power as forty-nine somethings ignited with magical power and began lifting from the ground, aiming for the rendezvous point.

In truth, they were interlinked in such a way as to be all but one, but their signatures were distinct enough that they could be distinguished.

They were well outside Alex’s Spherical Sense—even enhanced by the Innominate—and they weren’t hostile, so even the more vague danger sense didn’t flag, but he could still feel the magic radiating off of them, gravity as well as a mix of other aspects.

He could feel power from the planet as well, and as Alex guided the Innominate toward its expected location, he delved into what he was feeling.

It was as if a person were regarding him, their attention that of passing curiosity, and those approaching were similar to that overarching regard in a way that was hard to grasp.

Then, he had a thought, and his eyes widened.

While remaining in flight mode, he asked. “Are their armors inhabited by worldspirits? Like ships can be?”

Juba’s voice came back. “They are, and the beings are of the same type as worldspirits, if not with the same bent. Just as we have warriors, crafters, and the like, worldspirits do not always inhabit and empower worlds, though they almost always arise as a result of the interactions between sapients and where they live.” He chuckled. “It’s theorized that—on non-System worlds—continents, nations, or even peoples could allow for the manifestation of worldspirits, and many conflicts between such are actually simply the mundane aspect of clashes between such, striving to take over the world as a whole.”

Alex grunted. “Are they still called worldspirits?”

“Generally, yes. On the other side, even when a star system like this gains a worldspirit within the star, it is still called a worldspirit, generally. If you want to talk about them in a power progression? Well, let me get to looking…” The man hummed as he did just that even as Alex continued piloting the Innominate. Finally, Juba’s voice returned. “Ahh, there it is. Aegis Minima, a new or unseated worldspirit; Aegis Minora, those owning or possessing suits or small ships; Aegis Media, those in ships installations or larger mechs; Aegis Maiora, or worldspirits in truth; and finally Aegis Maxima at the top, which would usually be something like a worldspirit within a star. Interestingly, it is theorized that the System itself is a worldspirit—or at least based upon one—and is a step beyond Aegis Maxima. If it is, it would be an Aegis Suprema.”

Alex grunted again, dipping lower and lower, the circular horizon of Yomi-Six expanding in all directions. He maneuvered so that they could open the largest doors on the lower hull, those that could be used to enable their drop-troopers to directly deploy at extreme need.

Shielding would be in place to allow the doors to be open without losing atmosphere, and Lenka was working closely on those to ensure nothing went awry.

It took just under an hour for the platoon to gain altitude and the Innominate to drop down in a controlled manner, Alex matching the rotation of the world to effectively hang there in the sky through the precise application of gravity magics. Though, in truth, it was far more convoluted than just ‘hanging’ there.

Alex was constantly monitoring the internal stresses within the ship as well as projecting where the vessel was being nudged with his Stress-Interoception and 4D Spatial Motorskills.

It was a balancing act to keep from jostling about with the changes in air pressure, buffeting winds, and so many other factors, all exacerbated by the ship's very presence.

Their all encompassing defensive shields were off, as those magical projections would have increased the turbulence, not to an unmanageable degree but certainly to frustrating levels.

Then, Alex felt them. Forty-nine worldspirits entered his expanded Spherical Sense, each enshrouding a person, and all blazing with harmonized power. They were all slowing down at a tremendous rate as they came in for a landing.

The doors were open, and the members of the Imperius Mechanis Minora skillfully navigated the relatively small entrance, thumping down on the decks in the staging area.

Alex confirmed they were all within, began closing the doors, and aimed their acceleration upward.

With that done, Alex punched the controls and the jumpdrive began to spin up, a thin haze of gravity mana beginning to enshroud the vessel in a way that would have made boarding far more difficult.

Course laid in and drive charging, Alex disengaged from his duty station, excited to go investigate the powersuits in the bowels of the ship.

Less than five minutes later, the doors slid open ahead of Alex, and he strode into the large room.

The armors were still maneuvering, but it didn’t look like that was because they were having difficulty.

In fact, it seemed that they were agilely examining every portion of the massive space.

They looked more like golems to Alex’s eyes—or enlarged suits of medieval armor with a magical flair—than anything truly futuristic. Still, the lines were clean, sleek, and clearly designed more for actual combat than for any sort of display or intimidation. Even so, at more than eight feet tall, the result was still quite impressive.

“Report, is this a null-anima ship, or was there a miscommunication?” The crisp, powerful voice radiated from one of the large sets of armor, the magic involved in its generation clear.

Alex didn’t know the term, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. As such, he ensured power was away from his throat, swallowed some water, and spoke loudly. “There is no worldspirit in this ship. If you sense something like it, our Structural Officer, Kaylee, has laid claim to this vessel as a base of operations for enhancement and control purposes.”

There was a wave of marginal shifting among the platoon, and Alex realized that it was relief.

These must be exhausted indeed to have such overt reactions, even through armor.

“Thank you. I am Fan Vanel, Prime of Fire Drake platoon.” The white metal suit turned toward Alex, its red tabard pulling into the metal before the front split open, allowing a smaller man with disheveled black hair to step out.

He had on an Imperium standard red coverall, and Alex almost winced on instinct. Redshirts…

Another suit began giving orders with a feminine voice, and the remainder of the platoon formed seven orderly rows, seven deep, leaving a gap for the Prime’s armor… which closed up and walked over on its own.

Alex strode forward and held out his hand. “Alex Johnson, Helmsman of the Innominate.”

Fan took the offered hand and smiled. “Ahh, so we have you to thank for the easy pick-up? That was some smooth flying.”

Alex chuckled. “Kind of you to say, but I’m still learning. I hear your mission was a bit of a rough one. Anything we can do for you?”

Fan shrugged, sadness and loss flickering across his face for a moment before he seemed to set them aside. “We’ve certainly had better missions, but it’s never good when there’s a breach before we’re even called.” The sadness made a resurgence across his countenance. “It’s times like this that I appreciate the total destruction that often comes from our clashes. That way, we don’t have to see the remnants of what we couldn’t save.”

Alex heard the implied ‘and who,’ and he had to agree. He clapped the smaller man on the shoulder. “So, what can we do for you all? How can we get you settled in?”

Fan gave a grateful smile. “Some food, and then we’ll enter hibernation in our armors. It would be nice if we could do some maintenance, but we can’t take a runewright from this system. The cost of the return trip with Dorgon in need of every hand? We just couldn’t swing it.”

Alex felt a grin grow across his face. “You’re in need of a runewright, you say? That’s quite the coincidence.”

Fan tilted his head to the side in interest. “Oh?”

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