Read Online Naero's War: The Citation Series 3: Naero's Trial by Mason Elliott - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mason Elliott
Tags: Science-Fiction, adventure, Military, Science Fiction & Fantasy, alien invasion, first contact, Galactic Empire, Space Marine, Colonization
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she was interacting with the KDM directly, on a level of resonance and perception that she had never experienced before.
In the past, she had let Om do all of that. He was her interface.
And yet they had made scant progress.
That had been part of the problem, she noted. As part of the KDM itself, Om was still instinctively protecting the KDM and its secrets without even knowing it. He had been a barrier on his own.
Now, without Om present, she could directly interact with the KDM on every level, deep within herself.
She could treat it as part of herself.
Naero gasped as she felt something peel away, and in her mind, there was a sound–a rolling resonance like a great rumbling of thunder all around her and passing through her.
In her vision, she focused all of her powers and abilities and placed her hands on the barrier, trying to make direct contact with it.
Please. I need your help.
Something flashed within her mind. A voice crashed out of the barrier, so loud that it slammed into her like a blastwall of massive force, hurling her back.
Naero blinked and cried out, as she hurtled into the hull of her quarters and dropped down, stunned and prone upon the floor. She steamed with wisps and tendrils of psyonically charged ichor and vapor dissolving and dispersing into the air.
That thunderous deafening voice still rang in her humming ears.
It had spoken to her in Kexxian as if pronouncing some kind of judgment or doom.
And that voice and the words had boomed in her mind, as if using the voice exploding within her own head:
Unbalanced, Ignorant, and Unworthy!
The KDM had spoken directly to her.
Despite the fact that what it said was pretty insulting, at least she had made contact with it somehow and sort of spoken to it. This could be seen as a type of exchange. It stunned her and flung her away when it clearly could have snuffed her out like a tiny insect.
It was a start.
Perhaps she was going at this the wrong way. Perhaps the KDM was right after all. She was flawed and clearly unbalanced. Not so much that she couldn’t still function at a very high level–yet unbalanced, nonetheless.
Haisha, who was she kidding? She had a Dark Beast hiding within herself, waiting to break free and go on a mad rampage of destruction. You could not get much more unbalanced than that.
Point taken, therefore.
Naero could also admit to being ignorant. There was clearly a great deal that she did not know and perhaps never would know. And yes, together that could very well make her unworthy of being given access to the godlike knowledge of an ancient alien race.
So now, the question remained: How did she improve her interactions with, and her status with the KDM? How did she make herself worthy, or at the very least–worthier? That, or those things, appeared to be part of the keys involved in unlocking the KDM.
This was a complex relationship that she was forming.
She still needed to understand the KDM more. She could sense its own sentience. The KDM itself was like an entity. It existed with purpose, direction, and a powerful will all its own that was in fact nothing to be trifled with. But like all things that existed and were self-aware, it had a purpose, and it felt the need to be understood.
Naero took a break and tried something else.
If she went back to the KDM now, it would simply keep zapping her and hurling her aside, or worse.
She picked up the nanobelt given to her by Riel during The High Crusade. Riel had been the swordmaster of the Pelani of the Gamma Quadrant, captured by their alien enemies and sent to kill Naero. Riel had nearly succeeded, but Naero destroyed the enemy’s control over the Pelani champion at the last instant.
Before she left to return to her people on the other side of the galaxy, Riel had given Naero that nanobelt, saying that it contained the wisdom and tek secrets of the Pelani.
Naero had turned that belt over to Intel, and they had attempted to break its encryption. But because it
In the past, she had let Om do all of that. He was her interface.
And yet they had made scant progress.
That had been part of the problem, she noted. As part of the KDM itself, Om was still instinctively protecting the KDM and its secrets without even knowing it. He had been a barrier on his own.
Now, without Om present, she could directly interact with the KDM on every level, deep within herself.
She could treat it as part of herself.
Naero gasped as she felt something peel away, and in her mind, there was a sound–a rolling resonance like a great rumbling of thunder all around her and passing through her.
In her vision, she focused all of her powers and abilities and placed her hands on the barrier, trying to make direct contact with it.
Please. I need your help.
Something flashed within her mind. A voice crashed out of the barrier, so loud that it slammed into her like a blastwall of massive force, hurling her back.
Naero blinked and cried out, as she hurtled into the hull of her quarters and dropped down, stunned and prone upon the floor. She steamed with wisps and tendrils of psyonically charged ichor and vapor dissolving and dispersing into the air.
That thunderous deafening voice still rang in her humming ears.
It had spoken to her in Kexxian as if pronouncing some kind of judgment or doom.
And that voice and the words had boomed in her mind, as if using the voice exploding within her own head:
Unbalanced, Ignorant, and Unworthy!
The KDM had spoken directly to her.
Despite the fact that what it said was pretty insulting, at least she had made contact with it somehow and sort of spoken to it. This could be seen as a type of exchange. It stunned her and flung her away when it clearly could have snuffed her out like a tiny insect.
It was a start.
Perhaps she was going at this the wrong way. Perhaps the KDM was right after all. She was flawed and clearly unbalanced. Not so much that she couldn’t still function at a very high level–yet unbalanced, nonetheless.
Haisha, who was she kidding? She had a Dark Beast hiding within herself, waiting to break free and go on a mad rampage of destruction. You could not get much more unbalanced than that.
Point taken, therefore.
Naero could also admit to being ignorant. There was clearly a great deal that she did not know and perhaps never would know. And yes, together that could very well make her unworthy of being given access to the godlike knowledge of an ancient alien race.
So now, the question remained: How did she improve her interactions with, and her status with the KDM? How did she make herself worthy, or at the very least–worthier? That, or those things, appeared to be part of the keys involved in unlocking the KDM.
This was a complex relationship that she was forming.
She still needed to understand the KDM more. She could sense its own sentience. The KDM itself was like an entity. It existed with purpose, direction, and a powerful will all its own that was in fact nothing to be trifled with. But like all things that existed and were self-aware, it had a purpose, and it felt the need to be understood.
Naero took a break and tried something else.
If she went back to the KDM now, it would simply keep zapping her and hurling her aside, or worse.
She picked up the nanobelt given to her by Riel during The High Crusade. Riel had been the swordmaster of the Pelani of the Gamma Quadrant, captured by their alien enemies and sent to kill Naero. Riel had nearly succeeded, but Naero destroyed the enemy’s control over the Pelani champion at the last instant.
Before she left to return to her people on the other side of the galaxy, Riel had given Naero that nanobelt, saying that it contained the wisdom and tek secrets of the Pelani.
Naero had turned that belt over to Intel, and they had attempted to break its encryption. But because it
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