It took two weeks after the battle to finish processing all the destroyed ships. It was like we had experience at the job, or whatever. Our payments were shipped off, we haggled over who got what of the final processed goods from the Compact ships, our shipyards and factories crowed at the arrival of a large amount of E-elements we hadn’t had enough of to do some of the things we wanted to, and ship production received a nice shot in the arm.

Pretty much all of the Corunsun Fleet was shot up some, but less than twenty percent severely so, and overall casualties were light. Engaging at range was a big part of it, and our accuracy and Sun Shot cannons were another, especially with the Ruk finishing off anyone who started fighting us, and the number of surprise attacks we managed to pull off.

All in all, the Ruk were rather amazed with us, especially after all they’d heard about humans, but we blandly informed them that we weren’t Imperial ships, and if they kept that on the sly, it would only benefit them. Although they were a very hegemon-oriented society, they were not at all unfamiliar with factionalized governments... which was fine by them, as enemies and rivals being factionalized made them much easier to deal with, as proven by their own schism basically costing them the galaxy.

There were information exchanges at the high level and the low level. The Ruk had histories extending far back beyond human history or knowledge, and had basically met at one time or another every major race in the galaxy. That kind of knowledge wasn’t secret, especially since the Ruk had severed ties with or had to start fighting those races long ago, and they were willing to share.

We were willing to share more recent history and current disposition of the galaxy, which they were naturally interested in. If that might lead to them retaking territory in the near future based on our intel, well, I could only hope it wasn’t human worlds, and trust to their goodwill and forbearance.

They hadn’t bowed to the influence of the Warp yet, especially its rampant xenophobia, so I could only hope mutual trust was a thing.

Oh, and the fact we were the only thing giving them access to their faith.

Cantor already had a generation of girls on the way, while the Ruk were clamoring for more like her. The Ruk were likely the only race that still had a valid Clerical tradition in the whole galaxy, outside the mad cults following the Warp Gods. They still knew the rituals and prayers and spells that had stopped working properly millennia ago because of the Corruption of the Warp... and the Grimshield coming back meant the return of a Great Elder, a Ruk Archpriest at Twenty, whose influence was already singing out across the entire race.

He owed his life and continued power to us. Goodwill, with benefits.

We also worked out some quiet trade agreements. Maps of the phlos were exchanged, the Ruk marveling over some of the subtle changes in the rivers between the heliospheres, while we received maps of some of the old super-phlos washing through the galaxy, and knew where to concentrate our attentions on coreward stars to find and chart them anew... and keep the Ruk updated.

--------------

I ran my hand over skin tougher than leather, laced with minerals to strengthen it, at the cost of some flexibility. I could tell he was trying not to twitch as my hands passed over him, and this was enormously embarrassing to some extent.

Ruk don’t take off their armor for just anyone, you know.

King Rargyle watched me closely, as were perhaps a million Ruk. Many of them couldn’t believe I was doing what I was, or that he would agree. His reply was that if he believed, he was the King, and he would take the risk for his people, and no one else!

That shut up even the most hardcore critics, but even the Great Elder was watching all this very suspiciously, as he knew all the tales about corruption and twisted minds.

“The energy of your life flows through your body in multiple ways. Nerves and blood are the main ways, but there are patterns of heat, electricity, even pressure.

“Psionic energy flows through in the pattern of life. Like all energy of the body, it starts in the gut, and flows up to the brain, where advanced techniques of psionics are molded and sent out.

“All we’re doing now is going to give that core of energy that is already there a poke, and release it so that you are aware of it. It’s akin to you suddenly being aware of how much heat your gut generates when you digest a stein of ale.”

King Rargyle rumbled, uneasy but bearing it all stoically. He truly was wondering if he was endangering his soul, even with all I’d done, and being able to look at me in the Markspace.

“Follow my motion.” I broadcast my intent to him, and if the movement of muscles varied because he was a different species, I was able to adapt the motion to him, thought and pull and lines of power and-

I redirected his line of thought along a specific meridian he had no idea was there, and he pulled on something he had no idea he had.

“Ah!” he gasped, staggering in place as he snapped his arm out. He closed his crystal eyes, and had to stabilize his stance. He looked up at me slowly, reaching his hand up to touch his nose, where a single drop of bright red blood had come out.

He then noticed the eerie silence in the chamber, and slightly turned his head to look at his fist.

A foot-long wedge of psychic force, looking like hard, polished, and silvered steel, was gleaming in his grasp.

The oath he swore was heard on six Citadels, and recorded and would be broadcast to uncounted numbers more.

He put his big hand on his gut, breathing in and out. “I can feel it,” he said grimly, and nodded slowly, as if to himself. “She is right... it was always there, I just could not feel it. This power is mine, and no other. It comes completely from within. I... it is not very strong...”

“Of course not. You’re a newbie psi. You want that little flame to grow, you have to stoke it. It will be hard for you, but you can do it. It will naturally be easier for the young who wish to focus on it.” I paused as I held up my own golden soulclaw, and I bowed to him. “Your soul shines straight silver, Your Majesty. It is a great thing.”

“Mmm!” was all he said, but his crystalline eyes glittered. He opened his hand, dispelling it, then focused and flicked his hand up again.

There was a hum as the mindblade snapped sharply into existence again. He stared at the silver wedge, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

“Can this be made into an axe?” he asked at last, and I had to smile.

“It has no weight except the force of your will behind it, Your Majesty. It is, in its way, the ultimate finesse weapon. An axe or hammer design is useless, because there is no mass to weaponize and make use of.

“That said, if you wrap the force around a thunder hammer, well, the results will only improve.”

He rumbled again, a gleam in his eye saying that he was looking forwards to finding out what that would be like. I should probably send him a few vids of Briggs in action...

The Great Elder stepped forwards. “We will be monitoring his soul for signs of corruption,” he stated firmly, and King Rargyle just nodded. “Tell me how this psionic power interacts with the power of faith.”

“Faith itself is a completely separate power from psionics. Now, faith returned as magic operates very similarly, but magic is a degree more powerful than psionics, since you are applying the power of the universe to do your work for you, and with faith, you have the assistance of a divine power in addition.

“Psionics, however, has the power of a metaconcert. This is where you pool the wills of multiple psions together to do something that they cannot do individually.” I turned to survey the watching Ruk. “There are not many species in the galaxy that can do such a thing, but the Ruk could. It takes harmony, trust, faith, cooperation... rare commodities in these times.

“On a personal level, using psionics and magic together is what Warp sorcerers do. It is like you are tossing a ball, and they are tossing a ball with active psionics. Naturally, their magic ball is going to go farther and hit harder.

“But that is a power you could learn to use as well. You just have to be exactly as careful using it as you are using magic at any other time... no lasting effects, only bursts and short flashes of power or healing.

“This process is called the Theurgy of the Divine Mind. We are attempting to rediscover it with the help of the God of the Machine, but it is a slow process. I imagine that the God of the Machine would be delighted if an Elder of such skill as yourself were to help us with the research, and doing the work of laying a suitable foundation that those who will come after you will follow.

“If you are worried about faith in your gods, be at peace. The amount of psionic energy required to rival the will of a god is astronomical. Gods can wield faith energy built up over days, weeks, years, or millennia, while psionic power is limited to what you hold in your Reserve. Give your gods your faith, and no amount of psionic power can stand before them.

“It’s one of the reason the gods of the Warp locked them away.”

The whole chamber seemed to hum and rumble at my words. I turned around to face them.

“You have been told and shown that psionics is a terrible thing... but it is not. It is a tool, and a weapon. The Ruk have always been THE masters of tools and weapons. Some weapons... you do not wield because of what they do to you. Likewise, there are some uses of psionics that you will not make use of, because of what they do to you.

“You all have the power. You are a mighty race, and its power dwells within you all. You all can learn to touch it. Some will be stronger in it, some will be weaker. But each and every single one of you can, at the very least, learn to do that.” I pointed at the silver wedge in the hands of the Ruk King standing proud on the dais before all of them. “And if you can learn to do that, there are many quiet, pure disciplines that you can wield, without ever drawing on active psionic energy.

“You can focus your energy into blows of tremendous strength and power. You can reinforce your bodies to be even tougher and doughtier. You can defy powers that claw at your mind and wills, you can focus on your labors more cleanly and swiftly.

“The power is in all your bellies, waiting to be the fire inside you that you all stoke into a furnace on your quest to return to greatness.

“We will give you the basic knowledge of what psionics is and can do to all of you. The way it can supplement and partially replace the magitech you dare not use now should change your very lives.

“I have no way to give you the knowledge for what you ‘cannot’ do. The Ruk are the Ruk, and humans are humans. The way we approach this power will be different.

“But this is no different from our approach to Zero Point Energy Cores. The path is different, the destination is the same. There are multiple ways to arrive there, and you can learn much by observing the other roads... but in the end, the best way will be the Ruk way... not the Compact way, the Warp way, or the Fallen way.

“But any race that can figure out a Dark Matter Core has the ability to master psionics and wield them with awesome speed and skill.

“Within one generation, I expect a fire to be burning in the Ruk that you’ve not seen for over ten millennia, if you choose to feed the fire in your hearts with the fire in your belly.

“You need only work, and you will have another great weapon to add to your arsenal of war!”

“WORK! WAR!” they boomed out automatically, and despite everything they had ever been taught, I knew I had them.