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”Fancy.” The being known as Haydee commented as the two of them entered the Enduring Symphony’s hangar. “Is it just me, or is the entire ship designed to both counter and facilitate psionic abilities?”

"That's the whole idea," Selendil confirmed. "Psionic defenses are quite mandatory on battlefields that have hundreds of psions. Psionically enhanced materials also tend to become the best ones you have available when your technology reaches a certain point. Of course, that necessitates a large number of psionically gifted beings to create said materials."

“And your people had that I assume?” Haydee made the obvious conclusion. To her, the idea was somewhat novel. Where she came from, psions were not known for their ability to create. They had many other strengths, but they excelled in destruction, not in making something new.

“Yes. The Dhar were all psionic to a varying degree.” Selendil replied as Yrala and Nox walked up to them. They were accompanied by the AI that had returned to a featureless form that was as neutral and non-threatening in all ways as one could imagine.

“So how did it go?” Yrala asked. “Or would you prefer to wait until everyone is gathered?”

“It went fairly well. For the details, you’ll have to wait. This is Haydee. She’ll be joining us for the time being.” Selendil gestured towards the other ‘Nakshatra’.

“I would prefer Dee.” The woman added and made a small bow with her hands clasped in front of her chest in some sort of greeting.

Yrala tilted her head a bit in thought while she mimicked the greeting. “Don’t take this the wrong way Dee, but you seem to possess an odd mix of features. I feel obligated to point out that some of them seem like they would not combine in a single being if evolution didn’t get a bit of a push.”

Dee gave a small chuckle. “Your observation is accurate and something almost everyone notes the first time I meet them. In return, you seem unnaturally similar to Selendil here, for a completely different species.” She countered, not really answering the implied question.

Yrala gave a small grimace. “Yes, we recently found out that our species might have been the result of genetic experimentation. Not by Selendil’s people, but actually those that were fighting on the other side of the wormhole.”

“Huh. I actually have something similar in my past. I’m the result of purposeful attempt to create a living weapon.” Dee admitted, sensing a slight connection with this Yrala person thanks to a shared past of sorts.

"As interesting as all this is, I need to ask a few questions," Selendil interjected, and looked towards the AI that had also recently arrived. "You would have a better idea about this than anyone else. How likely is it that all of the Void beings that came from the other galaxy were among those caught by the chrono-trap? I need to know whether we caught them all, or if we need to start combing through the other side of the wormhole to find the rest.”

“I am 100% certain that all of the Void beings that came along with the refugees were present and accounted for. Although the Naaru were not aware of the danger they posed, even after I tried alerting them to the danger, I made sure to keep tabs on them. After thorough, albeit admittedly rushed investigations, I came to the conclusion that the actual number of Void Wraiths among the refugees was limited. Most of those that tried to escape through the wormhole and your containment had actually come through the rift as it was opening. They had managed to take a hold of the rest of the refugees with their powers, but the actual number of Wraiths didn’t go beyond a handful. The refugees were not all present at the rift, but the Wraiths were.” The androgynous voice of the AI spoke.

“Rushed?” Selendil asked.

“Yes. I was not active until the later stages of the events. It was actually the arrival of the Void beings and their forceful entry to the place where I was stored that caused my awakening, as that was one of the triggers I was programmed with. I didn’t have endless time to work with and the Naaru were at first reluctant to take the word of an AI over their new associates, which is why things developed as they did. I did what I could with the limited time and resources I was working with, but I was forced to desperate measures in the end as you found out. I do not think a thorough investigation of the other galaxy is warranted considering the state of the wormhole and the other galaxy’s location outside the warp network, but I would recommend that we should find out what happened to the Naaru after the chrono-trap. The remaining refugees don’t have the knowledge of true Void beings, but they might still be dangerous in other ways.” The AI gave a very respectable analysis of the situation, especially considering its original role.

“I’m sorry that I have to interrupt, but what’s this Void you’re talking about?” Dee asked, knowing that this was likely what Selendil had wanted help with, so understanding the problem was vital.

Selendil gave a very brief explanation about the Void and how the Dhar had first come upon it in the distant past. She also mentioned some of the Void beings they had run into before. “This sounds a bit odd. I’ve never run into anything called Void energy before. Are you saying it’s some sort of twisted psionic energy, or just a very odd naturally occurring energy like heat or electricity?”

“I can’t say for sure actually. We ran some analysis on the energy in the past, but we were not able to figure out how it worked. It seemed to rebel against the natural order of the universe, fighting it with its mere presence. It had more in common with psionic power than electricity though, although it was much easier to store in objects and we were completely unable to harness the energy in any way. It seemed to be repelled by our psionics so we never got far in our studies. Besides, the only real source of the power was the Void, and we certainly weren’t going to open more doors to the Void just to get more experiment materials.” Selendil explained the conundrum.

Dee’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I…have certain suspicions based on what you told me, but I don’t want to jump into any conclusions. Let’s just say that certain puzzle pieces from your earlier words are starting to fall into place. Could you pass me memories of some of the times your senses have come into contact with this Void energy? If you don’t mind, I would also want as much information on these rifts as you can manage.”

“Why not.” Selendil didn’t mind obliging. Passing simple information like that telepathically wasn’t all that difficult after all. Her finger glowed for a moment and it seemed like a firefly lifted off and flew towards Dee, who in turn caught in and absorbed it.

Dee went quiet as she had to spend some time absorbing and going through the amount of information and memories she was given. With Selendil being able to access the memories of the dead Dhar she and the other Keepers had preserved, the amount of information she had was rather massive, even if she didn’t pass all of it to the other woman. She wanted to keep some of the guesses the Dhar had about the nature of the Void secret because she wanted Dee to come to her own conclusions without being influenced by the ones the Dhar had come to.

“What about those that came through the wormhole? Nox reported that you got them all, but I just wanted to make sure and get a confirmation.” Selendil requested as they started walking towards the transport pads so that they could meet the rest of the crew.

Yrala gave a detailed accounting of the events as the five of them made their way towards the conference room where the important crew members were already waiting for them. "Glad to see you made it back in one piece," Xiaoli shouted as soon as they entered the room where everyone was gathered.

Selendil’s tails made a small wave of amusement. “Was there any doubt?” She asked confidently.

“Of you staying in one piece? Not so much. Of coming back quickly? Well, the wormhole was in a pretty rotten condition.” Amaterasu interjected. “But it is good to see our fears were unfounded.”

“Well, that may still be up in the air slightly. We still need to find out what happened to all the Naaru, which would be the name of the species you know as the Ancients by the way, on the other side of the wormhole.” Selendil was quick to point out.

“That’s not why those two are here?” Amaterasu asked a bit surprised while pointing at the obviously artificial and featureless being and Haydee. “I thought she was one of the Ancients.” She focused on Haydee especially as she could sense some of the power the woman had, even if she couldn’t really understand the vast gulf between them.

“They are not.” Nox smoothly replied in Selendil’s stead. She wasn’t going to allow her master to downplay the other AI. “The woman with the tails is called Haydee, though she prefers Dee apparently, and she claims to have come from a different universe. As for the other one, that’s the Dhar AI that programmed the weapons platforms near the Wormhole. Incidentally, she used to be a pleasure AI.” She emphasized the last part with a wide smile.

“Another univ-?” Amaterasu was about to ask before she was overruled by Xiaoli's loud voice. “A pleasure AI? And here I thought Dhar were too good for such things." The Cybran woman was all primed and ready for a relentless wave of jokes.

With a small gesture of exasperation, Selendil replied. "Only you would focus on that part when there's a being from another universe also present."

“Actually, I’m rather interested in that part as well.” Yrala raised her hand with a grin.

“So am I actually.” Dee also said with a sneaky smile. “What’s this I hear about pleasure AIs? Are they a common thing among your kind?”

Xiaoli made a theatric whisper that was supposed to be heard by everyone. “See, according to Selendil, the Dhar had too much respect for the profession of bringing pleasure to delegate it to the AIs. She even said it rather smugly when we were talking about the subject when it came to other races. Sounds rather hypocritical and slightly false considering the current situation, does it not?”

Selendil turned to the AI in question. “AI, would you care to tell the rest of them who controlled this galaxy at the time you were created and when our people fell?”

"It would be my pleasure master." The AI responded with an obsequious voice. “The galaxy was mostly dominated by the Freedom Enclave.”

"And there you have it," Selendil stated with finality, as if that explained everything.

“Master, I believe these people might need further explanation.” The AI added helpfully.

Selendil waved at Nox to do it. “You’re taking all the fun out of this.” Nox protested but obliged. “The Freedom Enclave is named such because they were a group that sought freedom from the norms and rules of the Dhar in general. They had a habit of doing the exact opposite of what the majority of Dhar decided almost on pure principle. With some notable exceptions like joining the Unity. If the other Dhar wanted to turn left, the Enclave would go right. If the Dhar wanted to have a few years of peace to build up and consolidate, the Enclave would attack anyone in range, and vice versa.”

"So if most Dhar were opposed to pleasure AIs, then the Enclave would, of course, have them.” Amaterasu finished the connection. She was rather pleased that her faith in Selendil had been proven correct.

“If you think this will stop me from teasing you about this, then you’re sadly mistaken. However, you have saved yourself for the time being.” Xiaoli conceded. She needed some time to regroup and to come up with something quippy.

“On that note, another universe, huh?” Amaterasu changed topics in the clumsiest transition ever.

“Indeed. Traveling between universes is actually less difficult than you might think. Countless universes meet and exchange just about everything from goods to ideas at a place aptly named the Crossroads. Some of the other universes are very similar to this one, while others are radically different. I have to confess that my own experience of other universes is still relatively limited and mostly the result of what I heard from others.” Dee stated, providing them with a bit of a taste of other universes.

“So what made you decide to leave your original universe, and how did you even discover how to do it?” Amaterasu questioned. She had taken on the role to question the new arrival. Otherwise, everyone would be asking a million questions at the same time.

“Well, I was actually given a bit of an ultimatum to leave. The most powerful existences in my original universe didn’t like the idea of someone having the power to challenge them. I wasn’t a really a problem by myself, but if another one like me would appear, together we could’ve done pretty much anything we desired. There were also certain politics involved. The gods of my universe were not fond of the alliances I had made and the power it gave to the gods I was allied with. They gave me a certain timeframe for leaving, and I obliged, mostly because of boredom. When you reach a certain level of power, boredom becomes a serious issue. What better way to alleviate boredom than to travel to other universes?” Dee gave the shortened version.

“Wait just a moment! Gods?!” Nochehuatl asked. Unlike most expected, it wasn’t that he was somehow outraged as a scientist. On the contrary, he seemed excited at the prospect.

"Yes, that would be one of the differences between universes. Many universes have beings that could be called gods, though what that means exactly depends greatly on the universe. Generally, it is accepted that they are powerful beings that gain more power from worship and work under different constraints when it comes to using that power compared to other beings. That doesn't mean they are omnipotent or omniscient though. There are several people on this ship that have more power than many of the gods I've run into, and that's without counting myself or Selendil. On the other hand, I know of a few gods that could give both of us trouble." Dee explained with a small shrug. She had expected this topic to come up. It usually did with those that came from universes with a heavy emphasis on science, and perhaps more importantly, very few if any gods.

“Out of morbid curiosity, what kind of gods were you allied with?” Lilly asked, brimming with curiosity. It wasn’t just an idle question either as the answer could say a lot about Dee.

“I was connected with several, but the ones that were my favorites were two sister goddesses of light and darkness," Dee replied with a smile. "They were the ones that supported me the most when I needed it, but that doesn't mean I wasn't displeased with their demands at times. We parted on amicable terms though."

“Huh. A surprisingly boring answer. I was expecting something a little wilder.” Xiaoli joked, wanting to test the sense of humor of the new person, and was glad to see the person take in easily.

The crew asked several questions about Dee’s old universe and were fascinated by the stories of magic and wondrous beasts. At some point, Dee's expression grew serious though and she gestured Selendil to follow her to a more private setting. They found themselves in one of the meditation chambers. “I assume this has something to do with the Void energy.” Selendil guessed.

“Yes. I’ve gone through everything you gave me and I’ve double and triple checked everything I’m about to tell you. I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of the power you call Void energy. What you call Void energy, I call mana. It also explains why your people were unable to utilize the energy. Psions are all unable to use mana. Here’s the problem though. I can’t sense any other mana in this universe. The mana you call Void energy also seems to be corrupted and distorted. It’s heavy with certain types of mana, namely destruction, spatial and death, which makes it very dangerous and unstable. This I can say with certainty. What I can’t say for sure is the cause of the phenomenon.” Dee looked at Selendil’s expressions. “And you don’t seem surprised.”

“I’m not really. Mainly because so far it makes little difference. The change in name doesn’t really matter. Whether it is Void energy or this mana you’re talking about, that doesn’t change the facts. However, I think I may have some idea about the cause of the phenomenon.” Selendil and the Dhar scientists had spent a lot of time speculating about the nature of Void energy after all. They had come up with some theories. She had not shared those with Dee to avoid tainting the new perspective the woman from another universe might bring.

“I see you didn’t quite give me all the information you had. I’m eager to hear your conclusion.” Dee was getting into solving this dilemma, as it was something completely new to her.

“What if the Void isn’t a separate phase like ours with its own races and parallel evolution? What if it’s a sort of prison instead? Or perhaps a more apt comparison would be a sewer of sorts? What if the Void is where the universe discards undesirable elements, like this mana you mentioned. Over time other things ended there, including living beings, and they were affected by this mana. And in opening the door that we did, we allowed some of that to seep back.” Selendil speculated.

“That might explain why the mana is so corrupt and stale, though I should probably mention that mana by itself is capable of creating many things, including creatures of mana like Wraiths and revenants. What’s the purpose of said ‘sewer’ though? And who was it made by?” Dee asked the important questions.

“That I can’t tell you. The problem is, I have no idea how we could even discover that information.” Selendil was forced to admit.

“What about the three beings Dee mentioned? The ones supposedly necessary for the universe to function?” Nox’s suddenly suggested. She could hear everything said on the ship after all.

“We don’t know how to contact them.” Dee pointed out. “I know how to get into contact with the ones in my universe, but it wouldn’t work here.”

“Have you tried just asking? With two beings like you making the request, they might listen.” Nox suggested something deceptively simple that both of them had ignored.

“…surely that wouldn’t work?” Dee said uncertainly.

Selendil didn’t bother questioning. She just decided to try. She sat down in a meditative position and started to use her powers to project the request for a meeting out towards the universe. With a shrug, Dee decided to join her. At first, there was no effect, but the two of them kept on trying. Minutes passed, and then hours. With neither of them showing any signs of stopping, it seemed that their request was heard. They suddenly found themselves floating in vast emptiness and three bright lights were quickly approaching them. The whole place had a dreamlike quality to it, as if this was all in their minds.

The three lights seemed to coalesce into spinning kaleidoscopes of colors and shapes, but the really surprising part was when one of them spoke with an eager voice. “Ah, finally someone is making contact! It’s been eons since the last time! I had almost given up hope!” The voice sounded young, like that of a child.

“Now, now. Don’t spook them away. They might be the first in a long time, but let’s make sure they aren’t the last.” Another light spoke with the hollow voice of someone ancient speaking from beyond the grave.

“Be quiet both of you.” A third voice, one that seemed to radiate with power, commanded. Nothing really changed but both Selendil and Dee got the feeling that the thing turned towards them. “I sense that you have come with questions. Be at ease and feel free to ask. I can’t promise answers to everything you might want to know, but I can promise that we will try.”