Book 1: Chapter 34 – “The Story of how an Adventurer Town was conquered by an Army of Insane ‘Ants’ – Part 3

Captain Stonewall's body tensed as the black void surrounding them. So this "Alpha" had finally decided to counterattack, had he? Well, he and his Federation would soon learn how he had EARNED the name "Stonewall."

He glanced around the room, watching the few pinpricks of light rapidly fill the void until it displayed a visual cacophony of swirling lights he'd never been able to imagine before.

How could he? He'd never seen 'real' stars and galaxies, let alone the Milky Way. Everyone knew that the 'Stars' of the Firmament were nothing more than powerful sources of Spiritual Energy and Mana left behind by their predecessor who'd attempted to break through. Even the Sun and Moon were simply the most prominent Spiritual Energy and Mana signatures, respectively, though no one was able to figure out how they moved so freely through the Firmament, let alone in such tandem. Some even suspected they were the 'Source' of all Spiritual Energy and Mana, though that point could be debated.

Every nation and culture had their own speculations; the Mages of the Gaia continent worshiped the World Tree as the source of all Mana, while the Temples of the Primas claimed their Patrons were the ones to bless the world with various energies. No one 'really' knew the truth, or if they did, they kept it close to their chest.

Suffice it to say Captain Stonewall was both perturbed and awed by the scene. At least for a heartbeat; the next moment, his eyes narrowed as his mind went into battle mode, taking in as much detail as we could. Was this some sort of attack array? Maybe a teleportation one? No, despite not being able to see it, even with his superhuman senses, Stonewall could still 'feel' the couch below him. Now that he looked, the three Wolfkin in front of him still seemed seated, even if they looked like they were floating on nothing. The servants were where they had been standing as well, though their calm exteriors were beginning to crack under pressure from the meetings events and this new development. Only the Head Butler and Head Maid were seemingly unaffected by the chaos.

Was it an Illusion array of some kind, then? That seemed the most likely, but then why couldn't he feel any Spiritual Energy or Mana? There were trace amounts, true, but no more than some common materials might give off. Hell, a typical rock from deep enough within the Bloodriver Valley would give off just as much. Yet that was nowhere enough to power such a complex and detailed illusion. Captain Stonewall's blood chilled slightly at the thought of the skill and power it would take to hide from his scenes, of all people. If it had just been the shocking artifact, he could have passed it off as simply being off guard, but now this? Once was happenstance, Twice was suspect.

Now that he thought of it, the three on the couch across from him and the two guards to either side were strangely calm. Were they expecting this? How much had they already seen? For not the first time since the missing parties had returned through Halirosa's gates, Captain Stonewall questioned what kind of events could force Baron Levi Ashdale's hand. And just like all the other times, he didn't like the answers he could imagine.

Just as Stonewall was gathering energy to counter, a shining orb of light appeared in the center of the room. It wobbled for a moment when a voice called out. Looking back on this moment in the weeks following, Stonewall would find himself more than once pondering how... odd the voice had sounded. The closest he could ever get to describing it was "Absolute Neutrality." There were no inflections to the voice, no tone or note that could be used to distinguish anything about it. Male, Female, young, old, accent or emotions, nothing. Stonewall couldn't even be sure of the 'Species' of the speaker. It was as if they were not words spoken, but words made sound, words in their purest form.

"Beginning Scanning process, please remain still."

With those words, a dozen beams of green light burst from the orb; each headed towards the forehead of each person in the room. In a flash, Stonewall threw up a barrier or Mana, as did several of the quicker servants. Strangely, none of the five in front of him made a move, nor did the Head Butler and Maid. It was all for not; however, to everyone's shock, the beam passed through their defenses as if it were harmless light, striking them squarely in the head. Stonewall began to turn and twist erratically, attempting to break contact, as the voice once more sounded.

"Scanning in Progress, please remain still."

This was followed by Ashdale's voice, speaking calmly across the invisible table.

"Peace, Urick. It'll do no one here harm. It's simply learning what kind of person you are."

Stonewall stopped, narrowing his eyes at his friend. True, he didn't detect any form of bloodlust or malicious intent. But that didn't mean much if the last dozen minutes were anything to go by, more so if this was some form of Mentalist technique like Ashdale suggested. That would explain why he struggled to sense anything before; for all of Stonewall's strength, Psionic Power was one energy he'd always struggled to grasp.

That would also explain the advanced Puppet, the seemingly strange behavior of the returning Adventurers, and the mysterious backers who could afford such powerful artifacts. Silently, Stonewall once more considered the possibility of Avalon's involvement in these matters, as unlikely as it seemed.

If that were the case, Stonewall had to start seriously questioning if he could trust anything his old friend even said. On the other hand, if there was a Mentalist involved, one powerful enough to both compel so many powerful Adventurers (Ashdale included) and hide from HIS senses, Captain Stonewall had to consider if he was already compromised. Had old age finally started to dull his blade?

Slowly, Stonewall returned to a sitting position, thoughts racing through his mind as he considered possibilities and counters. He might not have as much experience or defense against Psionic Power as Spiritual Energy and Mana, but he was far from helpless. He began to rapidly compartmentalize parts of his mind away behind barriers of Ki. It wasn't perfect; he couldn't block his conscious mind, lest the observing Mentalist becomes aware; but it would allow him to keep some small part of himself as "himself" on the chance he was enthralled. From there, he would be able to observe, and given the opportunity, to deliver a decisive strike to an opponent who thought him a puppet.

That was his best bet for now, at least until he learned more about this threat and their capabilities. If Avalon and the Grand Seer thought Halirosa a pushover, they'd soon learn the same lesson that the Awakened Beast Clan and the other Great Pillars knew all too well.

After a short while, the shining orb stopped spinning, and the green beams vanished. Once more, the strangely neutral voice spoke.

"Scan complete. Beginning New World Federation Integration Tutorial. Please stand by."

The orb flashed with a bright light as it began to shift and twist as if something was pushing on it from the inside. Then suddenly, it swelled and popped with the sound of a ringing chime and a shower of sparks. In its place stood... a woman? No, not just a woman, the most beautiful, stunning woman Stonewall had ever seen in his life.

She stood on top of the invisible table, next to the giant Ant named Alpha, a swirling dress made of Starlight and silver, unlike anything he'd ever seen draped over her lithe form. She was small, at least compared to most of the Adventurers Stonewall was used to seeing, no more than 5'5, but the beaming smile on her pale, slightly freckled face seemed to magnify her presence. Coupled with her striking green eyes that shined clearer and brighter than any gem he'd ever seen and the large mane of curly, flame-colored hair, Stonewall found himself staring blankly, mouth slightly agape in sheer enchantment.

The small woman twirled in her silver and starlight dress, arms outstretched as if taking in some unseen crowd before she spoke, her voice cheerful and melodic as an angel's.

"Annnnnd Jay-Jay's on the scene! Coming to you live, from...."

The woman paused, her face stiff for a moment as if frozen in time. When she moved once more, it was with a small frown that looked utterly foreign.

"...I'm... not actually sure where we are. Hey, Alpha, what the hell did you break THIS time?"

Alpha sighed and spoke up, his voice controlled

"I explained this to you last time, Beta; I know as much as you do. And I didn't break anything! (this time)."

The tiny woman looked down at Alpha, pouting.

"I've told you to stop calling me Beta! You know that ends up confusing the newbies! When I hear about the mess you've caused this time, I'm going to be so mad!"

"You're Beta because I'm Alpha, and I'm in charge, so I make the rules! HAHA! Now get on with it! We're on a schedule here."

The woman looked down at Alpha and stuck her tongue out before turning back to the others in the room.

Mentally, Alpha grumbled to himself. He hated dealing with these "Copies" of Articulate. The original was bad enough, but the AI clones they used for these intros were... frustrating to talk to. Sure, they were fully Sentient, like most AIs in the Federation, but there was a vast gulf between Sentience and true Sapience.

For one, these AIs were slaves to their own programming. They could only understand things in so much as they were programmed to. Case in point, the Ai's previous question; despite being Sentient with the ability to think and rationalize, this was the fourth time "Beta" had asked it. It wasn't that she was stupid, far from it, being based on one of the greatest minds in the Federation, but rather because not knowing where she was shouldn't have been POSSIBLE.

Between Translight communication, the Galactic AI Mother-node, and just the central Bureaucracy of the military, it simply wasn't in the AI's programming to consider the possibility she would be somewhere she couldn't at least deduce her location. She literally didn't have the ability to understand the concept of such an event.

True Sapient AI, like the Conquerors, however, didn't have that limitation. They were able to work outside of their base programming, able to not only draw logical conclusions based on a predetermined flow sheet but form NEW ones. That was what separated them from their kin, what made them so unique, so valuable... so dangerous.

Any AI could do what it was told. But when they start to surprise you? That's when you had to be careful.

Still, Sentient AI had their uses too. Such as explaining a bunch of boring, complex information to primitives who barely understood the concept of other planets, among other things.

With the group's attention thoroughly entranced by the Articulate clone, Alpha found that he had a bit of time to himself for the first time in a while. Why not make the most of it?

With a mental grin, a tiny wisp of silver smoke separated from the drone body he was piloting, silently making its way to a nearby windowsill. A moment later, a small silver wasp flew into the open courtyard, unnoticed by all but a young Wolfkin woman, her eyes narrowing as she looked away from the unnaturally handsome man standing on the table in front of her.