Tender the Hand
This is the sixth part of the Repentance plot. It is preceded by Network Effect and followed by As Above, So Below.
Jastes Verdan & Civitrecce Resistance | Civitrecce | Present Night
The sun rose, shedding its brilliant red rays across the Santai Claria valley, gleaming off its metal and pavement. Trolls hunkered down in its alleys with only patched-up suncloaks to cover them, strung between dumpsters and outdated security cameras long since abandoned or broken open for parts.
Its light fed the patches of greenery that grew more numerous the further the city flattened into near-uniform suburban hives only two or three stories tall, and glanced off the shining waves of the nearby ocean.
Quinne, the clearblooded mutant Jastes had saved, hid once more in the wooded park with the metal statue, still marveling at her sudden recovery.
The Civitrecce Resistance, drawn from all over the city, gathered in the same inner-city building where Jastes had brought the artifice to them.
It was risky to meet in the same place so recently since they’d last convened, but they’d decided it wasn’t worth trying to find somewhere else on such short notice. They were perfectly adept at checking this one for any undue attention, and the place seemed overall ignored as usual.
Xineck loped in first past the scattered garbage and threw off his own worn suncloak, his usual scowl fighting with a lock of shocked confusion for control over his face. He threw himself down into a chair, one leg stuck out and the other drawn up so that he rested his sharp chin on his knee.
“Fuck. I’m not imagining it, right?”
Many of the others shook their heads as they filed in and took off their own protective garb. A few flopped on the couches, others sat on the cool floors.
Rumors were already circulating across the city, even if no news outlets had said anything yet. The resistance had bots keeping tabs on all of them, even the paid subscription feeds that were only available to bluebloods and higher. The group had been out of active play for almost a sweep now, but it paid to stay informed.
“At the paint factory, we were given longer breaks.” Abbeth piped up, the one-eyed six sweep old’s voice grateful if baffled.
“That never happens…especially not by twenty whole minutes.” He said in awe. “We were allowed to sit down, too!”
The rest of the resistance murmured and shook their heads, a few wryly jealous looks thrown the goose troll’s way.
“I also witnessed an unusual act of kindness.” Said Uthern in his deep voice, arms folded behind his back. Jastes’s powers - turning his flesh to tech to repair him, before swapping him back - had left the maroon fully recovered after overclocking his psiionics.
“A highblood on the street helped a lowblood - probably hiveless - who had clearly gotten attacked recently.”
Shocked looks and murmurs ran through the group.
“Wish that had been me, would’ve cheered me up.” Edri said with a shake of her head, then continued, an uneasy look in her eyes.
“I heard something secondhand; a helm was offered the chance to get their implants out, and at a steep discount that allowed for recovery time too. It actually happened; it wasn’t a trick.”
Xineck hissed through his teeth.
“Jastes.” He said, making their leader’s name sound like a curse.
“Other people are gonna notice, that dipshit! I don’t know how he’s doing it, but I know it’s him. Maybe he keeps crunching up bodies from that thing to work his little miracles, who the fuck knows; but we’re damned lucky no one’s said anything yet, not sure wh - ”
He stopped, red eyes wide, face rigid. The lanky maroon’s limbs shook slightly.
“He’s controlling them somehow.” Xineck said. “Has to be. Highbloods don’t just change like that, and he doesn’t have fresh enough blackmail; we’ve been lying low for perigees, on purpose.”
The rest of the resistance chattered and debated, and Edri frowned. The older brownblood spoke up, straightening up from the soft old couch she’d sunken into.
“Jastes can copy tech, but he isn’t capable of mind control. And that - security system - it can use up bodies, but is that really enough power to keep controlling someone, night in, night out? It was unconscious - or shut down - by the time the drone job was finished.”
The six-horned maroon paused, biting his lip as his thoughts raced.
“I don’t know.” He admitted roughly. “But I’m sure Jas has something to do with it; I don’t fucking believe in coincidences this big, the timing is too suspicious. Especially after what happened with Dynast.”
“Is this really that bad, Xin?” Abbeth asked in a small voice.
The maroon ran a hand down his tired face. He wanted a smoke so badly, but he couldn’t right now; had to pretend to be leader while their real leader was losing his damn mind a mile below.
“Abbeth. Kiddo. There’s a reason we were - we are - so fucking careful. Why we only ever had a few targets at a time. Why we had blackmail, or someone to replace them with, or both. You can’t do anything - anything - in this city without someone or something noticing.”
Xineck paced back and forth, needing to get out his restlessness somehow if he couldn’t have the soothing burn of nicotine between his narrow fingers.
“Right now that’s just gonna be handfuls of lowbloods and local folks, if Jas has the news feeds under his thumb. If he still has a half-functional thinkpan he’s disrupting the internet too with his AI bullshit, scrambling data from anyone uploading vids or photos of this shit.”
He looked at the six sweep old and blew out a displeased breath. Abbeth looked away, embarrassed, his single ear drooping slightly.
“Even if he hasn’t gone completely batshit, this is still gonna leak soon, and the empire’s gonna send in their finest to sort it out. We’re not some backwater town they can waste incompetent morons on; they know what they stand to lose if Civitrecce turns against them.”
“Fleet port.” One member called out.
“The factories.” Uthern said evenly.
“Helm production.” Edri added with a sigh.
Abbeth looked at his feet.
Xineck relented and went over to give his hair a brief ruffle.
The young yellowblood looked at him in surprise, which Xineck guessed was fair.
“I know. I fucking wish I could say this was great, that we should help him. But he’s gonna get us all culled, captured or brainwashed unless we talk some sense into his crazy ass, so who wants to come with me down there?”
Xineck asked the question to the rest of the room, dryly and with the full expectation that volunteers would be minimal at best.
To his shock, several hands went up.
He whistled in surprise and amusement, the barest hint of a smile creeping across his unshaven face.
“Guess we’re all crazy too. Kit up, dipshits, we have a leader to throttle.”
A few laughs came from the crowd and Xineck shook his head as he began figuring out just how the hell they were going to get down there.
—
Jastes woke up with a start.
He was…covered by a blanket? A sopor-lined one, he realized as he ran his hands over it and gave it a slight sniff. He was lying on a cot, too - not an overly comfortable one, but not bad either. He’d slept on far worse.
How? The only other person - thing - down here was…
He looked around, realizing he was in another room of the cavern entirely. One of the small ones he’d barely glanced in, only to make sure it was empty of anything that could cause him problems. All it contained aside from the cot was some rocks and, bizarrely, a glass of water.
He sat up, tiredness trying to tug him back down.
No. He’d probably slept too long already.
The yellowblood forced himself up, rubbing at his eyes. He took a brief sip from the water glass; luckily he didn’t need much.
The artifice should be keeping an eye on everything. Controlling the highbloods it held. Adding more. He’d given it very strict instructions, making sure it couldn’t pull a stunt like it had yesternight again.
So then why…
Jastes stopped a few feet from the entrance to the big cavern space the artifice was in.
It might be more accurate to say that the security system had become the space.
It had shed its troll appearance entirely, becoming more like the shape it had assumed when he had touched its heart. The amorphous silvery mass spread its tendrils across the ceiling and the walls, growing fleshy webbing between all the screens, extending slowly even as he watched.
Those screens warped now at the edges slightly. Curved, like they were becoming organic, as if slowly being subsumed by the security system.
Glowing green lines of power - uncomfortably identical to his own psiionic hue - covered its mass, pulsing between soft and bright illumination.
They were shaped…like veins, he realized. Troll veins.
The mass was also dotted with occasional eyes, large and wide, long as his arm. Shaped like a troll’s, they were formed of liquid crystal as screens were, yet complete with iris and sclera.
“Hello, Jastes.” It said in a soft voice that sounded like several speaking in unison. “Would you like a report?”
He took a deep breath. This was…well, it wasn’t doing anything wrong, as far as he could tell. He could just ignore it.
“Yes. How many trolls have you managed to - ”
A slight whooshing noise came from above and the yellowblood looked up in shock, eyes flaring green and wide with -
- bafflement.
That wasn’t an imperial ship; it was a small, battered civilian cruiser, the kind rich highbloods kept for joyrides. Yet this one looked like it was at least a hundred sweeps old, patched up a double-dozen times over and ready to be scrapped.
It shakily landed on the rocky floor barely a dozen feet away, blowing his afro back as it passed.
Then he snapped out of it and turned his limbs to weapons, glaring at the screens.
“Artifice! Why didn’t you warn me?”
“It is the resistance.” It said.
Jastes blinked blearily.
“What?” He said blankly as the vehicle’s side doors opened and a troll with an oxygen mask and Xineck’s distinct six horns stepped out, shaking his head at the shorter man.
“Party’s over, Jas.” He said, followed by Edri and Uthern. “Whatever you’re doing has to stop before you screw us all.”
Jastes felt a sense of betrayal settle heavily on him yet again. He turned his arms back to flesh, but his eyes crackled with green sparks.
“Did the artifice contact you?” He snapped.
Xineck snorted.
“No. We’re just not idiots.”
The maroon looked around, taking in the bizarre, artifice-covered cavern room.
“Love what you’ve done with the place, some real horror movie shit.”
“You don’t even know what my goals are!” The resistance leader retorted, raising his hands.
“Are you controlling highbloods?” Edri asked quietly. “Is Xineck’s theory true?”
“It’s temporary!” He burst out, frustrated, more sparks crackling around his eyes and hair from the small horns hidden within.
“It’s only until we get enough of their bodies to use as fuel! I’m going to shield the whole city from the empire!”
“That’s not fucking sustainable, you jackass!” Xineck shouted, pointing a finger at his friend.
“The empire always breaks through. Always. There’s no miracle on this fucking planet you can pull that’ll make a shield they won’t destroy, and we’ll all pay for it.”
“We can change reality!” Jastes insisted, gesturing wildly. “With enough power it’s possible! It only needs to happen once!”
“Will you take on all that blood on your hands for it?” Uthern cut in quietly.
The tall man looked evenly at his leader.
“We only kill if we have to. If we are threatened, if we are discovered. Will you become a mass murderer? Will you do it again to solve your problems?”
Jastes squeaked in displeasure, a noise that would have made his friends laugh were it not for the gravity of the situation.
“Don’t slippery slope me, Uthern! Do you think I like doing this? Do you think I don’t realize how messed up it is? There are no other options! And I’m working on bodies of my own to contribute, but I won’t have enough time to make that many!” Jastes stated, arms crossed.
“So you know you’re on a countdown.” Xineck muttered.
“Obviously.” The cyborg replied curtly. “I’ve been having the artifice monitor and censor everything, but I know something will slip through eventually.”
The maroon raised his eyebrows.
“Why not keep the highbloods acting normal? Cover your tracks?”
The ire fled Jastes’s body all at once. His weariness returned, his pointed ears lowering as his expression became haggard, wrapping his crossed arms around his body instead.
“I can’t stand it, Xin. I can’t stand doing nothing now that I have the power to stop them. Bits and pieces, that’s all I’ve ever been able to do, even with my psi! I’m useless! Useless in the face of everything against us!”
His eyes crackled with psi and emotion alike.
“Everything I’ve done is just a temporary tiny thing that’ll be bulldozed by the empire! Especially now that they can track us by our powers! We’ll never be safe again!”
His voice broke into a sob on the last word, the yellowblood falling to his knees on the hard floor, not caring about the pain.
Xineck bit his lip, hesitating. He looked at Edri and Uthern. Edri nodded at him, gesturing at Jastes encouragingly.
Xineck sighed and went over to his friend, kneeling down on the floor next to him.
“Hey. C’mere.”
Jastes sniffled and looked at the other man with confused yellow tears running down his face.
The maroon pulled him into a hug.
“I still think you’re a dumb asshole and this is gonna blow up in our faces. But I guess we can hear you out.” He sighed.
“Love you too, Xin.” Came Jastes’s muffled voice between shaky sobs from Xineck’s shoulder.
“Aw, fucksake, you’re gonna get me all wet.” The rust complained, shoving the resistance leader away.
Jastes chuckled as he was ejected from his friend’s arms, wobbly but managing to stand up again.
“Anyway. I guess…it’s only fair to show you some proof this will work. I was about to ask the artifice for a report before you uh, came in.”
“Speaking of.” Xineck said, getting up and dusting himself off. “What’s with the freaky decor?”
“That wasn’t my idea.” Jastes said, shaking his head.
Xineck’s eyebrows raised.
“Don’t give me that.” The cyborg muttered. “It’s fine. Artifice - ” He said, raising his voice.
“Show me that report. Project it so we can all see.”
A vast hologram wove itself together above the heads of all four trolls, a perfect miniature representation of the city above done in shimmering lines of multicolored light. The buildings were all shaped as they were in reality, the train lines running with animated cars, vehicles and trolls moving through the streets.
Jastes couldn’t help his mouth opening slightly in awe.
Then he realized the lines running through dozens - no, hundreds of trolls - connecting them all. Leading back down to -
- here. The cavern.
Which now showed, as he looked up in horror, the mass of metallic flesh extending through the ground, reaching its way up through the surface, growing to surround the city.
“Artifice.” He said in a choked voice. “What are you doing?”
“Torvah intended for me to protect the entire city at once. The empire will come. I will be ready.”
He swallowed, exchanging looks with others. They were clearly no more comfortable with this than he was.
Still, he nodded slowly. What choice did he have?
“Good. Prepare to defend Civitrecce.”