The Breaker

The augment arrays diverted their power into the vessel, beginning the charging sequence for a trans-dimensional jump and Talassar squinted at the complex weaves filling the cavern. Reality was warping as more and more energy was pulled from across dimensions to fuel the jump, but the drive was charging much slower than normal, possibly a consequence of the battle damage. Instead of the typical five minutes, it would take at least twenty as far as he could tell, which gave them far more breathing room.

"We have to get into the ship and redirect the jump somehow. Either the navigation must be disrupted or the jump drive broken." Talassar explained over the comm as he ran. "An emergency jump will take the ship into the middle of a fleet or battle station and all our plans will go up in smoke."

"Noted, but you must hurry Favoured. We can't deal with the Acolytes on the ship fast enough to break through." Soveks grunted in reply. [Of course these rebels can't do it. If that was all it took to steal one of the Theocracy's warships, it would have fallen long ago even with the support of the Guardians.] Grim faced, Talassar bypassed a firefight near a hangar and made a beeline for one of the docking ports he assumed would be close enough to the drive chamber, jumping from walkway to walkway and leaving his escort far behind. Even powered armour couldn't keep up with an enhanced psion, but as he sailed through the air, a familiar pulse of energy rippled against his senses and he skidded to a halt, hopping over a railing and raising his arms to weave a shield. A dark shadow shot out from the warship, and Talassar grimaced, bracing himself for the incoming assault. In a flash, weaves battered against his shield and he drew on more of his Essence to hurl his own weaves into the attack. It was a short duel lasting only seconds, but he was forced to the edge of the catwalk before he could break the weaves apart.

"Talassar! Traitor!" The voice boomed across the cavern, enhanced by the symbol of the Guardians emblazoned on his chest. Favoured Kuzev, the Breaker, descended from the warship towards Talassar, his magnificent cape flickering in the turbulent air. One of the oldest Favoured alive, Kuzev was worn by time, scars and injuries marring his entire body. Little of the man remained, more machine than human, reconstructed by the Theocracy to become a cyborg war machine. It was a testament to his skills that the Guardians allowed someone so far along the path of the Ezani to live and he proved it with every breath, earning the moniker of the Breaker by shattering the Theocracy's enemies. A hail of plasma from HLA forces greeted Kuzev as he floated down onto a railing, but with a flick of his wrist the bolts of plasma twisted around his body, forming a super-heated mass he directed back at his attackers, leaving a trail of shattered armour and charred corpses.

"I should have known you would forget the most Holy Guardian's grace and bring these heretics here." Kuzev spread his arms wide and weaves fanned out into the sea of humans. Talassar scrambled to disrupt them but his weakened capabilities couldn't protect everyone and as the weaves swept through the troops, dozens fell. An entire company died as their blood vessels exploded under the weave, organs collapsing at the power tearing into them.

This was a Favoured in his full glory.

A symbol of the Guardians power.

["... Like y…"]

"Looks like you're weakened Talassar. I won't need any help to bring you down oh mighty Ravager. In the name of the most Holy Guardians, I will rid the Theocracy of its shameful Favoured." Kuzev spun an array of destructive weaves and Talassar responded in kind, hurling energy into the Favoured's Essence to restrict his ability.

"I almost forgot how much you talked Kuzev. Almost as bad as your face." Talassar grunted under the mounting pressure, barely unravelling the weaves Kuzev was creating. Kuzev remained calm despite the provocation, grinning at Talassar's struggle, his smile pulling an already mangled face into a grotesque mess. Bolts of plasma shrieked into Kuzev's shield, Grey shouting for the HLA to target the Favoured, coming to Talassar's aid.

["Weak Talassar! Can't even handle a Favoured."] The core devolved into hysterical shrieks and Talassar pulled on some of its power through the tattered seal, relying on everything available to him.

Kuzev flicked his wrist in disdain and a corrupting weave spun from his hands towards Grey's squad. Talassar diverted some of his attention to intercept it, but Kuzev had layered it in a series of locks and it forced Talassar to bull his way through them with his limited power and dissipate the weave, incapable of breaking it apart. Weakened, the weave crashed against the squad, disintegrating their weapons and corroding their armour in a burst of smoke and ash. The soldiers fell back, only Grey remaining in place and firing his plasma rifle as fast as the capacitor could cycle its charge.

Kuzev sent bolts of telekinetic force into the squad in quick succession, all while building another set of disrupting weaves. Screams filled Talassar's ears over the squad channel, soldiers being hurled through the air and struggling to activate the thrusters of their powered armour.

["Luckily they're not your friends or you'd be sad."] The core whispered, seal falling apart completely in the wake of another cascade of Kuzev's weaves. ["Do you want my help?"]

[I need nothing from you. Stay out of the way.] Talassar ignored the screams and core, hopping over the railing and firing telekinetic bolts amidst a handful of weaves to break through an opening he recognised in Kuzev's defences. Distracted by a barrage of rockets from beside the portal, the weaves punched through the Favoured's barrier, savage forces smashing a metallic shoulder into shards and severing his arm. Kuzev was sent spinning by the attack and a few bolts of plasma smashed through his shield to be absorbed by an unknown device strapped to his belt. Talassar drew deeply on his Essence and formed a series of weaves to break Kuzev's Essence and split his mind into hundreds of psionic shards which would take seconds to recover from. It was an effective method of attack against psions, rendering them incapable long enough to bypass their defences but it required the opponent to be weakened considerably or lack a cohesive Essence field. In Kuzev's case, despite the Theocracies best efforts, cracks existed in his Essence where the biological and synthetic parts of his body intersected.

The weave crashed into Kuzev, drilling into the gaps while he tried to respond to Talassar's previous attack. Talassar raised his plasma projector to add a focussed beam of energy even as nearby troops brought their weapons to bear. Restraint against a Favoured meant death. Before he could rejoice, a strange ripple rose from Kuzev's body and Talassar stepped back at the ancient force suddenly leaking from the Favoured. He strengthened his weaves in response, tracing the energy back to the Invincible's massive Essence batteries.

"I will not fall before a heretic." Kuzev roared and drew deeper from the batteries. The roaring energy ripped the air surrounding the Favoured to shreds, collapsing the streams of plasma and Talassar's weaves in the blink of an eye.

"Madman! The Guardian's Essence will tear you apart." Talassar shouted and let his damaged weaves disintegrate. Niobys' key sprang to life in his hands and he reached out to collapse Kuzev's connection to the batteries, but the Favoured was drawing insane amounts of Essence, his link gaining strength with every passing moment.

"They speak to me Talassar!" Kuzev roared, massive weaves slashing out in uncontrolled bursts, collapsing walkways and leaving deep rents in the Invincible's hull. "The Guardians demand your life!"

Talassar cursed and concentrated on Kuzev's symbol of the Guardians. The will of a Guardian was descending, manipulating Kuzev's mind, overwriting his thoughts with its desires. Talassar knew It would feel like a holy revelation, being in the presence of a being far beyond a human's understanding. The will sensed his scrutiny, and he blinked at the familiar presence which fixed him in its sights.

"Thrallax!" Barriers sprung up around him as fast as he could weave, but the core thrummed in delight at the Guardian's presence, slowing his efforts and screaming for attention. Talassar's Essence twisted under the pressure, leaving him vulnerable long enough for Kuzev to strike. The experienced Favoured didn't waste the chance and a burst of Essence slammed into him, tearing his barriers apart and letting a host of devastating weaves land on his body.

["I'm here! I'm here!"] The core screamed while the weaves slammed into him and it flared in delight, diminishing the attack's power in the mess of Essence it released. ["Stop attacking and save me!"]

Thrallax's will didn't seem to hear it and another wave of power slammed into him, streaming into the depths of his Essence. Talassar howled in pain, body collapsing as the assault shredded his Essence. The core screamed along with him, its entangled Essence damaged by the power.

["Stop! Why aren't you saving me?"]

"The Guardians have spoken Talassar." Kuzev stuttered under the strain of the power he was consuming. "You're sentenced to death." Talassar barely heard the words, only sensing the satisfaction from Thrallax's will and the agony from his broken Essence. Kuzev pointed and a bolt of incandescent energy crashed into him, slamming him into a broken pylon. The core roared in frustration, its cries weakening as Talassar's Essence disintegrated under the terrifying weaves Kuzev had just launched.

["Bad Thrallax! Bad Thrallax! Terrible Guardians!"] The core's mad rant beat in time with the spasms of pain wracking his body. With the last bits of Essence available to him, Talassar gauged his injuries, struggling to breathe as bones fragmented under Kuzev's corroding weave.

[So this is as far as I got. I don't think Niobys would be disappointed.]

Kuzev slumped in the distance, his broken form wavering in Talassar's blood soaked vision. The drain from utilising the Guardian's Essence was already taking its toll on him, but there was little Talassar could do now. A dull thump beside him made Talassar twist his neck with great effort to see Grey falling to his knees on the catwalk and unpack a medkit as the squad formed around them, firing at Kuzev and forcing him to retreat into a nearby port to recover.

["Is this what you wanted Talassar?"]

[Never] The binding pulsed irregularly, the core's feeble Essence infusing deeper into the remnants of Talassar's own.

["Then what did you want?"]

"Hold on Favoured! I'll save you." Grey's voice was fading, his sense of the man dwindling with every spasm of pain. With shaking fingers, Talassar reached up to trace the remnants of the scar on his broken chest.

[Freedom.]

The core snickered violently at his answer. Heartache was pouring from the core, yet it laughed at his answer. ["That was Niobys' dream, not yours. What do you want?"]

Flashes of memory pulsed in his mind, drowning out even the wisps of his surroundings as he fell deeper into his Essence, retreating from the disruptions caused by Kuzev's weave.

The years were not kind to the Favoured. Injuries like Kuzev's were not uncommon and it was rare for someone like Talassar to survive with all his parts intact to this day. They were taught to fight and live in the name of the Guardian's which used to be enough for him, believing in the glory of the Divine. At least it was until he learned the truth, his belief broken. If it wasn't for Niobys' key, Talassar would have turned himself in, not caring for the consequences, but now he was without a purpose, following the directions of a dead man.

["Which is why you must live."] The core sobbed, sadness filling their shared consciousness. ["Until you find a purpose you will fulfil others and now mine is to live. They don't know I live within you, and I must find my own way."]

[Survive?]

["Yessss. And to survive Kuzev and the Guardians must die."]