Risen: Shatterverse

Chapter 6: Picking at the Threads

Tate looked up from the tablet listing the names of the new recruits to watch a line of them marching by, burdened with equipment and armor. Despite that, each of them wore a determined expression, be they Risen, mecha, or alien, every one of them resolved to help the K Campaign get back to the task of stopping the K'ethik from destroying the galaxy.

"I heard a coupla teslas that volunteered for this mission actually attended class with Thek's builder students," Grint thoughtfully rumbled from where he stood a pace off Tate's right shoulder. "Apparently they did comparatively well. In fact, the Master Builder himself said they had a 'knack for it'."

Tate threw a look over at the grim dorvaldi avatar.

"Is that an exact quote, Master Walker?" he asked dryly. Grint immediately flashed a grin in Tate's direction.

"Naw. Paraphrasin'. I don't have enough pocket change to pay for all those multisyllabic words Thek likes usin'."

Tate chuckled as he turned his attention back to the marching reinforcements. There was no point in accusing Grint of having no personality because it would be a bloody lie. The dorvaldi avatar was a character.

However, character or not, the Master Walker made a good point. Having teslas that were trained under Thek would be very useful, especially if the Master Builder himself endorsed their skill set.

"Do you have names for me, Grint? For these special teslas of yours."

"Why, General Tate, I certainly do," Grint replied, producing a tablet of his own with a flourish from a utility pouch. "This first one, you'll like him. He's a bit of a character," he began, echoing some of Tate's own thinking from earlier about the dorvaldi. "Apparently wanted 'Darth Revan' as his call sign before it got nixed by his commander. Not sure what the reference is there. But anywho, his living name was Lavell, call sign Hammer. Teammates say he's a pain in the ass to work with because his communication style is a little aggressive but they'd go to war with him because he's got a heart of gold and sacrifices everything for his comrades and friends."

Tate frowned. This Lavell did indeed sound like a bit of a character, much like the Master Walker himself was. But Grint had yet to tell him why this tesla, in particular, would be useful to their campaign against the K'ethik. Thankfully the dorvaldi avatar didn't make him wait long.

"According to Thek, when Hammer saw the plans for the neural network disrupter, he was able to derive an addition that added a weaponized component to the disrupter, a resonant harmonic that would rupture the molecular bonds holding the larval form bodies together. It would literally turn them into dust."

A hint of a smile touched Tate's lips.

"So no more giant chunks of slag dropping onto our heads. I bloody like that." Then he was sobering. "That's a fair display of skill and capability. Our campaign would certainly benefit from both. And the second Tesla on your list?"

"That would be Juniper. She's a top-notch tech savant that has developed an algorithm that correctly predicts escalation."

Tate's frown returned. Predicting escalation?

"A pretty simple statement that hides dozens of explanations. None of which feel that plausible to me," he bluntly stated. "How can you predict escalation?"

Grint replied with a shrug.

"Can't give you the particulars, boss, because Math. But I can give you a demonstration." A wave of a big hand over his tablet and a series of images appeared. Upon closer examination, the frowning juggernaut could see they marked stages in their escalating war with the Velkin, including their fight against the Blood Prophet candidate and its pet Vanguard nehvest.