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Ghods Charles al'Demichase XIV · 10-26-2020, 06:48 AM,

stream-source: ▓▝ -̵̵̛̬̭̠͚̦͕̜̮̉̓̀ͨ̊̊ͫ͢͝-̶̡͓̼͈͖̤̪̠̒̍̀̀͛̓͜-̡̭͕̤͙̃-͇̣̥̰̱̼ͫ͛ͮ̊̚͢҉̊--̡̢̹̪͇̦̎̒̒̋̀̄ͯ̎͟͜͝-̙̃-̸̢̜͓̪͚̭̞̳̺ͭ͆̓ͥ͒͗̀͌͑̒-͎͔̬͇̙̹͚̞̅̅̋̃ͤ̕͘̚͝ͅ-̵̨̡̺̝͚͙̏ͬ͂̐ : compiling - tt-rr-321561--▝▁
acvX.-̵̵̛̬̭̠͚̦͕̜̮̉̓̀ͨ̊̊ͫ͢͝-̶̡͓̼͈͖̤̪̠̒̍̀̀͛̓͜-̡̭͕̤͙̃-͇̣̥̰̱̼ͫ͛ͮ̊̚͢҉̊--̡̢̹̪͇̦̎̒̒̋̀̄ͯ̎͟͜͝-̙̃-̸̢̜͓̪͚̭̞̳̺ͭ͆̓ͥ͒͗̀͌͑̒-͎͔̬͇̙̹͚̞̅̅̋̃ͤ̕͘̚͝ͅ-̵̨̡̺̝͚͙̏ͬ͂̐-͖̜̥͈͕̼̓̍ͭͮ́̿͑̔̕ͅ-̵̸̱̬̠̪͑̒͛ͮͨ̀ͭ́̔̌̕͢ͅ-̶̵̨̜͉̹̫͌͗̑̀̄̐-̰ͣͦ̉̑͒ͧ̚̚-͙̗͍̂̋̌͌-̹̅̆̈-̡͖̠̟̞̀̇̊̀̉͏͘-̶̴̱͇̋̈ͪ̌̆ͪͬ͋͜͠͞-̶̷̥͗̋̒̈́͋̔tvdgs░g-g-nn-3.16.a.n+̸̸̴̣̠̠͍̦̫͂̓͗̐ͨͭ͘+̴̧̻̰̦̯́͊͒͗͌̐ͥͩ̐ͭ̔͟͞+̜̻͙̪̞ͥ̓ͯ̇̀͜͡͝͞+̫+͚̟̝͔̠̙̗̤͛̅̉̿͒̓ͬ͊́̚-̵̘̳̻̫̜̆ͥͯ̏͆̍͝͏̓-͕̰ͬ͂͛-̸̧̯̮̣̙͒ͣͧ̀͗҉̷͉̳̀ͣ̂ͪ͠-҉͓-̮̩̰̪͙̹̇ͪ̆̄͂̈ͧ́́̐́͘+̸̸̴̣̠̠͍̦̫͂̓͗̐ͨͭ͘+̴̧̻̰̦̯́͊͒͗͌̐ͥͩ̐ͭ̔͟͞+̜̻͙̪̞ͥ̓ͯ̇̀͜͡͝͞+̫+͚̟̝͔̠̙̗̤͛̅̉̿͒̓ͬ͊́̚-̵̘̳̻̫̜̆ͥͯ̏͆̍͝͏̓-͕̰ͬ͂͛-̸̧̯̮̣̙͒ͣͧ̀͗҉̷͉̳̀ͣ̂ͪ͠-҉͓-̮̩̰̪͙̹̇ͪ̆̄͂̈ͧ́́̐́͘xciv.xc -̧̞̤͖̠̲̳̺̓͛ͩ͊͗͛͌̀ͦͤ-̷̵̩̲̲̞͈̯̣̬͔̭̈ͬ̓̏̐ͦ̚̕-̮̥̳̙̀ͣ́-̠-͍-̧̺̮͖̱̣͋́͛̈́̿-̷̣̰̭̣̘̻̲̑͋͌ͮ͝-̰̙̤͔͐ͨ̿̒́͝͞-͇͍͖ͪ̆ͦ̚-̵̻̲̼͇̜̉ͦͯ́̆̌ͪͦ͠ͅ-̴̤͓̣͔͊ͤͣ̃-͖̭̞̘͇̲͓̾͌-́͊-͚̀̚-̷̍̒ͩ҉-̛̩͇̏ͣͨͭ̈́̿̾ͫ́ͧͯ͡-̟̍-̯͈ͩ͏̸̠̪̾̈́̾-͋--̨̯͗͛̎̅ͮ: bb-26131-oe-itv--11

L O C A T I O N : PLANET PITTSBURGH , SURFACE , SOUTH-WEST DESERT

Ghods unceremoniously tossed the child he had collected in the general direction of his bunk, and began starting the launch sequence for his ship. He needed to be in the Colorado system by the time the crime network lit up. Given that he'd cut communication, he'd easily have enough time, but as always it was better to be safe than sorry. As his ship hovered over the sandstorm, he bid silent farewell to his birthplace. He never intended to see it again, so a polite goodbye was hardly amiss. Netsakh was restless, he could feel it, but even she knew better than to interrupt his piloting with anything that wasn't an emergency. Ghods sat in the pilot's chair and marked his course. As he made his way out of the atmosphere, he began to forget the child left in his living quarters.

. . .AN UNEVENTFUL TRIP LATER. . .

L O C A T I O N : LAPTEV SYSTEM , SOLAR ORBIT

After escaping Liberty without issue, Ghods had taken them to what passed as his hideout. The Laptev system was hardly useful in any way to anyone. It's local jump anomalies were far too unstable for anything larger than fighter sized ships to use. Pirates used the system as a shortcut from the northern Kusari space to the southeastern Rheinland space, and no one did anything else in the system. The yellow sun of the Bering system, which the Laptev system orbited in some regard, seemed like nothing more than a brighter yellow point in the starry sky. In front of them, the magenta hue of a brown dwarf star warmly lit the ship. Behind them, the planet Taymyr and its moon Byrranga hung in a vertical orbit, creating a neat dynamic of dipping above and below the asteroid field that made up most of the system. Further behind that, the nebula that housed what was left of the former planet Tsiki trailed, said planet having collided with Taymyr nearly a century ago, which was an encounter Tsiki clearly lost. The harmonic hums of the ship faded out as it settled into low-energy mode. Ghods had placed them in orbit next to the only other feature of the system: the corpse of the RES Dallman. The Rheinland Expeditionary Ship was one of the first of its kind, and had experienced a critical engine failure on arrival to this system. One sad story of the crew starving to death later, the empty husk of the ship was left in orbit as a sort of memorial to the ones who lost their lives in exploration.

Now that he had a moment to relax, Ghods stood up, and immediately remembered that he couldn't relax yet. He'd kidnapped a newly-orphaned child on a whim. "Now that you're not busy, the child has been actively purging their own memories in a state of traumatic stress."
"Neat. What does that mean for me?"
"It means their complete mental shutdown. You don't even have a plan for her, so who knows if it means anything for you."
Ghods hatched a plan on the spot. What that plan actually was was something he'd figure out later, first he needed to create a stable situation. He'd spend months at a time in the depths of this system, he needed to make sure he could deal with an added chore. He found her sitting on the floor next to his bunk. She sat there like a marionette with its strings cut, slumped against the corner of the tiny room he'd made out of his cargo hold. She still had the wad of fiber in her mouth, so he grabbed the end and said "Let go." She did so immediately, and he threw the makeshift breathing filter into an chute that fed trash into his engine output. He then unlatched his helmet, set it on his bed, and reached into a supply closet to find tweezers and disinfectant. He knelt down and held the child's mouth open. Tiny bits of glass from the filter he had broken were embedded in her lips. After picking them out and cleaning the wounds, he stood back and finally looked at the child he'd stolen.

She was young, maybe thirteen, had pale white skin, golden blond hair, sky blue eyes that glazed over now, and was wearing a white dress that was stained with the blood of the other children in that room. All of this confused Ghods. He had taken her from Pittsburgh, a planetwide ghetto to say the least. Most inhabitants were Hispanian, or some flavor of refugee. Everyone there was in an eternal state of poverty, and expensive clothes like these didn't exist there. He prodded her with his pistol, then waived his knife around her, hoping for some expression of fear, or really any movement at all. Nothing. "What's going on in her head?"
"I already told you. Complete mental shutdown."
"And?"
"And what? In terms of consciousness, she's dead."
Ghods looked to his side. Once again, the hallucinated form of Netsakh stood at his side, still in the red dress he had painted. However, she was more animated now. She struck a defiant pose with her hands on her hips, which was jarring for Ghods given that most of the time she floated around, sitting on air. "Stop judging me, start judging the extra weight you've decided to carry." Biting back a smart remark, Ghods thought of other experiments for the lifeless doll in front of him.
"Can you get in her head?"
"I am already. What do you want?"
He turned her head so that she looked into his eyes. "Let me know what she's thinking." As he said this, he stopped focusing. As normal, his vision blurred slightly, and the crackling informed him that electricity was arcing from his eyes to his face.
"She's not thinking at all."
"Hmph."
"Given that she just witnessed nearly thirty deaths at your hand, not to mention the entire rest of that group, I doubt the super scary eyes would be all that scary now."
A sassy god and a living toy. Just what I needed, he thought to himself. "Your attitude isn't any better." A sassy god who can read my mind, he corrected. He began theorizing. He didn't need much, just a sustainable method of living until the outside world forgot about the deaths that came from nowhere. "Can you wipe her personality? Turn her into some sort of a blank slate?"
"Easily. Is that what you want?"
"Yeah. That will be enough to work with." The child in front of him spasmed, pushed themselves further into the corner, then stopped moving. "Wipe her memories too, while you're at it."
"All of them?"
"The ones that will cause trouble."

A while later, the child finally stirred. Resting after forceful telepathic changes is normal, especially for an average human. Ghods was relaxing on his bed, having nothing else to do. Eventually she stood up, and looked at him. They locked eyes for the better part of a minute, then she walked forward and touched his face. She didn't speak, but Netsakh was still connected to her mind, so he knew what she was thinking. "Yes, I'm real." She nodded, accepting the fact, and proceeded to lie down on top of him and promptly go back to sleep. He lifted her off himself and set her down in his bed. He needed to think about the next problem with keeping her. Netsakh's integration into his body had not made many visible changes. It had healed his scars, and increased the health of his appearance. However, beneath the surface, he'd changed much. The Lights themselves were photosynthetic, making energy from stellar radiation, among other sources. Netsakh had given him this quality, which allowed him to bypass the need for food by simply basking in the light of the nearby star. The child didn't have that option. For water, the asteroids nearby were mostly water, and could be harvested and distilled. Water was taken care of. Adding to his troubles was the fact that his normal procedure was to simply sleep, which couldn't cut it now. As he sat down in the pilots chair, he put his feet up on the dashbord and studied the Dallman. Some way to get food for the child... He was drifting off to sleep. He figured the child would wake him up if she needed. Alternatively, he'd wake up as soon as he found an answer...

Netsakh watched their bearer begin it's hibernation once again. It was their duty to make sure that their bearer was alerted when something was out of place. This was an easy duty, given that the ship was off, and anyone flying by would see two husks orbiting a husk of a star. There was no valuable cargo on either this ship, nor the larger ship they were nearby. Netsakh made it even easier by using the energy that their bearer wasn't using to amplify their telepathic sensitivity, so that in the case of any living being getting remotely close to them, they knew instantly. However, there was a tiny bit of interference. A living being was just far enough away from them to seem out of place. The girl on the bed. A nuisance brought by their bearer for no reason at all being a nuisance passively. What a surprise.

Netsakh was already annoyed at how little had actually gotten accomplished during that entire trip. The only thing gained from it was the knowledge that intelligent darklings make intelligent offspring, and the power connected to their bearers anger. Having more power was fine, but the cost was more than they wanted to give. Netsakh stopped thinking about it. It could be dealt with later. Instead they reached into the child's mind. "Wake up. You're too far away." She got up immediately, and began looking around. Confused. Netsakh let her see the image of themselves that their bearer had created. The child wasn't surprised until she attempted to touch Netsakh, and passed right through. "I'm not really here. I'm with him, and I need you to be closer to him" She nodded, and wandered over to where their bearer was resting. She climbed into the seat with him and went back to sleep. The interference with Netsakh was gone, and that was good enough for them. Besides that, the feeling of comfort the darkling was emitting was strong enough that Netsakh couldn't help but enjoy it. Netsakh wondered what triggered that sensation as a response, and decided that when their bearer awoke, they'd search the darkling's subconscious to better understand their instincts and feelings.

. . . TO BE CONTINUED . . .

.͈̤̺̼ͣͭ͞҉̘̀ͫ̉.͎̬ͦ̔ͧ̍̾̃̍̇ͣ͝.͕̺̰̘ͧ̏ͥͬ̃.̪͙͕.͏̖͉.̴̯̤̭̟̍ͣ̄.̩̩͖͙̻͓̞̏ͨ̈́͋͒͂͆̃͛͛͟.̙̭̳́̂ͤ̀͘.̲͇̹ͩ̾̆ͨ̀ͫ͘͞.̘͕̮̟̉ͯ̃̒ͮͩ̂͘̚͜.ͅ҉͗.̵̣͕̄.̷̶̩̰̮͖̹̍ͮ̅ͨͤ́̉̎̇ͨ̍.̵̡̦̓̉ͬͅ.̸̬̞͋͂͑ͭͤ̑.̱̉͟.͏̛̳̺̟.̷̝ͩ͛.̜͍̏̒͌͗͢.̪̠̙̩̥̟͑ͬ̑̀́ͭ̾̀--+̸̸̴̣̠̠͍̦̫͂̓͗̐ͨͭ͘+̴̧̻̰̦̯́͊͒͗͌̐ͥͩ̐ͭ̔͟͞+̜̻͙̪̞ͥ̓ͯ̇̀͜͡͝͞+̫+͚̟̝͔̠̙̗̤͛̅̉̿͒̓ͬ͊́̚-̵̘̳̻̫̜̆ͥͯ̏͆̍͝͏̓-͕̰ͬ͂͛-̸̧̯̮̣̙͒ͣͧ̀͗҉̷͉̳̀ͣ̂ͪ͠-҉͓-̮̩̰̪͙̹̇ͪ̆̄͂̈ͧ́́̐́͘

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