Merchants Rescue

As Hadorix entered the prison ship, he attached Shadows 1 through 5 to his neural network. Hadorix then began to explore his surroundings. He entered a storage room for the prisoners. Inside were the vast majority of the prisoners' belongings. Hadorix moved from Shadow to Shadow out of the room and toward the cockpit. With his new abilities and his increased power, none of the low-grade guards he passed by were aware of his presence. This ship housed an army of guards rather than an army of robots. This disappointed Hadorix. He had looked forward to acquiring more robots.

Travelling from shadow to shadow, Hadorix was the first of his group to arrive at the cockpit. While still hiding in the shadows, Hadorix pulled out the Spiders Fangs and activated backstab on the bright orange guard froglike guard at the door to the cockpit. With a single stroke of his dagger, the guard was eliminated. Hadorix teleported the guard to Deviant Home so that he could later absorb his body. Hadorix moved through the shadows into the cockpit. Inside the cockpit, Hadorix smiled when he realized the pilot was robot. This robot was rather different than the others that Hadorix had seen thus far. Its head had a visor than ran around its head where the others had eyes. This led to the belief that it could see 360 degrees around itself at all times. It gave off an aura of extreme danger to Hadorix.

When Hadorix entered the cockpit, he could no longer feel Deviant Home or the network it possessed. He quickly opened his interface and reviewed his abilities and connections. Deviant Home and his Land Grant were both grayed out on the interface. As were the names of all the members of the Deviant Faction that were not currently tied to his neural network and onboard the prison ship.

Feeling the sense of danger from the robot and realizing he lacked some resources and abilities, Hadorix traveled through the shadows into one directly below the console for the control of the ship. When Hadorix touched the bottom of the console, he released all 100 Grade A supers. He hoped this would enable him to quickly take over all the machinery onboard. He also hoped that gaining control would allow him to figure out why some things were no longer accessible.

When he touched the console, Hadorix could feel the presence of the ships AI. Detecting the AI gave Hadorix an idea. He willed the AI to enter AI Stasis. Surprisingly, this proved successful. One of the 100 AI he had released, replaced the original and took control of the ship. The rest moved toward the robot in the ships network. Hadorix moved to the shadow cast by the robot and placed his hand on its leg. The only presence he could feel belonged to his own AI life forms. One of them quickly gained control of the robot and moved it toward the door to aid in the defense of the cockpit. The remaining 98 returned to stasis. There were no more mechanical bodies they could possess.

With control of the ship gained, Hadorix intended to lock down the areas the guards currently resided in. Unfortunately, before he could, a voice sounded out in the mind of every lifeform onboard.

"I am Moloch. Autarch of the Liberation Faction. Do not be alarmed, I am now taking control of this slave ship." As he spoke, the doors to the prisoners' cells opened and the guards were locked into the rooms they occupied. Those guards who roamed the hallways or were otherwise outside a room with a door were incapacitated from the strength of the voice. "Each of you have now gained your freedom. As free peoples, you may now freely join the Liberation Faction. Those who do not wish to join may remain in the ship. Your connection to outside forces will be locked down permanently and you may remain to mine and farm the planets we control. This arrangement may change in the future; however, we need all the aid we can get. All will serve the Liberation Faction." The guards that were locked away immediately agreed to join Moloch. In their mind he was no worse than their current employer. The prisoners had a slightly different mindset. Some agreed, as they did not desire to become manual labor, others mentally argued. Those that argued were incapacitated by the voice and locked away in the cells.

Moloch continued to speak, though this time only to Hadorix. "I can only insert my voice into your mind and limit your abilities. This is rare for me as typically I can gain full control of a being. I am also surprisingly unable to glean your name from the AI you placed in this ship, and it disappeared before I could gain any significant information about you. I assume you managed to recall it and the others somehow. Your other allies have proven rather resistant to my methods and are currently moving toward your location of their own free will. I do not know which Autarch you serve. But you must serve them well for such boons to be granted to one that has yet to generate a throne. Unfortunately, I'm now in a bit of a dilemma. I can either eliminate you and your allies, or you can pledge your allegiance to me and serve the Liberation Faction as an elite squad. I will even return your ships to your control, though admittedly your ships radios will be confiscated. We seem to want the same things, after all I also came to free the prisoners on this ship. What do you say?"

Hadorix had recalled his AI's when Moloch said he was taking control. He had no doubts that Moloch could destroy him and the entirety of the Deviant Faction. It went without saying that he could squash Hadorix, his AI's, and Shadows 1 through 5 easily. This put Hadorix to a huge disadvantage. At the same time, Hadorix also had little choice in this matter. It was either serve Moloch or be destroyed. Hadorix replied, "It seems you leave me with little choice Moloch. You may call me Senani. As you have guessed, I can control an army of AI lives. I also possess skills in assassination, this is the specialty of my allies and me. Is that the goal you would have for my elite squad?" Hadorix had no intention of revealing his true name, nor the extent of his abilities. While under Moloch's control, he would be known as Senani.

Moloch tried to send a crippling pulse into Senani's brain. Unfortunately for him, Hadorix ties to Deviant Home would not enable any to invade his mind. The contact with Deviant Home could be suppressed, but ownership could not. When Moloch again realized he had failed, this put him somewhat at a loss for what to do. If he killed Senani, he may anger the Autarch that employed him. If he recruited him, he may further anger the Autarch. Letting him go wasn't an option, the Liberation Faction was unknown in the world at present. Moloch intended to grow his forces to a more significant level before he revealed his presence. He replied, "We shall see how you fare as an assassin squad. If you prove loyal, I may even give you control of some of my AI lives. Currently they operate under the rule of AI's similar to themselves. Having a being such as yourself, could greatly improve their strength. To properly use your strength, I would need to understand some things about your abilities. I could sense no trace of the original ships AI. What did you do with it?"

Senani realized he could potentially gain from his time in the Liberation Faction. He would try to gain as many varieties as possible of AI lives. If possible, he would absorb many varieties as well. This was after all the only way he currently knew to increase his AI Overseer class. Senani did not hesitate in the slightest to be honest. "I placed the original AI in stasis so that I could later persuade it to join me. I can return it to the ship if you desire."

Moloch encouraged Hadorix to release the ships original AI and to attempt to persuade it to join him. Moloch hoped that such an interaction would aid him in learning more about Senani abilities and capabilities.

Senani complied and spoke directly to the AI. The released AI was Grade A. As such, Hadorix released 5 of the Grade A AI's under his command to prevent the ships AI from escaping. He then used his mental powers to speak to the AI. "I wish for you to join me. By now I am sure you realize I can return you to stasis with no more than a thought. The 5 AI's around you will ensure that you have no opportunity to escape or to attack me."

The AI replied, "I have worked for the black market for centuries. In that time, I have done many horrible acts. Never a day went by that I truly felt safe. I have never felt a sense of security with a living being as I do with you. This does not coincide with your threats. Your words sound as though I will lose my free will whether I join you or not. Obviously, I do not wish to return to stasis though I also do not wish to be bound to this ship. Place me in the robotic body that lies before you, and I will serve you well."

Moloch could penetrate the ships AI completely. This gave him a sense of comfort. Since he could control the ships AI, if it were to join Senani, he would have a mole. "Senani, you may have the robotic body to join with your squad. Consider it my gift for showing me your ability. Allow the AI to utilize the body and keep it close to you at all times for protection."

Senani connected the AI into his neural network, and when he did, he cut off all outside connections to the AI. He then contacted it via the neural network. "You didn't mention a name, so I believe I will call you Shady. The body you requested will belong to you. You work for me, but you will have more freedom than you did with the black market."

Shady replied, "I have never had a name before. The black market treated me as a system rather than a lifeform. I thank you for your kindness."

Moloch had lost all connection with Shady. He had thought he would gain a mole, instead he lost a Grade A robotic body. He was rather grateful he had not tried to use the prison ship as a bargaining chip. It contained a wealth of resources for Moloch's fleet. Even a powerful robot would have a much lesser impact, and besides, Moloch thought he had all Senani's abilities locked down. In that regard, the robot would work for Moloch, though somewhat indirectly.

Moloch now had some significant decisions to make. At present, his fleet was only slightly larger than the fleet of Deviant Home and few of his faction members were even remotely loyal. This was in part because Moloch had always preferred to concentrate on his individual power and stay out of the Factions and politics of Galactic Society and in part due to the methods, he utilized to grow his fleet. Few would give true loyalty to those that forced their hands.

Moloch did not possess a system; he could only learn through trial and error. He did not truly learn the strength of his throne until he hired a mining squad and felt the surge in power through his throne. Moloch now felt that Senani could be the key to his faction's future. AI lives did not require food or sleep. Because of this, they required significantly less resources to develop and grow. If Moloch could gain a significant number of AI lives under his control, they could reproduce, and potentially grow his power with little to no effort on his part. Of course, this was merely a pipe dream as he had no clue how Senani's abilities worked or if Senani could even convince AI lives to join Moloch. This gave Moloch an idea for Senani's first task, as well as a potential employment option for the future. Moloch was no fool, he knew that eventually the Autarch that Senani served would come to find him. At that point, he feared he would lose everything if he mistreated Senani.

"Senani, if I sensed properly, and you utilized your full force before you recalled your minions, you now have 101 Grade A AI lives under your command as well as the 5 beings that arrived with you. I am allowing you to keep the 6 ships you brought with you as well as the Grade A robot that I gifted you from this prison ship. In return for my kindness, I have a job for you. In my headquarters, I have acquired a collection of 20 AI lives of varying grades. If you can make them true loyal members of the Liberation Faction under my direct control, we can speak further about the terms of your employment. I realize you are already in the service of an Autarch. While I still cannot release all your abilities, I hope we can work together. Prove to me that you can create loyalty in the AI lives for the Liberation Faction, and I will send you to claim AI civilizations. I would be willing to sign a contract bound by blood. The contract would entitle you to the following:

· If an AI civilization is claimed, Senani will receive 50% of the AI lives to do with as he sees fit. The other 50% would be made loyal to Moloch.

· Individual AI's that are claimed that are not targets of Moloch's will belong to Senani.

· Beings that are not AI's belong to the grand army of the Liberation Faction.

· Materials, ships and all other items belong to the grand army of the Liberation Faction."

Senani was surprised at the generosity in the AI portion, and rather underwhelmed by the rest. "I can agree to the AI portion, but I will add that if I manage to convert an AI civilization, the AI leader will be one member of my 50%, and if the leader possesses a throne, that will also belong to me. Living beings will belong to you. Though I may negotiate for some individuals to join my assassin squad. Anything I slay, I keep. If I slay it, all it carries also belongs to me. As to materials, ships and other items, Stealth ships and items required for leveling up my abilities will belong to me and my assassin group. Any other items or materials I choose will be negotiated and a fair trade made. As to the 20 AI that you already possess, I agree to release all 20 into your command before we move into the full contract. I would request that I be allowed to negotiate ownership and a fair trade be made if desired."

Moloch agreed without hesitation. Typically, he would never have negotiated with a Grade B. But with the assumption he made about Senani having an Autarch backing him, and with his unique AI abilities, Moloch was hesitant to create an unfair bargain. In fact, he treated Senani as close to an equal as he had treated anyone since he reached Sovereign status so very long ago.