Mood Music

For Jace 's legion the normal Falnali were not that difficult to deal with. Extermination was a good word for dealing with the bugs.

Of course there were a few leader level bugs that Jace had to focus on. These evolved beetles were too much for her soldiers. So with impunity she slaughtered her way into the brood searching for a worthy opponent.

Her legion stayed behind and held the city gate while the city's own forces held the rest of the wall.

Seeking out the big bugs was simplicity itself for Jace. The bugs had readied themselves in case she rejected her suitors and gave away her blood right. The Falnali would probably set a trap and force her to come to them.

Of course it was dangerous to step foot along the path of the beetles well thought out plans, but the Jace from an hour ago was already dead. The perfect little innocent princess was gone. She didn't care about anything right now except exercising her new level.

Accelerants gained great power by studying and training to become a pylon. It was all for one purpose, to exchange their humanity for power. Of course the official teachings espoused the way of compromise. The wise ones of the cult decreed that one should go right up to the brink and then back down. Once the peak is reached one has already attained enough power.

But some portion of the aspirants do end up taking the last step and really do give their humanity away. No other cultivation method was as powerful. Any effort to keep an accelerant's humanity was doomed to be weak. When the difference in power was an order of magnitude there was really no comparison between before and after acceleration. And this was just the start of the journey.

In the first place Jace was not weak and in the second place Jace was not just good at being an accelerant she was gifted.

Through a long line of Accelerants her heritage was unmatched. She was poetry itself when she moved. As she slaughtered through the brood she never wasted a movement. Always using the right sword technique and never using the same stroke twice in succession. In addition to being trained to the sword since birth she also was gifted in the unseen arts.

So while she danced in her full armor she brought down calamity for fifty yards around her. Jace's personal favorite was wind magic. Around her the beetles slipped and dodged as the wind worked against their mass and blew projectiles through the air. 

The wind made her heart soar!

_____

"Welcome to CXRT, tonight we have a surprise for our listeners. Princess Jace has rejected her birthright and is now fighting the Falnali on the rural planet Jaxi."

"Ha, it is not a surprise, Subrath. It was predictable! I have been saying for weeks that she would choose the path of purity!"

An AI commentator, Gen XXII, voiced his self proclaimed victory.

"Why would a Princess forsake that much power? I don't understand."

The host asked fanning the flames of the AI's interest.

"Power? What kind of power does a Princess really have? The power to have what she wants? The power of people thinking she is special? That is all fine and good for princesses to have, but Jace has something else. What she has now is true power. The power of might makes right. She would have had to give up true power to remain a princess. And who in their right mind would give up ultimate power. There is no theoretical power ceiling for accelerants."

Gen XXII answered.

"Pylons are our civilization's trump card that is for sure. But what do you think about her murdering Shawn?"

This question needed to be asked, so Subrath asked it knowing what the bot would say.

"Subrath, are we really going there? Some can argue that he committed suicide. It would be interesting to look into his life to see what his motivations were. Those suitors were well informed before they set foot on that terrace. Pylons are extremely volatile. We cross them at our peril. True she was not yet a pylon but, ... . Who am I kidding, she warned him and warned him. I don't place too much blame on anyone consumed by energy acceleration."

"But murder?"

"This is hardly novel. Pylon's have been murdering innocents since we first cultivated the first book of Acceleration."

"But you are right she wasn't a pylon when she did it."

Host and AI went back and forth.

"Five minutes either way? I can't believe we have to knit pick. And why are we even having this question? If it was any other accelerant there would be no question. It is only because she is also a princess. Besides the laws excuse pylons, our entire society hangs on their power."

Gen XXII tried so hard to justify Jace.

"No, Gen XXII, murder is murder."

Subrath head a hard line.

"So what if a few hopeless or foolhardy people die? How does that compare to what the ruling pylons on New Carthage or Antideluvia do? If we prosecuted the pylons who govern those planets for their crimes, how long do you think those planets would survive? How long?"

Thinking he had a good point the AI smiled in triumph.

"Not very long. But…"

Subrath didn't know. 

"But nothing! What we are seeing here is the creation of a new Carthage, a new Antideluvia!"

Gen XXII's synthesized voice started to go a little higher.

"What? That is just crazy? You think Jace can stand against a hive ship? That is delusional!"

"Why can't she? There is no ceiling for pylons. And she is the most gifted pylon in two generations. Three!"

Trying to defend her Gen XXII was only sounding more and more unhinged.

Suprath turned to the other guest commentator.

"Alice, you haven't said much. What do you think?"

Alice bowed her head.

"I think we have lost a great light. Jace's insanity is fundamentally a blow to our kingdom."

"What? You are saying that she could have done more as a compromiser? As an influence peddler? No! Not right now, not while our society is attacked from three sides. You aren't thinking straight."

Now Gen XXII felt he had to defend against Alice as well.

Suprath looked at the Gen XXII project sternly and hoped the AI received the message to behave himself.

Going on Alice took control of the conversation,

"Actually, I wasn't brought here today to argue the morality of pylons. They sacrifice their humanity for power. We accept them because we have no choice. We keep them because we are too weak to defend ourselves."

Alice tried to recontextualize the situation.

"So just because they have given up their humanity we should morn them?"

The AI made a point edgewise.

"The fact that they were once human? I don't know, my feeling is that they should be treated like what they are skinwalkers. They are aliens in human skin."

"Granted, they don't have the same motivations as normal humans. If that makes them alien then according to some they could be considered Aliens. ... Aliens that still help us, don't they?"

After Gen XXII's last comment Alice just looked at the machine for a long moment, letting him cool down a bit.

"If they couldn't satiate their desire for carnage in the blood of our enemies they would turn on us in a heartbeat. You know it, I know it, and every citizen should be warned."

"Ha, it is never going to happen. This is just the most unlikely outcome being played like a violin. A sad negative violin."

Even though he was still fighting Gen XXII was starting to tone down his voice at least.

"Our civilization rests on a knife's edge. I should know, I myself am an accelerant. I come from one of the orders that trains these beasts. That is what they are. They are murderers and rapists. They deserve to die for their crimes."

Finally Alice finished her point.

But Gen XXII fought back.

"Oh, I am not wearing rose colored glasses. I understand what Jace has become. I just think that we should give credit where credit is due. How many planets has Jace saved even before this?"

"I know Jace, I went through school with her. I trained with her. But I don't think she can defeat a Falnali hive queen. That is ridiculous."

As soon as Alice said that XXII was ridiculous she knew she had lost some credibility and lost the initiative.

"How many men, women, and children has she rescued from slavery. Yes, she is now a pylon. Yes, she is a murderer. And yes, most importantly, she is going to save Jaxi."

"Sure with the help of her legion and the defenders, this brood can be defeated. The surface of the planet can be clear for a time. However."

Alice paused for emphasis before going on.

"However, that will be the extent of her ability. She can't even attack the hive ship. The hive queen is ten parsecs away. The Falnali queen can just throw broods at her until Jace is worn out. Simple as that."

Alice responded back just as impassioned.

"There you have it folks. How long will Jace survive? How many broods will she destroy before succumbing? And is it better that she die, rather than we allow a third pylon to be unleashed upon humanity?"

Subrath interjected to put a pause on their argument.

The screen cut to Jace battling alone surrounded by Falnali. The host and the two guest commentators still had a portion of the screen, but they were now relocated to the side. The entire right side, about a fifth of the screen was taken by the commentators.

In general a camera had a focus on the three of them sitting on a stage talking.

However, occasionally, close ups of whoever was speaking would stack on top of the wide angle view. Sometimes a second and third box stacked as well. In this way it was possible to gain several views of the commentators at once.

A stirring mood music began in the back ground as even the talking heads watched Jace endure the combined attacks of her enemies.

Jace bore it with grace and skill. Covered in green blood her armor was hardly the resplendent vision that it had been during the choosing ceremony.

Occasionally the audience could see her mouth open. Whether she would yell, curse or scream, none of that noise was allowed to mar the entertainment value of the piece. What could be seen of her emotion was plain as Jace's face was a rictus of sadistic anger. Her lips permanently carved into a smile while her nose and the skin between her eyebrows contracted with disgust and frustration.

She hunted. Stalking the field uncaring of the poison, energy, kinetic, or melee attacks. Pylons had unprecedented abilities to burn their body's energy to heal their wounds. But it wasn't like Jace needed to worry about this level of attack. Her body armor was rated to withstand far more than this.

In a situation like this her fuel was the flesh of her enemies. Often she would maintain her state by taking a bite in passing of the tender flesh inside a broken carapace or drink the blood gushing from a dying beetle's wound. Censors often blotted out the screen preventing children or others who did not relish these disgusting things a pylon did to survive.

"Here we go, this is the first praetorian guard we have seen. They are the top melee fighters in a new brood like this."

Gen XXII project suddenly explained.

"The traditional way to confront a guard like this is to employ the Shimizu offense. It will be interesting to see if she employs the correct move. If she does, it will mean she still retains some cognitive ability."

Information flowed easily from Alice's lips.

"Indeed, let's see."

As the host, Subrath decided to test Alice's expertise.

Jace feinted to the left and then when the praetorian beetle brought his guard up she slipped inside the bug's defense and beheaded it in one strike of her sword.

"Ahhh, if I am not mistaken, that was the Shimizu offense. Wasn't it?"

The AI said a little vindicated.

Alice took a sip of water and then swallowed,

"Yes, that is correct. Not only was it the Shimizu offense, but it was completely flawless on uneven terrain amid a war zone. Very nicely done. Too nicely done."

"See, she can do this! Often a new pylon will be completely consumed by power and their mind will be destroyed. Yet, it seems that she has kept her mental facility!"

Restating his win and then doubling down on his prediction, XXII insinuated that Jace would defend the planet.

"Yes, it does seem like she is performing remarkably well. Let's see how she continues."

Hedging her bets Alice wasn't about to give in yet.

On the screen Jace had taken the bait and now five praetorian guards surrounded her. Instead of attacking they hemmed her in refusing to engage. All they did was prevent her escape. When she killed one of them it was immediately replaced by another praetorian.

Meanwhile the Falnar corps hovered above. Their mighty beetle wings a golden blur behind their backs. Flying in a formation that would morph and transform constantly.

"The formation shifting of the Falnar is a trap. It looks like there are weaknesses in the formation as they move from one point to another, but actually the Falnar have air superiority. Jace might have wind magic, but she can not compare to bugs who think nothing of killing themselves. She must fight this out on the ground."

Alice explained why Jace wasn't taking the obvious way out.

And then the Falnar corps began their long range attack. Poring down ordinance upon Jace like it was a holiday and they were trying to impress the kids.

"This will be armor piercing rounds is that right?"

The host asked his experts.

"Yes, each individual ammunition will not be particularly powerful. Instead the sole purpose of the bullet is to pierce and destroy her royal armor."

"Amy, can the armor withstand this attack?"

The host leaned over and asked one hand supporting his chin and the side of his face.

"No, the simple answer is no. No armor can withstand forever under this kind of attack. But that armor will last longer than any other."

She answered and Subrath looked disappointed.

"Isn't that a little too much? There are plenty of other armor types that meet or exceed the royal full set. Let's keep it real, Alice."

Trying to find a way to discredit Alice, Gen XXII asked a penetrating question.

"Who is the expert here? At least for accelerants! Please don't tell me my job."

Insisting with more vigor now Alice demanded that everyone listen as she continued.

"That armor has been specifically designed for a Falnar barrage. True there are other armors, but for this specific use case Jace has the best she can get. I predict it will last five to ten minutes under this specific type of attack."

Alice dismissed Gen XXII and exposed the AI's verbal attack.

Within the video as they watched Jace calmly braced herself against the attack while looking around.

"It looks like she has been trapped. Is this the end?"

The host asked.

"No, far from it."

"Gen XXII is correct. Even if she fails to get herself out of this trap pylons can continually absorb damage and heal. The armor just allows her to conserve energy. She would be wise to keep it as long as she can."

Alice refused to lower herself to the AI's level and acknowledged when XXII was right.

The slightly time delayed video began to show the ground under Jace's feet bubble and begin to absorb the fallen praetorians. Falnali mages had joined the attack.

It was impossible to use direct attack type magic without hitting friendly beetles so the mages resorted to control magic. Turning the ground under her feet into quicksand allowed the mages to complete the trap.

"This just became much worse. If the quicksand removes the praetorians before Jace can replenish her strength by consumption she will be overwhelmed much more quickly. Not to mention that the quicksand will also restrict her movements."

Alice's voice was monotone, just stating the facts. She introduced the lid that closed the last bit of hope off for Jace. The Falnali's trap was finished. 

"Now her situation is desperate. If she becomes mired in the sand this will be over. The Falnali will be able to pound her to death. It won't matter how strong she is. If she can't break free she will die."

Subrath intoned in a much more tense voice stirring up the audience in the process.