“Shara Daim are raised to follow strength,” Anessa answered.
“But is them fearing you the same as them knowing that you are strong?” Adrian asked.
“I don’t know any other way,” Anessa said.
“You need to find one.”
Anessa looked unsure, but Adrian could see that she had understood what he meant.
“Now, let’s talk about something more pleasant,” Adrian said, and walked over to the other side of the room where two large crates were placed against a wall. He picked up the one on the left. The crate was heavy, but with Adrian’s enhanced strength it was relatively easy to lift, and he carried it over to Anessa, who stood and looked at him askance. “I have a gift for you,” Adrian said with a smile.
“I wonder if she will like it,” Iris said in Adrian’s head.
“I think that she will,” Adrian responded.
Anessa looked with interest at the crate, and yet Adrian could see a part of her hesitate.
“What is it?” Anessa asked.
Adrian just smiled and motioned for her to open it. Anessa knelt and slowly opened the top of the crate, revealing its contents.
“Is this…?” Anessa trailed off, confused.
“The Sentinel armor, an upgraded version to replace my old one. And that one was made for you,” Adrian said, gesturing at the armor in the case.
Anessa looked at the contents of the crate, and Adrian saw that she was hesitant. “I know that you have your Shur At, which doubles as your combat armor,” Adrian said, making Anessa turn her attention back to him. “But the Shur At was never intended to be a combat armor; you copied it directly from the sphere, and the People used it as an EVA suit that could survive most any environment.”
“It has served us well,” Anessa said defensively.
“I know, but it wasn’t designed for combat. Its weapons are tools that the People used to cut samples. The only reason they are useful as weapons is because they are so advanced. The Sentinel armor, on the other hand, was designed as a combat suit. It has many features intended for combat.”
He could see Anessa thinking as she slowly reached with her hand to touch the torso plate.
“Let’s go to the training room and you can try it on,” Adrian said, hoping that she would see why the Sentinel armor was better once she put it on.
Anessa entered the training room carrying the crate in her hands, with Adrian following close behind her with his crate. She didn’t know how to react; she had never been given a gift before. She could see that Adrian was excited for her to have it, but she frankly wasn’t sure how useful the gift would be. She was used to the Shur At; it had been used by her people for a long time with much success. And yet, the warrior part of her was intrigued. The Empire had proven itself capable of devising many ingenious weapons.
Adrian put down his crate and walked over to her, gesturing for her to open her crate. Once she did, he reached down and pulled out the large chestplate.
“Let’s get this on you,” he said, and helped her put it over her head and over her upper torso. It took a bit of maneuvering with Anessa’s height, but they managed. She was forced to change her Shur At slightly so that it was completely skintight in order to put the armor on. Adrian then pulled out two pieces that were intended for her lower legs, and after them two pieces for her hands and forearms. The pieces over her hands were strange. On top of her hand there were hard metal plates, and on her palm some kind of malleable material. After they finished putting all the pieces in place, Adrian pulled out a small rectangular box and inserted it into a small slot beneath her arm.
“What is that?” Anessa asked.
“That is a cartridge containing NX-02; it is a formula devised by the People that contains concentrated energy. Injecting it will boost your strength and speed for a short while, and also replenish your energy supplies,” Adrian said.
“It replenishes your energy?” Anessa asked, surprised.
“Yes, but it can’t be used often. It isn’t as good as what your body produces on its own, so it will drain quicker when you use it. But the most important reason is that using it often or for longer periods of time will cripple you, damage your organs and Sha. That is why there is only this small dose in the suit,” Adrian answered.
Anessa looked at him one part disgusted and other impressed. The Shara Daim had been trying to figure out a way to artificially replenish the energy they used to manipulate the Sha for a long time, but never with any success. It was an impressive feat, but the fact that using it risked her crippling herself made her feel uneasy.
“I don’t know if I want to risk using it,” Anessa said.
“I don’t blame you, but it is relatively safe as long as you don’t use it often. I used it only once,” Adrian said, and glanced at her with a guilty look. “When I fought against you on Tarabat.”
Anessa’s eyes narrowed. “I knew that I felt something strange then. You were defeated, and then you retaliated with far more strength that you should’ve had left.”
“I had depleted my reserves, yes,” Adrian said. “I had no choice but to use the drug.”
Anessa looked at him incredulously. “You cheated!”
“Is there really anything that can be considered cheating when you are fighting for your life?” Adrian answered smugly. “Let’s get the armor activated,” he added before she had a chance to say anything else. “Your armor has a telepathic interface, since you don’t have an implant. It’s based on the tech that you shared with us, so it should be easy for you to use. But Iris has the manual for yours, so she should be the one to explain.”
As soon as he said the name of the AI, a hologram of a small woman on fire appeared over his shoulder. Anessa had accepted the fact that Adrian had an AI in his implant, but seeing her just appear as a hologram was still strange, just like the fact that she saw and heard everything that Adrian did.
“Alright!” Iris exclaimed as she moved to float in front of Anessa. The holographic projector had a short range of around two meters around Adrian where Iris could be projected. “First, the telepathic interface isn’t locked right now, but as soon as you make a connection, it will lock to your telepathic signature so that no one else can use it. So make a connection now.”
Anessa did as the AI asked, and searched for an interface with her mind. Once she found it, she made a connection. Immediately, her mind was filled with several triggers and words attributed to each one. “I’ve made the connection,” Anessa said.
“Great. Now, you should feel several triggers, one of which is attributed the Shara Daim word for engage. Activate it, please,” Iris said.
“I feel it,” Anessa said, and mentally pressed the trigger. Suddenly, small diamond-shaped scales started cascading over her body from the five solid parts of the armor, quickly covering her entire body. As soon as her face was covered, she noticed that she could see right through the plates now covering her face just like she could through Shur At, only then symbols started appearing over her vision. She looked in front of her to see that Adrian had put on his own new armor and was walking towards her. Above him, overlaid on her vision, was his name.
“I can see your name above you. What is this?” Anessa asked, her voice projected outside of the armor.
“Your suit has a small computer chip similar to the implants that everyone in the Empire uses. It is projecting the same thing on your HUD—or your vision—as every person in the Empire sees. Each implant can read the signature of another and display nonprivate information. We call this augmented reality, and everyone in the Empire always has something overlaid on their vision,” Iris said.