Fear consumed Reyna.
A bone-chilling fear.
Not even when facing the most grotesque mutants or chaos followers had she ever felt such terror. The root of this dread was the unknown.
Why had she stepped through the door, only to reappear instantly in the hall?
She searched her mind, combing through all she had learned, read, or heard, but found no explanation for such a bizarre phenomenon.
Yet, Yoren, one of the five guards present, understood. This might be akin to the spatial distortion they encountered beneath the glacier on Talon II's fortress during the exorcism.
In essence, the space around them was twisted.
"I need her alive, but only in the biological sense. Her soul may disappear," Qin Mo commanded Yoren.
Yoren nodded, then advanced toward Reyna.
Seeing no chance of escape, Reyna was forced to stand her ground. As the distance between them closed, an unsettling sensation washed over her. The psychic energy she could once command was now beyond her reach, much like the time she had been taken by the Black Ships and collared.
Losing her psychic power was a small matter; what truly troubled her were the overwhelming feelings of weakness, pain, nausea, and disgust.
Despite the discomfort, Reyna gritted her teeth and attacked, firing two shots at Yoren before swinging her power sword in a desperate slash.
This time, her bolts weren't intercepted and crushed by some unseen force but were instead dodged by Yoren.
To Reyna's eyes, Yoren's form flickered twice, evading to the left, then the right, before closing the distance to her. Though she couldn't clearly see the attack, she felt it—a searing pain in her abdomen, knocking her to the ground as the agony overwhelmed her already fragile body.
"How does it feel, Inquisitor?" Yoren asked, looking down at her curled-up figure, writhing in pain.
A scan of Reyna's condition appeared in her blurred vision, revealing that some of her implants had been critically damaged.
Yoren grabbed her by the hair, yanking her from the floor, only to throw her across the hall. She rolled twice before coming to a stop, lying motionless on the ground.
"Teleport her in place," Qin Mo ordered.
The control AI instantly calculated Reyna's position and the teleportation point. Given her immobility, even without the aid of a teleport beacon, the process was swift.
Reyna was instantly teleported a meter to the left, her lifeless eyes staring blankly at the hall's ceiling, utterly unresponsive.
"This time, there's no one to carry her with a protection beacon," Grey commented.
Reyna might have realized, in her final moments, that this was no dream. But for the others present, they had known it from the start.
In truth, it had been a plan.
Grey had first been teleported onto the Inquisition ship, sneaked into Reyna's quarters, knocked her out, and carried her back to the Underhive. The protection beacon's shield had safeguarded both Grey and the unconscious Reyna, with Grey even bringing along her weapons.
It had been a fair fight, not an execution.
"An Inquisitor is dead," Anruida looked to Qin Mo, "This could very well worsen the current situation, eventually leading us to face an Imperial invasion."
Anruida wasn't trying to be pessimistic but felt it necessary to voice his concerns, offering Qin Mo enough information for his decisions.
He had voiced similar concerns before, yet Qin Mo had still decided to proceed with Grey's plan.
"She wasn't a full-fledged Inquisitor," Qin Mo replied, his gaze fixed on Reyna's soulless form after the teleportation, "If the Imperium's high command chooses war, not even someone like Vekna could prevent it. And if they choose compromise, this woman's death won't change that."
"She was just a pest, flitting before my eyes."
Anruida nodded, agreeing that Reyna was indeed no more than a pest. Had she not orchestrated the kidnapping of recruits, she might not have met her end here.
"Fellows," Yoren suddenly spoke, "Reyna, that name sounded familiar to me. It's only now I remember why. While evading mutant spiders with some bounty hunters, one of them had a bolt weapon called Reyna!"
"Now, she's our weapon too," Qin Mo remarked as he rose and walked over to inspect Reyna's state.
Grey believed there was value in her brain, a potential treasure trove of intelligence.
But Qin Mo's ambitions went far beyond that.
"Teleport us to the fortress underground," Qin Mo commanded.
A protective shield formed around him, granting him full access to the teleportation system's computing power. In an instant, he vanished from the hall.
Along with him, the soulless Reyna disappeared as well.
The guards' task had now concluded.
"Looks like there won't be much happening for a while," Grey turned to leave the hall, "I'm heading to Talon III."
"Just remember to keep your shield up while sunbathing; you never know when you might get teleported back!" Yoren jested.
"Better to be teleported back instantly than having to endure another ship ride," Grey grumbled with a smile.
…
In a room filled with various instruments, Qin Mo placed Reyna on a table, securing her body in place before beginning surgery.
He implanted a chip into her brain and expertly restored her wounds. Once the procedure was complete, he unbound her restraints and walked to another nearby device to begin controlling the chip he had installed.
The chip activated, connecting with her brain tissue. One of the five primary AIs Qin Mo had created took residence within it.
Reyna immediately awoke, getting off the table, though her movements were clumsy at first. She stumbled and fell before gradually finding her balance. Soon, she would regain the agility she once had.
"I need you to simulate the appropriate personality based on the memories in your head," Qin Mo instructed.
Reyna's face cycled through various expressions—crying, laughing, rage, anger—before settling into normalcy. The AI controlling her had become accustomed to the body and learned to mimic her.
"What do you want, heretic?" Reyna asked.
"I need you to wear a protection beacon and teleport back to the ship. Then, resume your duties as Inquisitor. That's all," Qin Mo replied.
"Fine," Reyna raised an eyebrow and nodded, turning to find the beacon and strapping it onto herself.
The AI then teleported her to the ship floating in space.
She emerged on the ship's hangar deck and made her way to her quarters, showing no kindness to anyone she passed along the way.