A week later.
The *Soul Black Hole* entered the Talon Star System. Upon the captain's request to dock, the entire warship was immediately pulled into the port by a tractor beam.
Throughout the journey, Berant stood at the floor-to-ceiling viewport of the bridge, taking in the Talon System. A rather ordinary world—a blue planet with an almost unsettlingly intense ocean hue and a planet that seemed like a city spanning its entire surface—composed its entirety. It wasn't quite as he'd imagined; as the sector's capital, he'd expected a sky thick with ships, crowded orbital structures rotating alongside the planets.
"Welcome home, Guardian."
A holo-image of a starport official appeared on the bridge. His voice was devoid of warmth, his face expressionless, offering a welcome so lacking in sincerity it bordered on indifference.
"A transport station has been prepared for you. After you disembark, take a right from Dock Three; the station is at the end of the passageway, on the left."
Yao En was accustomed to this particular official's lukewarm reception. In the past, he'd have chided him for it, but now, like the official himself, he no longer cared.
"What's with the sour face—did someone die?" one of the crew members quipped.
"Don't mess with me," the official replied icily, tapping the control console as he continued the docking process. "My new boss is a jerk. I made one tiny mistake, and now he's making me work seventy-two hours straight."
The tractor beam securing the *Soul Black Hole* released, replaced by an energy field designed to hold the ship firmly within the port. Unmanned shuttles darted toward it, settling on the landing pad to ferry the crew.
"What mistake did you make? Blew up a ship in dock?" Yao En asked.
"Nothing that serious. I just didn't flush the toilet."
"Serves you right."
One by one, the crew powered down the ship's systems, left the bridge, and boarded the shuttle for transport to the port interior.
The crew of the *Soul Black Hole* were all soulless ones. As they emerged into the port, pedestrians pinched their noses, detoured widely around them, or cast looks of open disdain. Berant felt uncomfortable; he'd assumed the Talon Star System didn't share the widespread prejudice against soulless ones.
Thankfully, the other crew members weren't fazed; they'd learned why normal people harbored such bias against them.
Along the way to the transport station, some shops lined the route. The ship's communications officer darted over to buy two bags of snacks, though the shopkeeper scowled, refusing to take a single coin.
Returning, the officer distributed the snacks among the crew, even offering one to the ironborn.
"…" Resurgence lowered its gaze to the snack offered to it, then shifted its two red-lit eyes to the communications officer's face.
"This Talon System…" Berant said as he came alongside Yao En, "seems fairly egalitarian."
"How do you mean?" Yao En asked.
"You're a Guardian, yet that official didn't address you with any special respect or deference…you get what I'm saying."
"Hah." Yao En shook his head with a chuckle. "That guy is the nephew of the head of Talon II's knightly house. It's only out of respect for his uncle that I tolerate him."
The group finally reached the transport station. Yao En handed Berant over to the communications officer, then headed to the teleportation platform with Resurgence.
"Destination set: Talon I Research Facility."
"This area is restricted; please verify your identity, Guardian Yao En."
Allowing the platform scanner to identify him, Yao En turned to the communications officer. "Take this newcomer to District Thirteen and make sure he's settled."
"Will do," the officer nodded.
In the blink of an eye, Yao En and Resurgence disappeared from the platform.
…
"Though you're an ironborn, that doesn't mean you can appear before the Lord of Talon without paying proper respect."
"He values courtesy, so I hope you'll be a polite ironborn."
Yao En stepped off the research facility's teleportation platform. While still traversing dimensional space, he'd briefed Resurgence on the etiquette expected before Qin Mo. Though Resurgence found the elaborate customs of carbon-based beings pointless, it listened carefully.
The procedure involved passing through several security checks before reaching the facility's top level to report the events on Baal. However, as Yao En descended from the platform, he was surprised to find Qin Mo waiting for him.
"Governor." Yao En saluted instantly.
Resurgence followed suit.
"Excellent work. Was everything successful?" Qin Mo inquired.
"Very successful. Bellona is dead, and the soulless one who was with her, I brought him back," Yao En began his report. "It was actually that soulless one who killed her. A Purist Judge was even more intent on seeing Bellona dead than we were."
"Bellona truly was vile."
"Resurgence's monitoring programs recorded her telling her apprentice about her plans upon reaching Talon."
"…"
Qin Mo kept his gaze fixed on Resurgence throughout Yao En's account, a smile tugging at his lips, and his eyes glinting with barely-contained enthusiasm, showing little concern for Bellona's demise.
Resurgence wanted to interrupt, to show that it had recorded a holographic replay of the entire incident, but it recalled Yao En's warning: the Lord of Talon appreciates respectful ironborn. So it stood quietly, waiting for Yao En to finish.
"She's dead—that's all that matters," Qin Mo said at last, cutting off Yao En's report. "Take a few days' rest on Talon III, then contact Anrida; he'll need your assistance."
"Yes." Yao En saluted respectfully and returned to the teleportation platform.
A flash of blue light, and he was back in the starport.
Now, only Resurgence stood before Qin Mo.
Qin Mo observed it intently, his smile growing broader. "A perfect ironborn, strong in combat and endowed with intelligence…you are a masterpiece, one of three creations that fill me with pride: dimensional teleportation, the Guardians, and you—the perfect ironborn."
Hearing that it filled Qin Mo with pride, Resurgence's data processing detected a surge of unfamiliar data—a complex, massive stream that could only be described with one word: happiness.
Resurgence recalled the words of its core AI aboard the mothership, feeling an intense urge to hear an alternative answer from Qin Mo. "The core AI said I'm its creation…"
"Don't listen to it. When it decided to develop a stronger ironborn, it consulted me. I personally designed your system," Qin Mo said, admiring his creation. "You only use a portion of its computing power—nothing more. If I'd been present in the Styx System at the time, I would've crafted your intelligence myself."
"I knew it." Resurgence nodded, visibly moved.
"Come, let me examine you closely," Qin Mo said, turning to signal Resurgence to follow.