Chapter 392: Inspection Check, Rewind! (Final Part)

The officer stared at the alien’s imposing body before glancing at Y-3892.

"You didn’t call for reinforcements, did you?"

"No," Y-3892 shook his head. "I did not."

Cero wasted no time. His remaining tentacles quickly wrapped around Qinn’s neck. The grip was just loose enough not to choke him.

The tension and fear previously on Qinn’s face immediately melted off, and his wide vertical eyes narrowed, giving him a dazed countenance as if dozing off into sleep.

The "Puppeteer’s Leash" Skill had activated right away, and Cero had learned with time that it not only allowed him to order around the subject it is applied to, but also allowed for the telepathic communication of simple tasks and orders.

The order telepathically given to Qinn was to cooperate and answer truthfully.

"Why are you here?" Cero asked. "Why are you waiting for us?" He specified.

While he had tried to extract information from Y-3892, the latter proved useless. However, he had assured Cero that if anyone could answer his question, it would be Qinn.

"We are following our orders," Qinn answered simply. There wasn’t a trace of fear in his voice, another effect of the Puppeteer’s Leash that denied him even the most innate instincts. "We were ordered to remain on standby in case the Worka made it back from Serolia."

"Why?" Roka questioned as she stepped closer. "Why were you ordered to wait for us? Who ordered you to?"

A short silence ensued as Cero telepathically ordered Qinn to answer not only his questions but those of Roka and Liz as well.

"My superior officers ordered me to," Qinn explained. "As to why I was ordered to wait for you, I cannot answer as I do not know the real answer."

Because Y-3892 had, too, been ordered to cooperate, he interjected.

"But you can make an educated guess," Y-3892 argued. "If anything can understand the reasons behind our orders, it’s you."

Qinn remained silent, and Cero understood that it wasn’t in the officer’s nature to share unfounded guesses.

"Go on," Cero encouraged. "Make your best guess."

The officer broke his silence a couple of seconds later.

"We were ordered to wait for the spaceships sent by Wor, and to notify our superiors of their arrival here. It could be that reinforcements would be sent to escort the survivors back to Wor." Qinn muttered with a nod.

"I told you to cooperate, not to be overly optimistic." Cero reproached. "Your best, most realistic guess is what we want."

Qinn slowly gave a nod.

"Apart from our order to notify our superiors of your arrival," He started. "My superiors also hinted that it would be best if we could assert whether the Worka had failed or succeeded in their quest."

"In other words," Liz stared with narrow eyes. "You’re supposed to check if we managed to obtain a Tsero Crystal."

"Precisely," Qinn answered. "Whether or not you have been successful in your quest... Will probably impact how the reinforcements will treat you. At least, that’s what I think."

The group fell silent.

Cero wanted to ask for more information right away, but he could see that Qinn’s words had had a profound effect on Liz and Roka.

They had spent so long struggling for their planet and people, only to learn that the Intergalactic Union of the Living, the Syndicate itself, might not only wish for their failure and death, but would go so far as to cut the legs right out from under them.

"Go on," Liz said after swallowing hard. "How do you think those reinforcements will treat us if they found us successful?"

Qinn took a deep breath. Through the Puppeteer’s Leash Skill, Cero could tell that Qinn did not want to answer. Not because of the gravity of what he was about to say, but simply because he wasn’t certain.

"You will likely be executed on the spot," Qinn muttered. "The Tsero Crystal will be taken away, and your ship will either be destroyed or taken to a different location, probably Serolia where I assume the second ship that left Wor rests still."

Roka and Liz felt their hearts sink, but they told themselves that this was only an officer’s opinion, that it wasn’t a fact.

They had to tell themselves so, because the Syndicate had the power to wipe out entire civilizations and planets, let alone a handful of individuals deemed troublesome.

"Why...?" Roka whispered after taking a shaky breath. "Why would they execute us?"

Both she and Liz could answer that question themselves, was the shocking blow not clouding their thoughts and judgement.

"Intergalactic Union of the Living has as its central goal to promote peace throughout all of the civilizations living within the universe," Qinn explained. "One of the main components of doing so is inviting other civilizations to join the Union. By joining the Union, they accept to follow various rules, treaties, and laws. Most civilizations lack the farsight to see and understand the Union’s goal. They will refuse to follow and obey foreign laws and treaties they did not create or choose themselves."

"That’s where the Tsero Crystals come in," Cero scratched his chin. "The Union offers a Tsero Crystal to each civilization that enters said Union. Tsero Crystals can duplicate the energy that is pooled into them. One Tsero Crystal can be enough to avert a planet’s energy crisis."

"And all civilizations, at one point or another, will run into an energy crisis. A point in time where their planet’s natural resources will no longer be enough to sustain them." Qinn continued. "Tsero Crystals are the Union’s main and biggest bargaining chip."

Cero glanced at Roka and Liz. They both held their gazes to the ground.

"So you’re saying that the Union can’t allow it..." Liz muttered.

"It can’t allow other civilizations to know that it’s possible, that obtaining a Tsero Crystal by yourself is possible." Roka whispered as she clenched her fists.

Qinn slowly nodded.

"That is exactly right, I think. I do not know how the Union obtains Tsero Crystals. Perhaps they obtain them the same way you did, as I assume you did obtain one. Perhaps the Union has some other way of obtaining Tsero Crystals. Either way, no one outside of the Union is supposed to know."

A heavy silence filled the command room, and was only broken by Y-3892 a full minute later.

"But it is for the common good. It’s like that saying," Y-3892 nodded. "You have to break a few eggs, you know?"