Chapter -75: The Unspoken Truth

Outer Sector Outpost 7, Imperial Periphery

The interrogation room felt like a vacuum, all sound absorbed by the shielded walls, leaving only Investigator Thorne's final, damning question hanging in the air: "Are you a reckless fool who stumbled into a miracle? Or are you something else entirely? The truth, Lieutenant. Now."

Valerius met her unwavering gaze. His System was a fractured echo in his mind, offering no guidance, no probabilities, no perfectly crafted responses. He was stripped down to his core: his Wargod discipline, his ambition, and the cold, calculating intellect that had always served him. Denial was a crumbling fortress. He needed a new defense, one built on partial truths and carefully constructed misdirection.

"Investigator," Valerius began, his voice a carefully modulated baritone, betraying none of the turmoil within. "I am an officer of the Imperial Navy, sworn to protect its interests. During the battle, Outpost 7 faced certain destruction. My actions, however unorthodox, were taken with the sole intent of preserving this station and the lives of its personnel."

"Your intentions are not the primary subject of this inquiry, Lieutenant," Thorne cut in, her tone like ice. "Your capabilities are. The energy signature Kaelen logged, the one that disabled Frigate Two, shares resonant frequencies with the plasma core found in your possession. A core you claim you were merely 'studying'. A core that, by your own admission, you took to shielded locations during reactor shutdowns. Explain this congruence, Valerius. Explain how a High-Level Warrior, as per your record, could channel such power, or produce such an effect."

Valerius paused, choosing his words with the precision of a surgeon. "The core, as your technicians have likely confirmed, is highly unstable. Its energy output is erratic. During the battle, when I overloaded the auxiliary emitter, it's… possible… that the extreme energy surge from the outpost's own systems, combined with the emitter's catastrophic failure, created a localized sympathetic resonance with the core, even from its concealed location in my quarters. A freak occurrence, an unforeseen interaction between a failing piece of equipment and a volatile, shielded energy source nearby. The resulting 'sensor ghost' Kaelen logged could have been a product of this chaotic, unintended resonance, not a direct channeling of the core's power by myself."

It was a desperate, highly speculative explanation. He was attributing the battle anomaly to an accidental, indirect influence from the core, triggered by his conventional (though reckless) actions with the emitter. It acknowledged the core's energy signature being present in the mix, as Kaelen suggested, but distanced himself from directly wielding its power.

Kaelen, from his corner console, scoffed audibly. "Sympathetic resonance? Across that distance, through shielding, precisely targeted enough to disable a frigate's thrusters? That stretches credulity, Valerius. The harmonics were too specific, too… controlled."

"Controlled, Lieutenant Kaelen?" Valerius countered, turning his gaze to him. "Or simply a unique signature generated by a unique combination of failing systems and an unstable, exotic power source in close proximity? Battlefield sensor logs are notoriously difficult to interpret under such extreme conditions."

Lieutenant Commander Jian spoke, his analytical mind clearly dissecting Valerius's explanation. "Your hypothesis is… inventive, Lieutenant Valerius. It attempts to account for the core's energy signature being present in the anomaly without admitting to directly tapping the core. However, it doesn't explain your repeated clandestine visits to shielded locations with the core, nor your initial deception regarding its acquisition."

"My independent study of the core, as I've stated, was a severe error in judgment, Lieutenant Commander," Valerius reiterated, maintaining his contrite but firm stance on that point. "I sought to understand its instability in environments where its energy leakage wouldn't trigger standard outpost sensors or endanger personnel. My failure was in not reporting its existence immediately."

Thorne leaned back slightly, her fingers steepled. "So, your official position is that you are a High-Level Warrior who, through a combination of reckless improvisation with an outpost emitter and an entirely coincidental, indirect sympathetic resonance from an unstable plasma core you were secretly studying, managed to produce a highly specific, frigate-disabling energy phenomenon that shares characteristics with both the core and the Precursor anomaly beneath this outpost?"

Phrased like that, it sounded utterly preposterous. Valerius felt a bead of sweat trickle down his spine, but his outward expression remained one of earnest, if flawed, conviction.

"When faced with certain destruction, Investigator," Valerius said quietly, "one resorts to desperate measures. The precise chain of events, the exact physics of that moment, I cannot fully explain. I can only attest to my actions and my intentions, which were to save this outpost." He was appealing to the outcome, the success, hoping it might overshadow the implausibility of the process.

Thorne was silent for a long moment, her gaze unwavering. Jian exchanged a look with her. Kaelen watched Valerius with narrowed, unconvinced eyes. The room was thick with unspoken skepticism.

Finally, Thorne spoke. "Lieutenant Valerius, your explanations, while… creative… remain unsatisfactory and strain the limits of coincidence and probability. The matter of the plasma core, your unauthorized activities, and your improbable battlefield performance will be subject to a full Board of Inquiry by Sector Command. Until such time, you will remain confined to quarters, under guard. Your access to outpost systems will remain restricted."

She rose. "This interrogation is concluded, for now. But be assured, Lieutenant, the truth will be uncovered. Whether it is a truth you willingly provide, or one we are forced to excavate, layer by painstaking layer."

Jian and Kaelen also rose. The guards by the door stepped forward.

Valerius had survived the direct interrogation, offering a narrative that, while wildly improbable, was difficult to definitively disprove without further evidence or his own confession. He hadn't revealed his Wargod status, nor the System. But he had bought himself only time, not absolution. The weight of knowing the unspoken truth – the truth of his power, his ambition, and the ancient technology that fueled it – remained his alone, a dangerous secret in a garrison increasingly suspicious and a galaxy filled with far greater mysteries.