Chapter -76: The Investigator's Gambit.

Outer Sector Outpost 7, Imperial Periphery

Confined. The word echoed in the sterile silence of Valerius's quarters. The door remained sealed, two Navy guards an impassive presence outside. His command overrides were gone, his sidearm confiscated. The interrogation with Investigator Thorne and Lieutenant Commander Jian had stripped away his carefully constructed facade, leaving him exposed, his explanations for the plasma core and his battlefield feats hanging by the thinnest threads of implausibility.

He paced the small room, a caged wolf. His Wargod energy, though stable, churned with restless frustration. The System, his most vital ally, remained a fractured ruin, its slow self-repair a torment.

<>

Ten hours for even basic diagnostics. It was an eternity he might not have. Thorne had promised a full Board of Inquiry. That meant intense scrutiny, expert interrogators, and potentially psych-evaluators trained to detect deception. His current narrative wouldn't survive that.

He extended his impaired Spatial Sense, a constant, cautious probe. He felt the rhythmic patrol of the guards, the low hum of the outpost's power grid, the distant, complex energy signatures of the Navy warships in orbit. He tried to reach further, towards the secure labs where the unstable plasma core was undoubtedly undergoing intense analysis, but his range was too limited, the details too fuzzy without the System's amplification.

Meanwhile, in a temporary command office established by the Navy, Investigator Thorne reviewed the preliminary findings on the confiscated plasma core with Lieutenant Commander Jian. Lieutenant Kaelen was present, his earlier triumph replaced by a focused, almost obsessive intensity as he cross-referenced data on his console.

"The core is definitely not standard Syndicate tech, Investigator," a lead Navy technician reported via secure comm-link. "The containment matrix, though failing, shows design principles that are… unusual. Almost archaic in some respects, yet incredibly efficient in its energy density. We've detected trace elements within its plasma stream that don't match any known stellar or synthetic isotopes in our databases."

"Exotic matter?" Thorne queried, her eyes sharp.

"Potentially, Investigator," the technician confirmed. "Or at least, matter processed through an unknown technological method. And Lieutenant Kaelen was correct – there are definite signs of recent, forceful energy extraction. The micro-fractures in the regulation conduits are consistent with tapping the core without proper interface protocols, likely causing further degradation to the containment field."

Kaelen looked up. "And the resonant frequencies, Chief? Did you find the correlation with the Frigate Two incident's energy signature?"

The technician hesitated. "The core's base plasma resonance is incredibly complex, Lieutenant. When we filter for high-stress discharge through a constricting medium – simulating an emitter overload – there are… similarities to the harmonics you logged. It's not a perfect match, the core's signature is far richer, more powerful. But the underlying wave patterns, the subspace distortion characteristics… there's a definite familial resemblance. It's plausible that the battle anomaly was a highly distorted, attenuated echo of this core's power."

Thorne's gaze was unreadable. "Plausible, Chief. But Valerius maintains he is only a High-Level Warrior. Channeling this core, even inefficiently, would require Wargod-level control, at minimum, to survive the feedback, let alone direct it."

Jian spoke, his tone analytical. "His explanation of 'sympathetic resonance' is… imaginative, but lacks any scientific basis. He is clearly hiding his true capabilities, or the true origin and purpose of this core."

"Or both," Thorne stated flatly. "He's intelligent, disciplined, and a consummate liar. Standard interrogation techniques will likely yield little more than further obfuscation." She paused, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "Kaelen, your theory about the resonance link between the outpost anomaly, the Omega signal on Moon 7C, and the battle incident… you believe Valerius somehow interacted with or was influenced by these energies?"

"I believe, Investigator," Kaelen said carefully, "that Lieutenant Valerius possesses capabilities or knowledge related to these unconventional energies that he is not disclosing. The 'sensor ghost' was too precise, too effective, to be accidental. Whether he directly channeled the core, or whether the core somehow amplified a latent ability, or even if he was influenced by the outpost anomaly itself… he is a variable that doesn't fit the standard equation."

Thorne nodded slowly. "A variable we need to solve." She looked at Jian. "The direct approach has yielded partial admissions but significant denial. Perhaps an indirect approach is warranted. The deep scan beneath the outpost is still on hold pending analysis of the Moon 7C data and repair assessments for Scanner Unit Two's replacement components. But the anomaly here… it reacted to our probe. It's aware."

A new glint appeared in her eyes. "Jian, what if we were to… stimulate the outpost anomaly again? Not with a full scanner probe, but with a localized, controlled energy pulse directed towards its nexus? Something to elicit a minor response, a detectable energy fluctuation."

Jian frowned. "The risk, Investigator? After what happened to Unit Two?"

"A controlled pulse, Lieutenant Commander," Thorne emphasized. "Much lower intensity. We wouldn't be trying to scan it, merely to… get its attention. And we would ensure Lieutenant Valerius is in a position to observe any effects, perhaps even experience them directly. Under monitored conditions, of course."

Kaelen's eyes widened slightly as he grasped her intent. Jian looked thoughtful.

"You believe his reaction to the anomaly's activity might reveal something?" Jian asked.

"People under extreme, unexpected pressure sometimes reveal truths they would otherwise conceal," Thorne said, a hint of a predatory smile touching her lips. "Especially individuals who believe they are in control. If Valerius is connected to these strange energies, if he does possess undisclosed abilities, perhaps a direct, undeniable manifestation from the anomaly itself will force his hand, or at least crack his composure."

It was a dangerous gambit, deliberately poking a powerful, unknown entity to pressure a suspected operative.

Back in his quarters, Valerius felt a sudden, inexplicable chill despite the regulated temperature. His impaired Spatial Sense picked up no immediate threat, but a deep-seated Wargod instinct, honed by countless life-or-death encounters the System had guided him through, screamed a silent warning. Something was about to change. The investigators were preparing a new move, and he felt, with a certainty that transcended his crippled senses, that it would be aimed directly at him.