Quoted By:
"Here's the kind of work a Far Hand psion can expect to do as part of Barter's crew," you address the crowd of acolytes in the finest lecture voice you can muster. "Rescue and recovery. Remote handling of hazardous materials. EVA object retrieval. And those are just the simplest and most common tasks. And I am specifying Far Hand here because that's the only thing Valsen's been teaching you, yeah?"
There are one or two hesitant nods, though most of them are simply too confused to react. But hey, at least they're not attacking you yet.
"Figures he would. Can only teach what you know, after all. Thing is, some of you have been making a lot less progress than others, yeah? Maybe even started feeling like you're just dumb or useless for not understanding things quickly enough," there is a barely audible murmur of assent. "Well here's the thing, there are multiple psionic paths you can follow, and just like with everything else in life, you'll be better at some than at others. It's why psions tend to organize themselves into covens: cause one nitwit with delusions of grandeur," you jerk your thumb back at Valsen," can't possibly give so many people the education they actually need."
You advance on the cult leader, who reflexively attempts to crawl away, crying out in slurred protest as you easily catch up to him, grab him by the hair, and drag him up to present his bleeding, ruined face to the crowd.
"So here's my advice: go to ProfSec, tell them your psionic abilities have awoken, tell them you heard Barter hires people like you. They'll give you a proper evaluation, test your aptitude, put you in touch with a mentor who's actually best for you. Or you can continue to throw your lot in with this man," you shake Valsen, "who broke our rules and is now trying to break the bet we made simply because he lost."
Valsen tries to protest and at the same time you sense a buildup of psionic energy around him, so you plant your foot against the back of his thigh, just under the knee, and shove, at the same time releasing your grip on his hair - causing him to slam face-first into the floor.
"Or you can fight me too, the way he wants you. And get the same reward as him."
You grab Valsen by his intact hand, yank it up behind him, place your foot on his back and, with a single, firm twist, snap several bones at once. The sound alone causes the watching acolytes to wince, and the scream that follows causes a few to start backing away.
"Your choice, really," you say, releasing Valsen's ruined limb.
You then stare them down, shifting your gaze from one to the next, locking eyes with them, daring them to say something, to disagree, to <span class="mu-i">dare</span> to so much as show a hint of aggression.
None of them do. They look intimidated. Fearful. A few, outright nauseous at the level of violence you've displayed.
"Go. Leave," you wave them off. "Head home, think on what you were told. And make the right decision that will actually improve your lives."
(cont)
