At its current speed, the ship flown by Tor would likely take several hours to get anywhere relevant. Varghese made his way closer, wary of potential tricks. However, there were no changes from the ship as he approached- and more relevantly, their barriers were down. He could sense everything contained within from the people to their supplies.


    Perhaps they might have something hidden in storage pockets, but those would be less readily deployable. Varghese got close enough to reach out with his energy and start up a conversation. “You know we are at war, don’t you?”


    “Wee as a diplomatic vessel,” the man replied quickly, but Varghese was d to hear some nervousness in his voice. “Unfortunately, we don’t have clear protocols between us so we could only manage this.”


    “You certainly didn’t try to hide,” Varghese agreed. “Which is why you still remain. So tell me, why are you here?”


    “We wish to exchange information.”


    “On behalf of who? The Trigold Cluster? The Shimmering Spears?”


    “On behalf of ourselves. One branch of the Shimmering Spears in the lower realms, and others simrly situated.”


    “Very well,” Varghese said. “Change course as I direct. There is a mining outpost where we can speak.”


    The outpost in question was upon an asteroid, and due to be dismantled- though not urgently. Perhaps Varghese should suggest they keep a simr outpost long term. One that was able to sustain life, but without anything important to lose.


    Instead of making them wait, Varghese continued the conversation after the adjusted heading. “So what, specifically, are you here for?”


    “It is in regards to the destruction of Zunrose. You… your alliance wasn’t responsible for that, were they?” It was phrased as a question, but also as a statement.


    “I do believe Anton already told you about that. We are not. We were trying to take over the system the old fashioned way. And personally, I would never want to see a star destroyed. Even one of our enemies.”


    “What do you know about… worldhearts?” Tor asked.


    Varghese nodded. “Very little, except that each upied tends to develop one. It is not something that can be retrieved easily. And it appears that Mazleth had one… the rtively small form of which is now located upon the Zunrose. There was a little scuffle there, as we were finding out this information.”


    “I heard several Life Transformation cultivators died…”


    “Not many,pared to all of those on Zunrose. Plus, apparently, those who fled. Though we can’t confirm that to be true.”


    “It is still not a trivial matter,” the man said. “But it does make me worry that we have enemies that far outss us.”


    Varghese didn’t have to answer that to confirm his words. Here, in this system, it was quite obvious he was something more than a Life Transformation cultivator. “Perhaps in straightforwardbat. But the tactics your… that the Trigold Cluster has employed so far are less than such. The beginning of this war came about as a virulent mold was deposited on ours and traced back to your systems.”


    “... What?” Tor shook his head. “The first we heard about it was your attacks on our borders. But I’m not surprised there was… other deception. Frankly, the damage your people have caused is nothing, if the star was not your doing.”


    “It wasn’t.”


    “Why did you… attune to what remained?”


    “To learn more about what happened,” Varghese said. “I much preferred it when it was whole.” Though he had to admit it had very interesting properties as it was. But that was only in the same way as looking at a diseased limb was <em>interesting</em>. The star itself was not at fault, but it was still unpleasant.


    They soonnded on the mining base. It wasn’t much, but at least their ship was ‘stationary’. Perhaps they might not want that, but it made Varghese much morefortable. He hadn’t stopped feeling around the system for concealed individuals, but his interactions with the captain so far indicated he was truthful, to the extent he had spoken.


    Once they were inside and able to speak face to face, Varghese could get an even better read on the man. He was tall and strong- though few cultivators <em>weren’t</em> strong. He left his spear on the ship, which was a nice gesture. Varghese kept his own de on him, however. Not that he would likely need it even if it shoulde to blows.


    “The great master Anton…” Tor began awkwardly.


    “Just call him Anton. Or Sect Head, since that is his title in the Order of One Hundred Stars.”


    The spearman nodded. “Sect Head Anton, then. He was saying that my cultivation as a Shimmering Spear was…cking? Do you agree with his assessment?”


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    “I don’t believe it was anything to do with your understanding of what you’ve been taught,” Varghese said. “From my understanding… you’ve probably been given an iplete technique.”


    “But… why?”


    “To keep you weak, obviously,” Varghese said. “Though that’s just spection, based on previous experiences. Clearly you’re not the ones with knowledge of the inner workings of the operations here, however.”


    “I thought I was close,” Tor said. “But clearly not. It was one thing to… deal with outsiders,” the man said, clearly not wanting to bring up that topic. “It is quite another to destroy our own people for trivial resources.”


    “Not trivial. Just small in quantity. Certain types of people would say the value of a worldheart is equivalent to all of the lives involved. Not myself, though,” Varghese admitted. “But it is a material difficult to surpass, based on our understanding after iming one such creation from a foe. We haven’t tried making anything more, for obvious reasons.”


    “I would have easily epted your people seeking it out,” Tor said. “But… it would have been quite difficult to slip it into the vaults of the Void Scrying Sect. And then there is the way they tried to cover up what happened. I am quite certain we could go look in their vaults now and not find the worldheart, but I am nearly as certain that it was there. I had not expected to trust in outsiders over our own.” He frowned, “But neither did I expect to survive encounters with one so strong.”


    “Sect Head Anton would likely wish you to know your own temperament was responsible for your survival. Had the circumstances been different…” Varghese shrugged. “So, what else did you wish to know?”


    “If possible… detailed information on what information was found. Not necessarily how it was found,” Tor held up his hands. “Just the connections. Was it just the Void Scrying Sect involved?”


    Varghese frowned. “Even sharing that information couldpromise something. Why should we share this information?” He wasn’t actually opposed, but he needed some form ofmitment.


    “I think it’s simple enough. We are at war. If this can be proven… support will be withdrawn from certain areas. More than just my branch of the Shimmering Spears, but others who are simrly inclined.”


    “You won’t stand against these people who wiped out one of your group’s own systems?” Varghese asked.


    “Do you think that we <em>could</em>?” Tor asked in turn. “Furthermore… we have no reason to believe you would not mean the rest of us harm.”


    “We don’t have to annihte all of you,” Varghese said, surprised to be saying the words to a member of the Trigold Cluster. Or at least, an associate. “Though we can’t have any mercy on those responsible for the many attempts to wipe out entireary poptions of our own.”


    Tor shook his head. “I still can’t promise anything. If it was a single isted sect, we would excise them from our midst. But I can’t see this happening without wider support, on some level. So we can do little but stay out of your way.”


    Varghese mostly believed him. Or perhaps it was that he fully believed he intended to do as he said, but also that they might still end up as enemies in the future. Still, it was better than nothing. “I will consult with others on what we will share with you,” Varghese said. “We might ask for something in return. Other information. Not topromise your own sects, but the Void Scrying Sect. And about those you would expect to be colluding with them. How long do you have supplies for?”


    “Several more months. Perhaps a year, if we stretch things…”


    “We’ll provide food and water,” Varghese dered. It was easy enough to pay for a single shipful of people to survive. “Basic necessities. You will remain here until an agreement of some sort is reached.”


    “We won’t be… restrained?” Tor asked.


    “That’s unnecessary,” Varghese said. “You can’t go anywhere important without us knowing.” And the facility would actually be monitoring their actions within. Technological recordings would be much more difficult for them to predict, so they might pick up some useful tidbits of information from months of a ship’s crew chatting.


    -----


    All of the information they were going to share wasbed through forpromising tidbits. The void ants had already been revealed, which was unfortunate, but they still had other secrets. Like stealth ships of their own, long distance scans, and various methods of recording visual information.


    Ultimately they prepared handwritten copies of notes, as the originals required ipatible technology. Printed copies might even reveal more than intended about their capabilities. At least they didn’t seem to understand much, as the crew members Tor brought with him had not even understood the light fixtures at first. They were easy enough to intuit how to activate, but they stillmented about actual mechanics with natural energy being less involved.


    Along with that, they produced a moreplete copy of the Shimmering Spear technique manuals from previously seized versions. That was not to make Tor or hispanions stronger, but to help convince them they were being treated like second ss citizens, at best. Some people were hoping for an uprising within the borders of the Lower Reams Trigold. That was unlikely, but they could hope.


    They hadn’t managed to gain any sort of concrete information about how the system’s destruction and worldheart acquisition had been nned, but they <em>could</em> reveal what their sensors had picked up of the fleet of ships, and specifically the proportions from various sects. The intention was for Tor to mention how many ships had been lost to each sect involved, hopefully swaying more to his side… or at least against whoever was directly involved. They were <em>currently</em> assumed to be the same ones responsible for the various bioweapon attacks.


    Both the Lower Realms Alliance and the Shining Cooperative were doing their best to keep information from getting to the Trigold cultivators, including rooting out spies. It was unfortunate that there was anyone who would even consider it. Threats to family or friends were not something feasible, so it was mainly greed at fault. And among the whole of their poptions, there only had to be a few foolish individuals picked out. Perhaps there had been others, but they were still trying to figure out how they had been contacted to begin with.


    Then again, with diviners involved a few spies in unimportant ces might not matter- and critical locations were carefully vetted. Still better not to let any remain among them, but they couldn’t devote <em>too</em> many resources to it either.


    Varghese was d for the situation, as it meant some progression in the war. Stagnation might mean fewer deaths in the short term, but it tied up resources and might give the Trigold forces a chance to n something horrible. Varghese fully believed they couldn’t win the war, but they could kill a lot of people on the way out if they didn’t properly prevent it.