Nothing that the lower realms made was meant to fly hundreds of lightyears without refueling. No, as far as Alin Kato was aware that was also true in the upper realms. It was possible their projection of the theoretical path of interception was incorrect, but it had been checked numerous times. The distortion beast nest was on a path towards <em>something</em>.


    Whatever the ns were had been set in motion long before. Centuries at least, possibly far longer. It was impossible to say how long it took to infuse insights into distortion beasts, because the lower realms didn’t have any ethical ideas of how they would aplish it. Thus, they were left with mere spection about what might have been done.


    So to safely send people, they had to n to go double the maximum projected distance through an area that practically had no energy- because it had no stars. Outside of the gctic ne, after a certain distance, there was practically nothing.


    It was a difficult challenge, and they’d painstakingly tested a number of designs just to see if they could function at all. They needed to maintain a high subspace coefficient to arrive at the destination in a reasonable time. Those aboard needed either supplies for the duration- or more energy to sustain themselves.


    At some point, there had been developments into scaling things down as far as possible- to the void ant level. However, it became obvious after some time that any instruments needed to record whatever was happening at the destination would likely be insufficient.


    So they had topromise with a ship manned by four humans. They’d considered Akrysians as well, as they were potentially morepact, but they often required more energy usage for simple tasks- which they couldn’t afford long term. That was one of many reasons that Bear Hug ultimately was not included- they were not necessarily able to draw upon energy while so far away from the rest of himself, not in any realm. It would only be certain at a point it was nearly toote.


    Given the length of the project, they actually considered bonding a new Assimtion cultivator to the ship- but a cultivation based connection like that wouldn’t produce energy from nowhere. So they focused on people with the technical skills to keep the ship running if everything went horribly.


    And they also had a bunch of void ants, because they were tiny and if everything else went horribly they might manage to control the rest of the ship somehow.


    Alin Kato was now seeing off the small craft, along with his apprentice. He almost wished to go himself… but he knew he wasn’t suited. “What do you think of our chances of sess?” “I am quite certain we’ve covered all foreseeable issues to the best of our ability,” his apprentice answered.


    “That doesn’t really answer anything…”


    “In that case… in front of the crew I’ll only say that it’s near a hundred percent.”


    Oh yes. Probably best to keep their morale up and all that.


    It wasn’t long before it was out of his hands- possibly for good. Though hopefully only until they got back. Theunch took ce from a specially made base at the closest point they could reasonably manage on an edge system. Now they just had to wait a few years- and hope that there weren’t too many unanticipated issues. Optimally, there would be precisely nothing in the path except the one thing they were looking for.


    -----


    The Starless Sailors journey was uneventful, for a time. Ivan found himself with little to do, as the ship''s replenishment systems required very little oversight. He was responsible for making certain the nts were growing properly- they were part of the energy recapture systems as well as a food source. They couldn’t afford to lose much of anything where they were going, even a scrap of heat.


    He found himself bing quite familiar with the rest of the crew, given the limited space. They had of course spent time together back in the lower realms, but they weren’t <em>forced</em> to live with each other constantly. Not for more than a few days at a time.


    Avram, thebat specialist- they had a decent chance of running into trouble, and Avram carried with him a variety of energy powered as well as projectile weapons, as well some melee varieties.


    Valentin was responsible if the software glitched. He could potentially bypass certain pieces of functionality with his tech cultivation, and was responsible for determining if there were errors to begin with. Though so far, they’d done nothing but fly in a straight line- if they ignored the distant pull of the gxy itself and the curvature of space. Though perhaps thetter still counted as a straight line, depending on the application.


    Next was Yeter, responsible for mechanical upkeep. They really hoped that nothing broke down, but there were spare parts and she could use her cultivation to repair things as well- if necessary. But the recement parts would be the first priority, as any usage of energy was limited.


    Then there was Departs Home. The void and queen had taken on a rather morose name, but since she was bred for this specific task- something quite normal for void ants if not for humans- it fit. Her responsibilities were to make certain the void ants were settled in. They would be feeding primarily on solid matter, minimizing their energy intake. Since there were only a couple hundred of them anyway, they wouldn’t drain the stores much unless they were trying to.


    They yed a lot of card games with physical cards, obsessively checked their various stations, and spent as much time as possible in regr old non-cultivation rted meditation. They wouldn’t easily go crazy from just a year or two of istion, but it was better to angle away from any possibility of it.


    This book''s true home is on another tform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    So far, Ivan was bored. That was great. Too bad that they hadn’t found any signals or interesting energy so far, but that was to be expected. There should be nothing out here but-


    An rm beeped.


    Ivan kind of hoped it was in error, though that would be its own issue. It took approximately two seconds for everyone to gather at the helm. “What is it?” Ivan asked.


    “Energy anomaly,” Valentin dered. “Which out here indicates… literally any sort of energy.”


    Looking at the screen, Ivan watched as additional information came in. There was an indicated direction, as well as an addition of spatial anomalies. The conclusion was likely run through a few times to be checked, but the result was somewhat anticipated.


    Distortion beasts. Maybe a whole nest.


    “Well damn,” Yeter said. “Can we avoid them?”


    All of them were capable of the basic piloting tasks. There was literally nothing to run into, so they just needed basic operational skills that everyone grew up with. Adding a diversion to the route was pretty easy, but Valentin was the one who did it.


    That could have been it. A moment of tension in the middle of a long journey. But as an hour passed by…


    Ivan jumped slightly when he felt a pinch. Departs Home had learned how to nip people’s energy without <em>consuming</em> any of it. There wasn’t much other way for her to get people’s attention. Once she saw that he had focused on her, she signed, “It is drawing closer even with the route change. The energy is increasing in intensity.”


    Ivan ryed the information. The ship’s scanners said much the same, though so far the distortion beasts were out of their own passive sensory range.


    “Should we seek them out?” Valentin asked. “Normally I would have already sent my energy but…”


    “I think it will be fine,” Avrammented. “If they areing to us… we actually don’t have to worry about conserving energy.”


    “Unless there’s another battle. Or a few,” Ivan pointed out.


    “Not at all. The main thing we have to worry about is irreparable damage,” Avram exined. “Because energy? We can get from them. Unless we don’t survive.”


    “That’s… not reassuring,” Valentinmented.


    “What are our chances?” Yeter asked.


    “I can’t say just yet,” Avram admitted. “The scans indicate they are Integration-ss powers. As an Assimtion cultivator myself, that should be a match. But I haven’t felt them directly, so…” he shrugged. Though he did begin extending his sensory energy, and the others couldn’t resist. “I’ll need to fend them off as far away as possible. Do you think it is wise to maintain our subspace speed?”


    “They can attack us anyway, right?” Yeter said. “I suppose it depends on how well <em>you</em> can fight like this. And the rest of us, but I think your range will be far superior.”


    “And I could take all of you with my hands tied behind my back,” Avram said. “No offense. But none of you are specialized in the right way.” Avram held up the first of his collection- a rifle. Though it most likely didn''t have any <em>actual</em> rifling as a beam weapon. “Anyway, I am confident fighting distortion beasts on anyyer of reality. That <em>is</em> one reason I was chosen. If we don’t have to drop out and back in, we should be far better off.”


    “I feel them now,” Ivanmented. There are more than a handful. Individually, they didn’t feel <em>that</em> strong, but he suspected there were quite a few more.


    “How do they survive out here?” Yeter asked.


    “Hibernation.” Ivan at least knew the answer to that one. “They do it between systems in normal space, isting their energy in a tight bubble. It only makes sense they would do the same here. I wonder if they are drawn by the beacon. Do they… have insights?”


    Departs Home had an answer there. “Their energy feels very standard. So at least, they practice no elemental techniques. I would have to taste it directly to say for certain.” She climbed onto Avram’s arm. “You will take me out with you. I can fight if they get close. If I get detached from the ship, trace the path as spare energy allows and if I have deviated from the trajectory leave me to die.”


    “That’s a bit excessive isn’t it?” Ivan asked.


    “Finding a single void ant in the emptiness of energyless space is an unenviable task. Especially if I fall onto a differentyer of reality. It would be selfish of me to request that you all perish looking for me.”


    “How likely is this to happen?” Valentin asked.


    “That would depend on what I have to engage and how. Hopefully, we will not need to test it.”


    “When I was a kid,” Avram said. “I wanted to be Anton.”


    “Doesn’t everyone?” Yeter asked. “Maybe not void ants.”


    “All I’m saying is that you might notice I don’t use a bow. The reason for that is… my arms are puny.”


    Though Avram said that, the description was quite off. His arms were visibly muscr, and all cultivators tempered their bodies. He had ess to advanced techniques, if he truly needed them.


    “I’m not inspired,” Ivan said. “When do I start being inspired?”


    Avram was positioned at their single airlock. There were methods for cultivators to attack from inside ships… but they were all more energy intensive in various ways. “I’m just saying… that was the biggest thing holding me back. Oh, and I didn’t like farming.”


    The distortion beasts were still a significant distance away, even if that distance was dwindling rapidly. But Avram couldn’t afford to waste time talking. He had to begin shooting. Avram couldn’t call himself an archer, but he was a pretty good sniper. Once he locked onto an enemy with his senses, he could hit them with great uracy… on differentyers of space. He was also equipped with some older Ruteran techniques that were based around energy efficiency.


    Now that he could feel the beasts… they were strong. But his biggest concern was how to make sure enough of their bits ended up near the ship so they could harvest the energy. But of course, confidence meant nothing if he couldn’t aplish anything, so he’d have to prove that to himself again as he did every battle.