Adam doesn’t have much trouble finding his way back to the Dark Drifters’ home in the Pleiades. He doesn’t have much trouble finding Quinnar Gentry, their leader.
“Hey Quinn,” he calls with a friendly wave.
The boisterous leader of the group - Adam isn’t sure whether to think of them as space hippies, space pirates, a street gang, or something else entirely - is talking to a few of his fellows, and breaks off at the greeting.
“Haha, it’s Adam Amari,” he says. “Concord. Right? You fooled me good, last time you and your friends came here. But fortunately all is forgiven, for I am magnanimous and merciful and all those other good things. So I am willing to consider you a friend! In that benevolent spirit, why have you come to visit us today?”
Adam grins. “I’d like to arrest you for stealing a spaceship.”
Quinn looks over his shoulder at the gaggle of ships parked on the outskirts of the Dark Drifters’ habitat. “Which one?”
Adam waves his hands quickly, indicating the misunderstanding. “No, no. It’s one you didn’t actually steal.”
The alien turns back and looks steadily down at Adam. “You wish to arrest me… for a crime I have not committed… why?”
“I want to fight against the Concordance.”
Quinn wobbles his head in confusion. “Adam Amari, I am having a very hard time deciphering your motives here.”
Over the next half-hour or so, Adam explains the problem Somber has laid on his shoulders, and his proposed solution for that problem. He feels confident as he watches Quinn’s smile steadily broaden.
At the end, Adam holds out a hand, ready to shake. “What do you say? Is it a deal?”
Quinnar Gentry extends a hand half-way, then pauses. With a glint in his eye, he asks a question. “What are my full titles?”
Oh god.
Adam thinks back, trying his best not to reveal that he’s thinking. He wants to do this without consulting his Shard, Tau. He’s asking a lot of Quinn and it’s only fair that Quinn want to know whether Adam sees him as a person or just a tool of convenience. Has he paid attention?
“You’re the Illustrious Supernova of the Universe…” he begins fitfully. Seeing Quinn’s brief spasm of disappointment jars his memory. “Most Illustrious. Sorry. I guess there’s other illustrious supernovae.”
There was another one he’s forgetting. “The right honorable Quinnar Gentry…”
Quinn sighs, with a slump of his shoulders.
It comes to him. The Void Keys - the tokens of teleportation he created - “Legendary Navigator of the Starways!”
“Close enough,” the alien concedes with a satisfied smile.
Adam winces, but smiles back. “To be fair, you only said it once. Even in school they repeat stuff we have to memorize.”
Quinn holds up a finger and looks down sternly at his guest. “You have said many things to the Champions of Night. For one so young, you are quite convinced of your own wisdom. So now it is time for your esteemed and reliable senior, namely myself, to educate you.”
He leads the way back to his personal habitat. Adam takes a seat and listens, honestly curious about what this strange man has to say.
“Titles are important. You should appreciate the value of titles. In fact, you should acquire some for yourself, and begin promoting them.”
Adam winces in a combination of humility and embarrassment. “I don’t know if I want any flashy titles, though.”
Quinnar Gentry makes a chiding sound, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Well then you should stop doing all these legendary things that merit them.”
Adam purses his lips. He can’t say Quinn is wrong. He can’t say he likes Quinn being right.
The alien Captain keeps speaking. “So I am going to teach you about titles and ostentation and putting on a show, because that is what you are proposing to do and I will not allow you to do it sloppily.”
“Let us begin with my titles. The Most Illustrious Supernova of the Universe. I earned this by using portals to bring the light of several suns onto the battlefield during a particularly, hmm, shall we say inconvenient moment for me and my people. Our enemies were seared, blinded, annoyed, et cetera et cetera.”
“Legendary Navigator of the Space-ways. I am of course responsible for finding us a home in this star cluster. The smugglers don’t want to mess with us, because I am of course the Most Illustrious Supernova of the Universe and I came with a long list of accomplishments I made up myself.”
Quinn points two fingers at Adam. “That is a lesson for you. Make yourself big in the minds of your audience. You were very self-effacing during the trial at the temple. Many of us simply did not know what to make of you. You cannot afford such confusion with the Concordance. Tell them who you want to be, and then make your best attempt to be that.”
Adam resists out of habit. “But shouldn’t people be swayed by the points I’m making at the trial? That this is wrong?”
Quinn sighs with muted impatience. “How long have you been wielding emotions as power and how have you still not realized how powerful emotions are, Adam?”
Adam leans back in his seat in shock. That… is true, isn’t it. People have logic, people can be logical, but the virtues, the feelings, the everything that isn’t rationality in peoples’ hearts still holds sway over them.
He remembers his mother’s stories about irrational customers, and his father’s tales of criminals who wouldn’t stop doing what they did no matter how little sense it made. He’s drawn such strength from his own feelings, and seen his teammates’ feelings inspire them. He always thought of this as a positive, but…
“People really will just resist what I have to say, won’t they,” he says finally. “It doesn’t matter how strong my point is.”
Quinn tut-tuts. In a flash, he summons a Continuum Sword to hand. “Your point must be strong. But you must get past their guard. So I will show you! But bear in mind I am the best swordsman in the universe, so do not hope to prevail in the face of even a simple demonstration of principles.”
He beckons, and Adam stands and conjures an energy blade. He’s unsure of how this will play out, but he wants to learn. One thing he’s pretty sure of is that Quinnar Gentry isn’t the best swordsman in the universe, though.
Quinn darts in, but telegraphs his approach, and Adam has enough talent to knock the incoming blade aside.
“First strike,” Quinn explains. “Straightforward. Obvious. You’re ready for it. Because changing your attitude means changing you. People hate to be changed, don’t they.”
“I guess,” Adam concedes.
Quinn’s blade flickers about, creating a distracting and chaotic pattern of slashes. Yet he never comes close to a real strike. It’s all just feints.
“Second strike. All style, no substance. You’re distracted for the moment, but you can see the hollowness of it. You haven’t convinced anyone, only briefly impressed them.”
Adam can see where this is going. And when Quinn brings his sword into play again, with a few smart feints and then a thrust into Adam’s guard, he can at least see it coming, even if he lacks the talent to turn it aside. No matter. Quinn isn’t making a lethal strike. The sword point veers off, and he and Adam face each other.
“Third strike. You see it now, don’t you. Get through their defenses, then the critical blow.”
Adam frowns. He lowers his sword, and looks up at Quinn with worried eyes. “I feel like that’s just phony, though. Isn’t it? I don’t want to lie to make my point. I want to bring Truth to people. And I don’t want to be a braggart or a show-off.”
Quinn tilts his head curiously. “Am I a braggart and a show-off, Adam Amari?”
Adam has to chuckle, even as his cheeks burn with embarrassment at what he says next. “I mean, kinda, yeah.”
Quinn takes absolutely no offense. His gleaming smile grows broader, in fact. “I am all those things and more! Yet you came to me originally and you come to me now. If I wasn’t those things, would I be so useful to your plans?”
Adam has to admit Quinn has a point. But he won’t admit it to anyone but himself. Still, the other man can see it in his eyes, and grins a shark-like grin.
“And that is another lesson.” The Captain straightens up. “It’s heroic and respectable, even expected, for you to boast of your exploits. Provided you have exploits, that is. You see, this isn’t just about swaying people, or opening their emotional defenses to make your point. Boasting is its own virtue.”
Adam looks up in surprise. The man has thought a surprising amount about this.
Quinn goes on. “People love their icons. Among my people, we have four kinds. The Leaves in the Wind, the Roots of the Trees, the Eaters of Others’ Meals, and the Hunting Hawks.”
Adam can hear the alien words being translated through two Shards in communion. Still, he becomes briefly curious about what life must have been life for Quinn on his home world.
“And we have two. Heroes and villains. People who are famous. Or notorious. People who uphold the status quo, and the ones who fight against it. People you hold in awe and respect for their deeds.”
Quinn nods. “Boasting of good deeds makes people believe you will perform more. Boasting of cleverness makes people expect cleverness. They will confuse themselves when they meet you, because they will try to imagine what you will do instead of watching for it. Boasting is a promise, and a shield.”
Adam takes all this in. “I guess I see your point. And I guess I could do it…”
Quinn grins his flashiest grin yet. “And would you do it if I hadn’t brought out a sword, and talked myself up, and instead just given you a dry textbook recital of propaganda techniques?”
Adam actually laughs at that. “No. I don’t think you would have been so persuasive. Okay. I get you. So, what’s my next move?”
Quinn puffs himself up, clearly satisfied with his victory. “Adam Amari, you need a better look.”
Oh - a costume. Adam realizes that’s what he means. And then–
Oh god.
Keri.
