This chapter takes place after Chapter 3 in SFTD.
It had been another day of no response from the Elders.
Outright anger was one thing, but this silence They were maintaining? It was somehow even worse. Jax-Rai had been left with nothing to go on, nothing said that he could do to improve himself. He had thrown himself into meditation but it wasn't the same with the absence of the Elders' energy. So now, he was pacing in front of his sarcophagus.
He had his Priests on high alert for anything he could do, an outpost he could menace, just to do something right and hopefully win back Their favor. But, assuredly, after the last mission… they were not to accompany him anymore. He could tolerate no more losses. Yes, they were created to serve him and die at his side if he wished, but… as unwilling as his pride was to say it, the loss of them pained him deeper than just losing followers. Jax didn't want to lose another to XCOM's violent tenancies.
But, undoubtedly, losing the backup of his Priests meant the potential failure of more missions, which meant even more of Their anger or silence…
The Warlock stopped in his pacing, arms crossing and hands gripping himself. There was nothing he could do. Nothing he could do right, anyhow. It was simply out of his hands. He couldn't stand this melancholy, this feeling of helplessness. It made him feel like a child.
Yet, an idea for solace came to him, even if it would be giving more into his childish tenancies in his eyes. But, did he not have his Archbishop created just for him…?
Jax sent out a quick pulse on the Network, directed at Archbishop Maria. It wasn't long before he could feel energy coalescing at the warp pad, looking up as Maria appeared from the column of light. She quickly strode over to him and bowed once she reached him. "My Warlock, what would you require of me?"
In answer, he gestured for her to step onto the platform he stood on. She did, and he averted his eyes. "Sit, Archbishop."
Maria obeyed the command without hesitation, settling into her usual meditation pose. Jax's fingers twitched and he hesitated before he did what he was about to do. He eased himself into kneeling closely in front of her, then, leaned forward. Maria seemed to recognize what he wanted, because when he shifted into leaning against her, she steadied him, embracing him. She gently took off his crown with her psionics and set it to the side, allowing him to lean his had against her chest.
Once he had worked his arms around her in return, her Solace flushed to life, sweeping over him and meeting his psionics, which softly meshed with hers. Jax closed his eyes and squeezed his Archbishop, heaving a soft sigh as her signature pulsed, gently observing the deep purple of her psionics in his mind's eye.
With the Elders' signature gone, he knew this was as close as he could get to Their presence. Yet… there was something more to it. The gentle, but strong heartbeat he could hear through her armor. The arms around him. Finally, there was something different about the way her signature meshed with his–it was fuller. It didn't seem like it was being carefully metered out for one reason or another. Dare he think it? Dare he think that it was somehow more soothing than the Elders' embrace?
He quickly latched onto a line of reasoning–Maria was tailor-made for him. Tailor-made for his psionic migraines and to be the perfect companion and symbol of power. A gift from the Elders. Perhaps, in a way, this was Their way of making him recognize that gift. He would–he swore from then on to give Maria more recognition, even if his pride balked at it. If she was a gift from Them, his pride could take a backseat.
… but did it have to? Perhaps he could do something with his pride rather than force it to be silent. Perhaps he didn't have to ignore it like he was ignored. Maybe he could put it somewhere else. His mind immediately shifted to Maria, and it felt right to think it. He could have pride in his Priests. In his Archbishop. He could have pride in the way she made him feel like he was home, in the embrace of someone who cared for him.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Maria's fingers carding through his hair, and he gave a quiet sigh. His signature gave a gentle request and hers pulsed in affirmative–soon, her hands were at work braiding his locks, tying them up. The tender contact further calmed him and he moved more into her lap when given the chance, simply enjoying the motions he could feel her performing.
Jax hoped there was not going to be anything urgent coming up soon. He was fine where he was. He was… happy.