... Evil?

The Aeteline has never spoken to her. Never encouraged her. Never... changed her, not like the Kathresis. The Kathresis was cold. She could feel its coldness soaking into her bones. It had a history. A people. An agenda. The Aeteline had none of that.

The Aeteline never spoke.

On the contrary it felt... empty, here. Like the part of the God that was supposed to be alive had never been born. There was so much space here, so much hot empty void that she needed to stretch herself to cover it. A protogalaxy, a nebula of unformed heat and dust and gravity. That's why it was the perfect machine. It had no will of its own. It made it's will out of its owner's will. No filter between the pilot and perfect synchronization. There was no partnership and there didn't need to be. It would do anything she wanted. She just had to be everything it was.

Starting with silence.

... Where in the Aeteline were the words to speak? She had never cause to reach for them before. Never fought someone who was not an Outsider. But as it spoke not to her it would speak not to everyone else. What purpose would words serve? As Akaithon said, she only spoke one language. She had no other choice.

And here was her answer: small arms fire. The Kathresis was a fragile machine, stealth plating easily scratched, shallow armour easily chipped and broken. Point defense machine guns, ordinarily used to intercept missile swarms, activate and spray the area around the Kathresis with sheer volume of fire. As the flak guns purr she stands with shield ready, prepared entirely to dodge and withdraw while making no attempt at counterattack. 

Akaithon, did you never realize the utility of hitscan weaponry? You wore a titan to whom these impacts would be less than a fleabite. Now you are a mouse and the fleas will eat you alive. 

This was not even something she had needed to prepare especially for the Kathresis. The Aeteline simply had every tool she could possibly need already. Did the Kathresis [i]really [/i]show you how to defeat her, Akaithon? She is worried it may have lied to you. After all, how could it suggest strategy when it was missing its Tactics?