“You keep calling Sara the ‘First Mage’. What does that mean?” Boon asked.
“We are referring to her rank,” the grumpy one said, with a huff.
“Rank? Because she is a ship’s captain?”
“Her rank among human organizations is irrelevant. She was the first War Mage on Earth, therefore she is ranked first among them,” said one of the other councilmembers.
“Uh, so what rank am I?” Boon asked cautiously, fearing the answer.
“You are the Second Mage.”
“What does the ranking mean?” Gonders asked, stepping up beside Boon.
The grumpy pixie gave her a disapproving look, but answered her. “It means that Alicia’s word is law above all but Sara’s. If Alicia gives an order, it will be followed as law until Sara countermands that order.”
“Oh, shit,” Boon said, her eyes wide. This could turn into a clusterfuck really easily. She looked up and asked, “So the two Mages that just left… they are Third and Fourth?”
“Correct,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Shit. We need a volunteer for Cora right away,” Boon said to the council.
The answer came from behind them, and Boon and Gonders swiveled their heads to see who was speaking.
“I have already volunteered for that position. We were just waiting for you to return,” Nyx said, walking back into the chamber.
The twins were not with her, to Boon’s relief.
As if reading her mind, Nyx continued, “It seemed that you did not want to speak with the new War Mages, so I am keeping them busy, selecting from the pool of Keepers. If you wish to avoid them further, as I think you do, we should leave soon.”
“Oh, that is wonderful, thank you,” Boon said with a smile. She really did like the pixie, and believed she and Cora would get along famously. “I think we have covered everything Sara wanted us to talk about. When can you leave?”
“I am ready now,” Nyx said with a small bow.
11
Sara and Cora stood next to each other, leaning into the projection table and observing the plans that had been sent a few minutes before by the UHFC. Grimms and Baxter were on the opposite side, and Alister was lazily sprawled on Sara’s captain’s chair. The bridge was empty except for the five of them, the rest of the bridge crew being on leave.
The holo projection showed the Elif home system. The worlds of Effrit and Suttri were highlighted, with the most recent Teifen troop movements playing out around the system.
Grimms explained the situation while the simulation played. “The Elif admiral in charge of the operation,” Grimms glanced at his tablet, “Admiral Zett, has a double attack strategy in mind. He wants each attack to be led by a War-Mage-controlled ship, but he wants us to play a minimal role if possible. He has expressed his concerns that most of the fleet does not know that humans are back in the game, and our presence could cause problems.”
“How can they not know about us? Every Elif we have met didn’t seem all that surprised to see humans,” Sara said.
“The Elif we have come into contact with were warned in advance. It seems that the move to bring humans back into the war was not a universally approved idea. The late emperor was funneling resources into uplifting humanity as a sort of last resort. Only the higher-ups knew about us,” Grimms concluded.
“From what I gathered, talking with the Elif I found on the station, humans are seen as a kind of boogeyman throughout the galaxy; a monster they tell their children about to keep them in line,” Baxter added.
“Okay, but if we show up and lead the assault on Effrit and Suttri, won’t they see us there? I mean, we can’t very well lead them in battle if they don’t know we’re there,” Cora said.
“Admiral Zett is telling them that we are a secret military branch they have been working on. Essentially, we will be like their Delta team, or their Green Berets. In and out, without any actual contact with the main forces,” Grimms summated, scratching his beard, and pointedly not looking at Cora.
“So they are telling the Elif fleet that we are Elif?” Baxter inferred.
Grimms gave a gruff laugh. “That’s what I got from our conversation. The admiral made it sound like their people would be too afraid of us monsters of legend to properly concentrate on the battle.”
Everyone gave a laugh except Sara. She stroked her bottom lip in contemplation before saying, “This is what I’ve been talking about. I think we may have been misled by our benefactors from the start. What if we really are the monsters? Is there something about humanity that turns us into a terror when we get too much power? Some kind of predisposition at work?”
That sobered the rest of the team up, and they exchanged glances before Cora said, “We do have a tendency to play a heavy hand when the opportunity is presented. World wars should never have been a thing, but we were in two in less than a generation. I could see how that kind of thinking would scare the shit out of a bunch of Elif. The Teifen, though, seem just as aggressive as we are, if not more. To be honest, I think the only reason the Elif have lasted this long against them is that the Teifen have been fighting a two-front war, with the Galvox on the back side.”
“What I got from talking with Dr. Lister and her companions is that the attacking Teifen we are seeing are from the core of the system. The outer worlds are not nearly as aggressive; they just want to get along with their neighbors, and build a life for themselves,” Baxter said.
“You’re saying that these are the zealots? There are millions of them, though. I don’t know if the case can be made that these are just bad apples,” Sara said, cocking an eyebrow.
“Don’t forget we are talking about an empire that covers hundreds of systems, and has a population in the hundreds of trillions; everything we have seen from the Teifen so far wouldn’t even constitute a rounding error,” Baxter replied.
“Regardless of why they are fighting us, we need to be prepared for the worst. Though, the Elif have quite the empire backing them, as well, even after the system was taken. The numbers are just incredible; we are outmatched in all possible aspects of this conflict,” Grimms admitted, stroking his beard.
They stood in silence for a few minutes of contemplation before Grimms brought them back on track. “We should go over the attack plan,” he said decidedly, and started the simulation once again. “The Elif forces will be split into two units. The one attacking Effrit will be led by the Catagain, and the attack on Suttri will be led by the Raven. We will have twenty-seven hundred ships in our attack force, which will be coordinated by the battlecruiser Hast and her commander, Admiral Vorst,” Grimms said, bringing up a hologram of the ship in question.
It was a very aggressive ship design for the Elif. There were obvious nods to the human ship designs, having more sharp edges than rounded corners that had been the standard.
“The admiral has made it clear that they only want us to engage if needed; otherwise, he wants his own forces to take this victory,” Grimms continued. “I do believe Admiral Vorst is a bit of a speciesist, if not a complete narcissist”
Sara switched the holo back to the system view, and took in all the Teifen ships surrounding the two Elif planets. She grinned. “I suppose I don’t mind if he is a speciesist, if it means we don’t have to take the brunt of the attack.”
12
Sara kicked her feet up on the small desk in her ready room, and let out a breath of exasperation as she punched in a few more words on her tablet. Alister lifted his head off his paws, and regarded her with a raised eyebrow from the couch.
“Don’t give me that look. You’re not the one who has to do all the reports around here,” she grumbled.
“Merp?” he replied.
She frowned. “Yeah, I suppose Grimms does the brunt of the work. But it’s still a bitch. Honestly, I don’t know how he makes the time; this is beyond tedious.”
Alister gave her a smile and laid his head back down.
“God, I wis
h I was a cat. You have it so easy,” she said longingly.
Alister just flipped an ear in reply, but he still had a smile on his little, black, furry face.
The door chime sounded, and Sara practically threw her tablet down in excitement as she said, “Enter.”
The door slid open, and Boon and Gonders walked through. Silva was hopping along behind them. Then, to Sara’s amazement, a pixie in a long, brown robe with a deep hood came walking in behind Silva.
“Uh, what the fuck?” Sara asked, her mouth not quite able to close.
The small figure dropped the hood to her shoulders, and the captain immediately recognized her.
“Nyx? Is that you? How the fuck are you just walking around the ship? Aren’t you scared someone will see you?” Sara asked, jumping up and quickly sticking her head out the door.
The bridge was empty except for Mezner, who was sitting at her console, working on a report of her own.
She saw Sara stick her head out, and gave a short wave. “Is there something I can do for you, Captain?”
Sara looked down at her feet and met gazes with Nyx, who was looking up at her with a small smile on her face.
Sara turned back to Mezner and narrowed her eyes. “Did you see anything… suspicious come through here?”
Mezner wore a look of confusion as she replied, “No, just Ensign Boon and Specialist Gonders going in there. Was there something else?”
Sara looked down at Nyx, then back to Mezner, and shook her head. “No. Uh, thanks.”
“No problem, ma’am.” She looked back to her tablet and resumed typing.
Sara stepped back into the ready room and closed the door, then knelt down in front of the newcomer. “Hello, Nyx. It’s good to see you, even if no one else can.” She smiled and held out her hand.
Nyx took one of Sara’s fingers in her hand and gave it a shake. “It is good to be here, First Mage.”
Sara looked to Gonders and Boon, both of whom were still dressed in their hiking gear. “Can you two see her? Or am I going crazy?”
Boon laughed. “Of course we can see her. We brought her here.”
“Then how did Mezner not notice you?” Sara asked the blonde pixie.
“Remember when I told you about the spellform Alant and Altis gave us?” she asked, and continued once Sara nodded, “Well, it extends beyond the city. It puts a kind of shroud around us so that normal humans and mages don’t perceive us. It wears off eventually, but for a few weeks after we leave a city, we are very difficult to spot.”
“You’re invisible to humans?” Sara asked.
Alister jumped off the couch and greeted Silva, engaging in their usual romp, before coming over to Nyx. He sat in front of her, and offered his paw to shake.
Nyx took the offered paw. “Hello, Alister. It is good to see you again.” She turned to Sara and continued. “I am not invisible, I’m just not something they notice. I suppose it is possible to come across a human that is so perceptive, they might think something is there, but it is incredibly rare.”
Sara stood and put her hands on her hips. “Huh, that’s crazy. I had no idea it would be this easy to get a pixie on a ship.”
“Yeah, we were pretty worried about it ourselves,” Boon said.
Gonders rolled her eyes. “You were worried. I figured Nyx knew what she was doing.”
Boon’s jaw dropped at the statement. “That is such a load of horse poo. You were sweating like a drug smuggler when they checked our bags at the station gate.”
Gonders shrugged. “It was hot.”
“It’s a space station. It’s always the same temperature,” Boon said.
Gonders just smiled at her.
Sara rounded her desk and sat down. She avoided looking at the tablet, and instead leaned forward with her elbows on the top and gazed down at Nyx.
“So, why have you come? I though Boon was going to bring back a volunteer for Cora.”
Nyx nodded and spread her arms. “And here I am, First Mage.”
“You? I thought you had important work to do back in Alantis?” Sara asked, surprised.
“There is no greater or more important work than being a War Mage, First Mage.”
Sara narrowed her eyes. “Why do you keep calling me that?”
Nyx opened her mouth, but it was Boon who answered.
“I asked the same thing. Evidently, there is a hierarchy to War Mages. You were the first on Earth, so you are First Mage. I was second, so I’m Second Mage. Cora will be Fifth Mage, as long as we can get her to cast the Familiar spell quickly enough.”
“Knowing Cora, she will put you and me to shame with how fast she gets it,” Sara said. She switched her comm on when it beeped in her ear. “Speak of the devil. Hello, Cora, we were just talking about you.”
“Oh? I thought my ears were burning a bit. Grimms just informed me that Boon and Gonders are back; did they bring a familiar for me?” Cora asked, her voice bright and cheery.
“They did,” Sara said, smiling at Nyx.
The pixie had no idea what was being said, and kept her face neutral.
“What is it? Is it something cute, like a puppy?” she asked, laughing.
“Uh, I’m not sure.”
Cora sobered slightly. “Haven’t you seen it?”
“Uh, it doesn’t really work that way. Tell you what, why don’t you come to my ready room, and we can explain?” Sara suggested with a shrug to herself.
“Okay. Give me three minutes to put some clothes on, and I’ll be right there.” She cut off the comm.
“She’s on her way. Should we, I don’t know, hide you, or something?” Sara asked Nyx.
“I’ll be fine. I will just sit over here with Alister and Silva,” she said, indicating the couch.
True to her word, three minutes later the door opened, and Cora came in. She had gotten dressed, but Sara noted that she was wearing the bare minimum: a tank top and a pair of Sara’s yoga pants. She didn’t even have any socks or shoes on.
“Okay, Where is the little bugger?” Cora asked, excitement plain on her face.
Sara heard a tinkling laugh come from Nyx, but Cora didn’t seem to register the sound.
“Well, that’s the thing,” Sara began. “You don’t get to see her ‘til you complete the summoning. It’s kinda part of the deal. Trust me, you’ll understand after.”
Cora gave Sara a withering look, then noticed Boon and Gonders standing next to the couch. She gave a wave.
“Oh, hey. Didn’t see you there. How are you two getting on?” she asked in what Sara recognized as their mother’s ‘unexpected company’ voice.
Boon smiled at Gonders. “We’re super good.”
Gonders smiled back, but spoke to Cora. “Are you enjoying your time out of the tank?”
Cora got a faraway look on her face. “Oh, you have no idea how much.”
Sara cocked her head at that, but Cora continued before she could make a comment. “Boon, your pants look a little tight, do you want to borrow a pair?”
Gonders gave Boon’s butt a quick pat, and said, “Nope, she’s fine. They’re just right.”
Boon’s face turned as red as Sara’s and Cora’s hair, which made the twins laugh out loud.
Then Cora clapped her hands and dropped to the floor in a cross-legged position. “Okay, let’s do this thing.”
Sara was taken aback. “Just like that? I figured we would have to convince you more.”
“Nope. Grimms made a really good argument, and I have to agree with him. The sooner I do this, the faster I can adapt to the new casting. I want to be ready in a few days when we ship out for Suttri.”
“Uh, okay. Wow. I didn’t think you would be so gung-ho about this. Do you remember the spellforms?” Sara asked, coming to sit beside her sister.
Cora gave her a look like she was an idiot, and Sara found herself missing that look. “Of course I remember,” she said tartly. “I made them.”
“Okay,” Sara replied with a laugh. “I was just c
hecking.”
Cora shook out her hands, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going to do it.”
“It’s okay if it takes you a while. Boon and I both took…” Sara trailed off when Nyx began to glow with a bluish Aetheric light.
“Holy shit, is she getting it on the first try?” Boon asked incredulously.
“Show off,” Sara grumped, but there was no real heat behind the words, and everyone watched the glow around Nyx grow in intensity.
Cora slowly began to float off the ground, like Boon had on the beach; unlike Boon, Cora didn’t seem to be fighting the spell at all. In fact, she wore the most serene expression Sara had ever seen on her sister’s face.
The power built up, creating a static charge around them, and Sara was shocked several times from the carpet. A humming started up in a frequency that was felt more than heard.
Sara looked to the pixie on the couch. She was glowing so brightly that it was hard to look directly at her, but Sara wanted to see what was going to happen to her, so she continued to watch even after her eyes began to water.
Nyx stood and walked to the edge of the couch, her arms held up like she was praying, but she seemed to be growing shorter with every step. It took Sara a moment to realize the pixie wasn’t getting shorter; she was morphing into another shape altogether. By the time she had taken three steps, she fell forward, landing on all fours, and her hands grew into thick but tiny paws. Pointed ears began to sprout from her head, while her nose and mouth pushed forward into a snout.
The glow became too much for Sara to stare into. She had to look away, or she would be seeing spots for days. Just when she turned her head, there was a flash of blue, like a flash bulb, then the room was back to its normal luminosity.
Sara turned when she heard Cora squeal with delight, and clap her hands a few times.
There, on the couch, was no longer the regal, blonde pixie, but a tiny, blonde fox with giant ears.
“Oh my god, a fennec fox!” Cora said, holding her hand out to the familiar.
Nyx jumped off the couch and came forward, stopping in front of Cora—who had somehow not passed out, or fallen over, to both Sara’s and Boon’s slight irritation.
Harbinger Page 5