“Did we just make a black hole?”
Chapter 29
The Raven dropped out of warp in the outer Sol System. The auto repair function had been busy the last few warps, repairing damage as they traveled. By the time they made two long jumps on approach to Earth, the ship was good as new.
They were given permission to dock at the orbital station and wait for an escort for the prince. The station was called ‘Xanadu’, even though its official name was John Glenn Space Research… Something or Other. To tell the truth, Grimms couldn't remember the official name, because even on written orders, the station was referred to as ‘Xanadu’.
Connors brought them in the last few thousand kilometers, swinging around the huge, cylindrical station in low Earth orbit. There were a large number of warships attached to the station, their long, wedge-like hulls sticking out like thorns.
Once docked, Grimms and Sir Reitus made their way through the ship’s corridors to meet Prince DeSolin and his guards in the docking bay.
“Have you made any progress with the prisoner?” Grimms asked the brooding Elif as they walked.
Sir Reitus shook his head. “Not yet. He is keeping his mouth shut. I don't understand; he has been a loyal guard for years… I find it hard to believe that he is a traitor.”
“Have you tried truth serum or other drugs? I know your people don't like to use them, but I feel like this may be an exception,” Grimms said, stepping through the double doors of the bay.
The bay was mostly empty, with only a few Marines at post in their armor, and a tightly packed group of Elif in their battlesuits. Their armor was broken down for travel, the plates folded over one another to create a tight package that could be loaded onto small carts.
In the center of the Elif guards was the small figure of the prince. He stood with his arms crossed, but his eyes were wide with worry.
“I have considered drugs, but for now he is restrained and fitted with an Aether dampener. I regret that I was not able to get the information from him,” Sir Reitus said darkly.
The prince saw them approaching and, to Grimms’ surprise, looked worried at his head of guard’s expression, as if the thunderstorm brewing there was for him. The guards surrounding the prince parted, allowing the two men to approach.
Sir Reitus bowed at the waist. “My prince, I have been interrogating the traitor, but have not been able to gain any knowledge; I apologize.”
The prince nearly flinched at the bow. “Oh. That’s quite all right, Reitus. It is of no concern; we have arrived and, against all odds, we have survived.”
“Your Highness, I request that I be allowed to stay aboard the Raven so that I might ferret out the traitor’s motives. I feel he represents a danger to you and the empire that needs to be addressed,” he pressed, head still bowed.
The prince didn't seem to know what to do with that, and started and stopped several times before saying, “I suppose that would be for the best. The embassy is well-guarded. However, I wish for you to return as soon as you have any information. Don't take too long.”
Grimms felt like the prince was not being quite as princely as he should be. Before his suspicions got out of control, he reminded himself that, even though he looked like a young adult, the prince was basically a child, and would not be great at decisive action.
“I thank you, my Prince. I shall endeavor to protect the empire in whatever way I can,” Sir Reitus said solemnly, while slapping his fist to his heart in salute.
The bay door slid open to show a breathtaking view of Earth and the space beyond, while the plasma shielding held in the atmosphere. A large Elif shuttle rose over the lip of the bay and, with practiced ease, slipped through the shielding. The contrast of silence to the chest-thumping thrum of gravitic engines as the shuttle entered the sudden atmosphere of the bay was enough to make the prince take a half step back in fear. None of his guards seemed to notice—or at least, they acted as such for his sake.
Obviously, this child prince has not spent much time in a ship. He’s probably been cloistered in his palace his entire life. I should cut him some slack, considering how terrifying this all is to him…
The shuttle landed, the belly opened up, and a ramp was extended. An Elif female hurried down the ramp first, followed closely by a male. They both wore robes of office, and Grimms recognized the woman as Effrit’s ambassador to Earth. She was the one always on the news feeds, singing the praises of the Elif and their great union with humanity.
She seems to have forgotten her ancient history, Grimms thought bitterly, then admonished himself. It was not these Elif; it was their ancestors. Still, they knew the truth, and led us on. But there are those like Sir Reitus; honorable men who fight for the good of all. I can get behind Elif like him.
“My Lord,” the ambassador said in a pleasant, melodic voice, bowing low. “I am Deria Hestis, Ambassador to Earth. I am honored, and relieved that you have made it here. Please let us keep you safe so that you may rise to your throne and lead us all to victory.”
The prince stepped forward and embraced the ambassador, as was the Elif's customary greeting. “I thank you for your diligent service to the empire. I gladly accept your offer,” he said in what Grimms recognized as a formal exchange of sorts.
The prince turned back to Colonel Grimms. “I thank you for my rescue. The empire is indebted to you,” he said with a slight bow of his head.
Grimms gave him a smile and a salute. “It was our pleasure to help, Prince DeSolin.”
Then the prince and his retinue turned and boarded the shuttle. They were out of the bay in less than a minute, the shuttle burning hard for Earth.
“I thank you for letting me continue my investigation with the traitor. I wish to find the answers, for our sake and yours,” Sir Reitus said, turning and bowing to Grimms.
In truth, Grimms had no idea that he’d want to stay, and it irked him slightly that the knight had not let him know ahead of time, but he knew it was for the best. His crew was not prepared to deal with the Elif traitor at the moment.
“It is not a problem. Please, don't let me keep you; my crew is returning from leave, and there is a resupply shuttle on the way,” Grimms said with a tight smile.
“Thank you, I shall return to my duties at once, Colonel.” He sketched another bow before turning and marching from the bay.
On his way out, he passed by Gonders coming in. They exchanged quick greetings, and then she saw Grimms and hurried over. Unlike Grimms, in his uniform, she was dressed in her black, form-fitting battlesuit.
She gave him a salute. “Sir, I’m glad I caught you.”
Grimms returned the salute. “What can I do for you, Specialist?”
Gonders checked her arm tablet. “There is an inbound shuttle carrying some special ordnance from UHF Command, along with our supplies. They just sent me a message, wondering where they should store them. I’m guessing they will message you as well, but I didn't know how to answer.”
Grimms frowned; he hadn’t heard anything, but he had been busy this morning. He checked his messages, saw the one in question, and opened it up to read the specs. His eyebrows rose higher with every word.
“Is this correct? These are unbelievable,” he said excitedly, forgetting momentarily that he was talking to a specialist.
“Oh, um, I guess, sir. I don't know why they would lie about them,” Gonders said. She was unsure how to respond, and her light brown skin flushed to a light maroon. She decided now was a good time to become busy with something. As Grimms continued to read, she redid her ponytail, pulling back her long, black hair.
Grimms smiled at her embarrassment of his excitement, and said, “Sorry, but with something this powerful, we might stand a chance against the Teifen. When did the R&D guys come up with this?” he wondered out loud, not expecting an answer.
“I heard that the plans came from the core that Captain Sara took with her to the debriefings. The word is the molecular printers are churning out all kinds of
new things; I guess the Elif only had the plans for a few artifacts from the old days,” Gonders said with bright smile. “With these, we could take out a cruiser in a few shots.”
“Hmm, yeah. This says they can be fitted in a special slug for the gauss cannons, or used as a warhead on a missile. We don't have missiles, so slugs it is.” A thought hit him, and he activated his comm. “Captain Cora, are you there?”
Cora’s voice came over his comm instantly. “Where else would I be, Grimms?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to interrupt your television viewing time,” he teased, making Gonders raise an eyebrow at the familiar tone he used.
“Har har. What can I do for you?” she replied dryly.
“Have you seen the specs on these new ordnances the fleet is sending us?” he asked, as Gonders stood watching the bay door for the incoming shuttle.
“Yes. I just got the message. These weapons are vicious,” she said.
“If they are supposed to be used in the gauss slugs, is there a place to store them for the auto loaders?” he asked, making Gonders tilt her head in consideration before nodding.
“Hang on,” Cora said, going quiet for a few beats. “Well, I’ll be damned. There sure is. We need to fit them in the slugs first, but those should be a quick print.”
“So where should Gonders put the ordinance?”
“I’ll let her know, and then I’ll start manufacturing the slugs,” Cora said.
A message beeped on Gonders’ tablet, and she gave it a quick read, “I’ve got it, sir. Cora wants me to take them to the printer. Thank you, sir.”
Grimms gave her a nod and started for the door, but before he got three steps, his comm buzzed. With a sigh he answered, “This is Grimms.”
“Sir, we have a communication from the UHFC. They are trying to contact Captain Sara, but are unable to raise her. They want to know if we know of her location, or if we are able to contact her,” Mezner said through the comm channel.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Cora said, still listening in.
Mezner sounded surprised. “Oh, Captain. Thank you. They said they had a few questions about the Familiar spell.”
“I’ll try and raise her, but maybe I can help them out in the meantime. Send me the channel, Mezner,” Cora said.
“Do you still need me on this, Captain?” Grimms asked, taking a steadying breath. It’s always something.
“I’ve got this, Grimms,” Cora answered.
Grimms closed the channel, and took a breath. Finally, I can get some lunch.
His comm buzzed again, and he hung his head slightly as he stepped out into the corridor.
“This is Grimms…”
Chapter 30
“There is a core attempting to contact this ship,” Alant said, surprising the two women.
They were inspecting the core they had created, and trying to figure out what each of the spellforms did individually. Alister and Silva were just as interested in the conversation, trilling and meowing along from their perches on their Mages’ shoulders. Sara wished Cora were there; with her knowledge of spell theory, she would be a great help.
So far, they’d figured out that there was a binding spell, a shield spell, and a creation spell, but the final spell was unlike anything they had ever seen. In some ways, it reminded Sara of the spellform used to warp a ship, but only vaguely. They were getting ready to attempt each spell on its own to see its effects, when Alant had interrupted them.
“A core?” Sara parroted him, looking at the one in her hand. “This one?”
“No. That core is not in an active state. The core attempting to contact the Exitium is designated as the Raven,” he said.
Boon and Sara perked up at that.
“Can you put it through?” Sara asked.
In answer, there was a crackling of a speaker coming to life, and then Cora’s voice came out. “Hello? Sara? Are you there?”
“Cora! How did you contact this ship?” she asked, then, “Why didn't you just contact me?”
“There you are. You’re somehow out of range. Where are you?” Cora said with relief.
“We’re on the Exitium. It’s a dreadnought class human ship. You are not going to believe what we’ve found here,” Sara said excitedly.
“It’s still in working order?” her sister asked, amazed.
“Yeah. It’s powering up now and doing maintenance. I’m told it will be ready to take off in a few days’ time. But that’s not the best news… We learned how to make cores!”
There was silence on the line for a second. “That is so good to hear. I was worried we were going to be fucked. This whole war is stressing me the hell out,” Cora said. “That reminds me, the UHFC was trying to contact you about the Familiar project. I handled it, but we have a bigger problem.”
Cora then relayed the events of the last two days, including the ship’s new abilities, and the prince’s being whisked away on a shuttle with his men.
At the end of her account, she let Sara in on what was bothering her. “The UHFC is convinced that there was only the one traitor; they are not seeing the larger problem beyond the politics. There could very easily be a second traitor. In fact, I’m sure of it,” Cora finished.
“Why do you think there’s a second traitor?” Sara asked, her face hardening with concern. Her sister didn't make huge jumps in logic, like she tended to do herself.
“It was too easy. The Teifen have thousands of years of experience in war and deception. There is no way they gambled on an obvious tracking device and one guard. There is something else happening here,” Cora said, grinding her teeth the way she did when she couldn’t find the proper answer to a question, when she thought it should be obvious.
“You think we’re going to come under attack?” Sara said, worried that Cora was right.
“I do. It’s just a gut feeling right now, but I need you back on the Raven and ready for the worst. We could easily be the turning point for the Navy. I need you,” Cora said, sending a shiver down Sara's spine.
That was the first time her sister had ever said that.
“We’re on our way,” Sara said simply.
The channel cut off, and she contacted Baxter. “Meet us at the airlock. We’re heading back to the Raven. There might be a Teifen attack force on its way.”
Sara felt a spike of fear and determination vibrating through her and Baxter’s new connection. It was faint, like talking between two tin cans attached with a string, but it was still there. This is going to take some getting used to.
“Yes, ma’am. On my way.”
Next, Sara turned to Alant. “We need to go, but we will be back in a few days when the ship is ready. We can talk again then.”
“Would you like me to make a copy of this program on the core you have?” Alant volunteered.
Sara hadn’t even considered that as an option, but agreed right away. She would be able to give the core to Fleet Command, and they would have a teacher for the new War Mages, when they came along. With the program’s built-in safeties, the secrets would stay safe.
A panel opened on the podium, revealing a half-sphere indentation where a core could be attached. “Insert the core, and I shall copy it over,” Alant instructed, indicating the open panel.
Sara pressed the core in, and it fit perfectly. There was a hum as it spun up for a few seconds, then it stopped.
“The copy is complete. We shall talk again soon. It was a pleasure, War Mage,” he said with a slight bow, then returned to his standby pose, falling still.
Sara grabbed the core and slipped it into her hip pouch. “Come on, We need to get back up to the ship.”
Boon nodded and followed her at a jog across the park. She looked around one last time, wondering what the place would have looked like when it was filled with vegetation. Then she had a random thought that unsettled her slightly.
Who’s going to fly this thing?
Chapter 31
Grimms was finally sitting in the ready ro
om, about to take a bite of his sandwich, when Cora broke in over the speakers. “I don't like it, Grimms. This was all too easy. The Teifen have a backup plan, I know it.”
Grimms sighed, putting the sandwich down, and took a quick sip of coffee. “I don't disagree, but there is not much we can do about it. The UHFC has the prince and his men, and we have given our warnings.”
“It’s not good enough. The whole system is at stake. The entire race. I’ve been monitoring the Elif embassy, but there is so much comm traffic, I can't discern if a signal is being sent to the Teifen,” Cora growled.
Grimms’ comm buzzed, and it was all he could do not to roll his eyes. All I want is to eat my damn sandwich. “This is Grimms,” he greeted.
“Sir, Sir Reitus is here to see you. Should I send him in, or do you still need a few minutes?” Mezner asked, knowing he was eating lunch—or trying to—and got cranky if he missed a meal.
“Send him in, Mezner. Thank you,” he said, finishing off the coffee and giving the sandwich a long look before pushing it to the side.
Sir Reitus came in and gave a bow. “Colonel, I’ve made a development with the prisoner. I thought you should know right away.”
Grimms indicated the chair on the other side of the desk. “Please, have a seat. What have you learned?”
Sir Reitus sat, and Grimms noticed the deep frown lines around his scowl. “I normally would not put any credence to this information, as it was retrieved by using drugs, as you suggested. Though given a very small dosage, the prisoner could not resist revealing what he knew. His information fits with what I’ve observed since our escape from Effrit.”
Grimms nodded. “You made the right decision, I think. I understand your concern, but we are pressed for time. What did you find?”
Sir Reitus took a breath and, for the first time that Grimms had seen, tugged on the tip of an ear before continuing, “When pressed, the traitor admitted that he had been ordered to send our location. He was not aware of what the message meant, but he said that Prince DeSolin had ordered him to send it.”
War Mage Chronicles- Part One Page 42