Sac'a'rith

by Vincent Trigili

  “Then we’ll need to be very careful what we communicate to them,” said Zah’rak.

  “Marcus, did you get much from that terminal?” I asked.

  He pulled out the datapad and scrolled through the contents. “Looks like it.”

  “Let’s set it up in engineering and see what we can find,” I said.

  “Go ahead, but we won’t mention it to the fleet for the moment,” said Zah’rak.

  “The fleet is reporting that the station has destroyed itself,” said Crivreen.

  “That was fast,” said Zah’rak.

  “The only way anyone got off that station was via a gate,” said Raquel.

  “And there’s nothing close to gate to,” said Shira. “So that means that whoever opened the gate is a far more powerful magus than I am.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  When we’d rendezvoused with the fleet, Raquel approached me and said, “Zah’rak, now that the urgency is over and we’re still in range of the jump relays, I still need to contact Resden.”

  “About us?” asked Purwryn.

  “Yes; in fact, it would probably be best if you two are not here for this,” she said.

  “Marcus, let’s get this datapad down to engineering and see what we can learn,” said Purwryn. Marcus nodded and they left the bridge.

  “Okay. Let’s get this over with,” I said.

  She nodded and opened a secure channel through the Phareon communications network. A human answered the phone but he looked fake, more like a mannequin than a real person.

  Raquel moved to the center of the screen’s viewport and said, “Greetings, Ambassador. I’m Master Raquel, the official representative of the Wizard Kingdom for this region.”

  “Ah, yes. Dr. Leslie told me to expect your call. What can I do for you?” he asked.

  “I’m currently aboard the Night Wisp and wish to inform you that the Night Wisp is property of the Wizard Kingdom,” she said.

  He leaned back in his chair and said, “Well now, that complicates things.”

  “You should also know that Purwryn is an agent of the Wizard Kingdom, and we therefore request that you stand down your search and cease all attempts to kill him or Marcus, who is in his employ.”

  Raquel obviously hadn’t studied diplomacy at any of the places where the diplomats I knew had studied. She was too direct, and it showed on the ambassador’s face. He was unprepared for what he faced. Personally I liked her style, and I was glad to see that she wasn’t the kind to play the diplomatic game.

  “I see. Well, Purwryn and his accomplice Marcus are wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of many Resden citizens,” said the ambassador.

  “They have killed no one except the men you sent to kill them,” she said.

  “On the contrary, shortly after they left the Paradise it exploded, killing all on board. There were over a thousand tourists on that ship, and none of them had tried to kill anyone,” he said.

  Raquel didn’t even blink an eye at that shocking news. “The Wizard Kingdom is sorry for your losses but, as you said, they weren’t even there when it happened. You’ve made many attempts to kill them without a fair trial or hearing. That practice is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”

  The ambassador actually smiled at that. “We formally request extradition for trial, in that case.”

  “The request is denied. Your previous actions indicate that they will not have a fair hearing,” she replied.

  He thought about it for a few moments. “Then I suggest that I send some agents to meet you and question them on your terms. If evidence is forthcoming, we can arrange the extradition.”

  “You can send one agent, and we’ll keep them under guard while the agent questions them. We’ll contact you again when we’re near a star base for the rendezvous.”

  “Fine, one agent; but if evidence is presented, we expect extradition to be granted,” he said.

  With that they ended the call. Crivreen turned to Raquel and said, “You aren’t going to let them take Marcus and Purwryn, are you?”

  “No, of course not. I don’t believe Purwryn had anything to do with that explosion, but it will complicate things,” she said.

  “What do you propose we do?” I asked.

  “Ragnar,” she said, “are you able to use a truth rune?”

  “Yes,” he said, obviously taken aback by the question. “That’s fairly basic for a Runecaster.”

  “Good, then this is what I propose. We will ask both Purwryn and Marcus to issue statements about what happened while Purwryn was a member of the Paradise crew, and ask Ragnar to certify the statements as true. Then I can send all that up to the Wizard’s Council, so they will be prepared in case the good ambassador tries to go over my head.”

  “What about their agent?” asked Crivreen.

  “I’m not worried about him at all. Zah’rak and I will be there to prevent him from trying anything. We need to allow the interview to show some modicum of diplomatic courtesy. After all, Grandmaster Vydor wants me to make friends out here if possible,” she replied.

  The conversation was interrupted by our comm. indicating an incoming call from our Phareon handler. “Hello, Commander,” I said.

  He started to speak but then noticed Raquel, who was still standing by the terminal since her last call. “Ambassador Raquel Ravenwood?” he asked.

  “Yes, this is Master Raquel,” I said.

  “I’m honored to meet you,” he said. It was obvious by his face that he was not at all happy to see her, but he wouldn’t be foolish enough to say that out loud.

  “I expect you want to hear our report. Crivreen, can you verify point-to-point security on this connection?” I asked.

  “Yes, Zah’rak, the line is secure.”

  “Thanks,” I said and gave the commander a complete report of events on the station, including our suspicion that there was a spy in the fleet. “Right now, Purwryn and Marcus are working on the data to see if we acquired any useful information.”

  “Purwryn? Marcus? What happened to Felix?” he asked.

  “Felix quit the team back when we stopped at Zenfar, and as you reported he ditched his identity and went underground. He talked about going home to his family. Marcus and Purwryn are new team members who have been traveling with us for some time.”

  “I see,” he said. Strangely, he was being polite and respectful for a change.

  “We believe that the sorcerers escaped the destruction of the station by using a gate, which means they could be anywhere by now. Have you any other stations which have dropped off your communications grid like this one did?” I asked.

  “Before I disclose that … ” He was talking slowly, with more deliberation than I’d heard him use before. “Master Raquel, if I may be so bold, what business does the Wizard Kingdom have with my agents?”

  “With your agents? None at this time. However, there appears to be sorcerer activity out here, and that has our attention,” she said.

  “And you weren’t concerned about the necromancer who was active some time ago?” he queried.

  “Actually, Master Raquel fought by our side in the battle against the necromancer’s forces. We couldn’t have defeated him without her help,” I said.

  That made him very uncomfortable. I remembered that Raquel had said he had a controlling personality. He must have realized by now that he was not as much in control of my team as he had thought, and no doubt that was bothering him greatly. I wondered what dots he was connecting in his head and how this would affect our future dealings with him.

  The commander took a deep breath and fidgeted with something on his desk. “Then let me be the first to thank the Wizard Kingdom for their help.”

  “It was an honor. Now, back to the situation at hand. I already know of at least two more stations and one planet-side base that you’ve lost touch with. The sorcerers could have headed for any one of those, or somewhere yet unknown.�
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  “Is the Wizard Kingdom officially assisting this mission, then?” asked the commander.

  “We’re hunting sorcerers, and currently that makes this mission mutually beneficial,” said Raquel.

  “I’ll have to inform my command about this before I can proceed,” said the commander, continuing to move things about on his desk. “Zah’rak, send the information your team gathered as soon as possible. I don’t much like the suggestion that there could be a spy in the fleet out there.”

  “Sure, Commander. After we finish here I’ll start someone working on that,” I said.

  “Excellent. Meanwhile, stay with the jump fleet and I’ll get back to you after I speak with Command,” he said.

  The commander was being unusually pleasant and accommodating so I decided to push my luck a little. I didn’t really care if I upset him so I had nothing to lose. “Commander, since we’re on hold anyway, may we utilize the jump fleet to get to Hospital Station? We have some business there.”

  He turned and pulled something up on his computer; after studying that for a moment, he came to a decision. “Sure, that would work out well. I’ll send the orders.”

  “Thank you,” I said and we wrapped up the call.

  “He intends to send us to the planet outpost that dropped off the grid,” said Raquel.

  “Let me guess: that’s near the hospital?” asked Ragnar.

  Raquel went over to the comm. controls and brought up an image of the commander while he was studying his computer screen. She instructed the computer to enlarge the image and zoom in on his left eye. “There, see the reflection.”

  “A map,” said Crivreen.

  “And I’d wager those lines are jump routes,” she said, turning back to the controls at her station. “In fact, I believe the computer can extrapolate the map he was looking at.”

  A few moments later a map appeared on the screen and Raquel walked over to it. She pointed to a spot and said, “This is our current location. Here is the hospital and there is the planet.”

  They lined up quite well. It was evident that Hospital Station wouldn’t be much out of our way if we were going to that planet. “Excellent. Crivreen, contact Dr. Leslie and let them know we’re on our way; then link up with the fleet so that we’re ready when they are.”

  “I’ll tell Resden we can meet them at Hospital Station once we have an ETA. I plan to give them a very small window of time to meet us, and I hope they miss it,” said Raquel.

  “Oh, about that,” said Crivreen. “We had better be careful how we break this news to Marcus.”

  “Why, what’s up?” I asked.

  “Marcus’ father was the captain of the Paradise,” said Crivreen.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  As we docked with Hospital Station Shira sent, “Zah’rak, I think I’m just going to stay in hydroponics until our business is finished here. I have a lot of work to do.”

  I sighed. She was hiding again, but at least she seemed to be warming up to Raquel. Unfortunately I’d already made a promise to Dr. Hawthorne. “Shira, you need a checkup.”

  “I’m fine,” she sent.

  I wondered if we’d be repeating this conversation for the rest of time. “Sure, but you had brain surgery not that long ago. That’s not something to take lightly.”

  “If my brain were damaged I wouldn’t be able to use my magic, so there’s no reason to trouble anyone,” she sent.

  There was certainly nothing wrong with her ability to come up with good excuses. “Tell you what, why don’t I see if Dr. Hawthorne will come aboard and do the checkup here?” I sent.

  “Oh, do you think he’d do that?” she asked.

  “I have no idea, but it can’t hurt to ask,” I replied. I was surprised that it had worked, but I was pleased with the victory.

  “Would you?” she asked.

  Something clicked when she sent that: I realized it was crowds she wanted to avoid. I wondered if it was related to all the people whose deaths she had facilitated when she’d been enslaved to the necromancer. By her hand not only had thousands died, but they had then stood back up and fought as walking dead. Maybe she felt that she couldn’t trust herself around people anymore, or perhaps she feared she wasn’t worthy company; whatever her reasons, I was grateful to have a solution. “Sure, I will.”

  I watched the displays as the station’s computers took control of the craft and brought us into one of the new maintenance hangars. “Why are we going inside?”

  “Oh, they offered to repair some of the damage we’ve recently sustained and upgrade our equipment. They said it would only take a few days,” said Crivreen.

  “And you agreed?” I asked.

  “Not yet. I told them I’d have to talk to you about it, but figured there was no harm in docking in the bay,” he said.

  I shook my head. I knew exactly what he was up to. He desperately wanted to upgrade the Night Wisp’s equipment into something more modern and, as he would put it, more reasonable. He probably figured that it’d be easier to convince me if we were already in the bay, and if not it’d be easier for him to sneak in some upgrades. “Fine. If they’re footing the bill, let them, but nothing big; we need to be ready to leave when Phareon calls.”

  His face lit up like a child’s in a candy shop. “Don’t worry, I’ll oversee it all myself!” he said, and once we were docked he ran off, presumably to engineering. I was more worried about the station’s engineers than the ship under his watch.

  Ragnar was laughing, and Raquel chuckled.

  “What? It’ll be good for him to have some other engineering types to hang out with for a while,” I said.

  Raquel smiled and said, “I’d better contact Resden and see if they’re going to show.”

  I turned to Ragnar and said, “What do you make of the Paradise blowing up?”

  “I don’t know.” He paused in thought for a moment and continued, “We have Marcus and Purwryn’s testimonies but they don’t shine any light on what happened. All we know is that someone interrogated Purwryn, and then Resden was all over them.”

  “And you’re sure both of them told us the truth?” I asked.

  “I’m sure they believe they told us the truth, but whether it’s actually so I don’t know,” he said.

  “Interesting distinction,” I commented, but it made sense and was worth noting. “Whatever is going on, I’ll be happier once that’s behind us.”

  “Then you’re in luck,” said Raquel. “Resden will have an agent here in a few hours to speak with them.”

  “Did you report all of this to the council yet?” I asked.

  “Yes. They are up to date, and I was assured that they’d back me on this,” she said.

  “Great,” I said. I left the bridge and headed for the station. I figured Marcus and Purwryn would probably already be heading for Marcus’ check up.

  On the two occasions I’d previously visited the station, I had stayed on the Night Wisp. It wasn’t common practice for patients to actually come into the hospital unless their need was beyond what could be dealt with on the ship. Dr. Hawthorne had invited me to his office; otherwise I would have stayed on the Night Wisp as I had last time. I gathered that being citizens meant the station was now open to us.

  The hospital was a very large station, and I quickly found myself lost in its twists and turns. I kept wandering around until I found what I thought to be an information desk.

  “Excuse me, but I seem to be lost,” I explained.

  The woman behind the desk looked up at me and smiled. “That happens a lot. Where are you trying to get to?”

  “Dr. Hawthorne’s office,” I said.

  “Ah. Well, you’re in the wrong section of the station for that. This is the maternity wing,” she said and gave me directions to the correct section, which was quite a walk from there.

  While I walked, I took some time to look at the staff and visitors to the station. Most seemed norma
l enough, but some really stood out: they were dressed in robes instead of more traditional clothing, and everyone gave them a wide berth. Most of them were physically unimpressive and none of them was armed, but it was clear that they were respected and possibly feared by most.

  As I turned down the final corridor to the section with Dr. Hawthorne’s office, two uniformed men stopped me. They were wearing battle armor and looked like warriors, apart from the lack of weapons. I wondered if weapons were banned on the station.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but this corridor is restricted,” said one of the guards.

  “I have an appointment to see Dr. Hawthorne,” I told him. I was surprised by their posture. It should have been obvious that even with their battle armor I could easily toss them aside, and their lack of weapons meant they couldn’t stop me, but they had no fear of me at all. I was easily twice their bulk and that normally caused people to be intimidated.

  “Wait here,” said one of the guards as he walked off. The second guard stayed in position, blocking my path. It was so rare to see anyone stand before me completely undaunted by my size that I was tempted to test him, to see if he could back up that fearless stance with action.

  I knew that would be foolish so I distracted myself with idle conversation. “I’m new here. What’s the deal with the people in robes?”

  A look of surprise crossed his face. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, they seem to have some authority, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone dressed like that before,” I said.

  “You mean the wizards?” he replied.

  “Wizards?” I repeated.

  “Yes. The robes signify that they’re wizards and the color indicates their rank,” he said.

  I wanted to hear more about that, but the second guard came back and said, “All right, follow me.”

  He left the other man alone at the entrance, which I felt was foolish, but maybe it was because there was no expectation of real problems on the station. That would be odd, considering that just a few months ago the station had come under attack and had a long history of living on the edge of danger.