by Chris Fox
A trio of fighters swung into view and flashed toward us so quickly I could barely track them. Fortunately, the automated defenses were much more accurate than I was.
The Word of Xal’s defense cannons came online, and took aim at the approaching fighters. The first two died long before reaching us, but the third was an incredibly skilled pilot.
They flipped up and away, and zipped back toward their carrier. Crap. I’d given away more than I intended. The idea that the Word had defended us would be of extreme interest to Bortel, or whoever was running the op. They’d be after us soon.
I needed to be one step ahead of them.
“Maybe you primitives aren’t so useless after all.” Seket offered a goodnatured smile, and his tone was friendly. “Nice work, Captain. We’re safe for the time being.”
“Now what?” Vee asked. She approached the scry-screen, and touched the image of the carrier. “There’s no way we can handle the number of troops this thing can hold. Even with Cinaka’s people, and the arachnidrakes, there’s no way we can make a meaningful difference.”
“You’re not wrong.” I suppressed a sigh, and considered our options. “Seket, move us four hundred meters, then shut down the ship. We’re going dark, and keeping the cannons active. That will buy us a little time.”
“Aren’t you going to make a run for the minister?” Briff asked. He fluffed his wings behind him, and peered at the scry-screen. “It feels like we’re out of our depths. I don’t know how we can help.”
“I’m still the captain of the Word.” I shook my head slowly. “We can’t just abandon her. We could go to the minister, but beyond protecting my mom I don’t see how that helps. Visala needs us more. It doesn’t matter if we can win. We can help. I just need to think about the best way to do that. We can’t take out ten legions, but if we can find a way to deal with their command structure, maybe we don’t have to. Guardian, are the internal defenses active and helping?”
“They are online,” Kemet confirmed, though the Guardian had a hesitant note in his voice. “They are not functioning well, though. We lack the magic to power them. The ship is, in Terran parlance, running on fumes. Whatever solution you enact will rely on your wits and whatever magic you possess.”
24
Silence reigned on the bridge for a good thirty seconds as everyone waited for me to come up with a plan. How did I do that with no external help?
I ordered my helmet to slither off. “All right, guys, I need your help with a plan.”
Once I’d gathered their attention I put the beginnings of my plan into words. It sounded exactly as vague as I feared it would. “We need to hit their command structure as hard as possible. That may not win us this battle, but maybe we can delay them, and who knows? Maybe removing Bortel will be enough.”
“How do we find him?” Briff asked. He fluffed his wings and walked over to the scry-screen, which still showed Bortel’s carrier. “If it were me, I’d be on the bridge surrounded by troops and automated defenses. How do we get him off the ship?”
“Good question.” I moved to join Briff. “If he’s on his carrier, then we’d need to teleport in somehow, or land as close to the bridge as we could manage.”
“Casualties would be high,” Rava pointed out. “Those carriers are designed for exactly that sort of defense”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” I prayed to the Maker for a bit of luck. “It’s possible Bortel is leading the assault. If he’s on the Word, then I can probably use the Guardian to track him.”
“You can track a specific person?” Kurz raised an eyebrow.
“Can I, Guardian?” I asked, and paused until he responded into my suit’s comm, this time loud enough for the squad to hear.
“Negative, Captain. Not without some sort of magical link, or genetic sample.”
“Hmm.” There had to be a way, and I was determined to find it. My eyes widened, and I turned excitedly to Briff. “Bortel always has that vape pen, right? We even saw it in the recruitment video he sent to Kemet at the end. That pen was solid gold. There’s no way he leaves that lying around.”
“Gold is too common to track, I’m afraid,” Guardian lamented over my comm. Faces fell all around me.
“What about the tobacco?” That was it! I was almost positive I had him. “Bortel owned a plantation on the southern continent. There aren’t many left. Vaping isn’t as popular as it used to be. There can’t be that many on board.”
“There probably are,” Briff corrected, then gave his toothy grin. “They’re probably not filled with tobacco though. There were much more popular herbs in our neighborhood, at least. And at academy.”
I knew exactly which herb he was talking about, and he was right. Most people who did vape would be using it for marijuana or some other substance, not tobacco.
“I have located four separate instances with a passenger having tobacco on their person,” Guardian offered. “Two of them are within the cargo hold where Highspire currently resides, and are therefore unlikely to be your target. The other two might be. One is on the bridge. The other just arrived in a docking bay.”
“Blast it,” Seket cursed. “That only gives us a fifty-fifty chance. There aren’t enough of us to send multiple teams.”
“Good thing I’m a flame reader.” I raised a palm, and blocked out the Word. Fire flowed down my arm, and pooled into my hand. I studied the flames carefully, and willed them to show me the bridge.
The Word of Xal was warded, but as the captain, I was exempted from the wards. The bridge leapt into clarity in the palm of my hand. Two dozen Inuran mages stood clustered around the room.
“The substance is on the one in the white armor, over there by the matrix.”
I immediately saw which one he’d indicated. A guard in ivory armor stood at attention near the matrix.
“That can’t be Bortel.” I shook my head. “Guardian, I’ve never been to the cargo hold where the substance was found. Can you give me an active camera in that room, or internal scrying?”
“There is a camera in that hold, yes. Shall I put it through to your armor?”
“Do that,” I confirmed, then willed the helmet to slither back into place. When the HUD lit, it already had a small window with the requested feed.
It showed a man leaning against a railing, which I realized overlooked the cargo hold containing Highspire. In his right hand he held a familiar ornate vape pen, the gold glinting in the light. Bortel’s beard was unmistakable, as was his fleet marshal’s uniform.
“It worked?” Rava wore her incredulity openly. Her jacket creaked as she shifted back and forth, ready for action. “Can you teleport us there? Or are we going to sneak in? I’d recommend a small team, rather than bringing everyone. We’ll move faster and more quietly on our own.”
“She’s right,” Briff agreed. His tail curled around his feet, and he squatted down to examine the flame. “If we take our squad in, bring maybe Cinaka and Lawl, then we could probably take him down. You can see where guards are and stuff, right? Like you did before, when we took the ship.”
“I can see guards,” I allowed, then grinned inside my helmet. “I’m not sure why we should risk going to him, though. I have a much, much better idea.”
“Oh?” Vee raised an eyebrow. Seket and Kurz flanked her, all three peering intently at the flame.
“I’d much rather bring him to us.” I closed my hand and banished the flame. “Guardian, you’re too low on magic to perform spells, right? Without a source of magic?”
“Indeed,” Kemet confirmed, his tone a mixture of embarrassment and shame. “It has come to this.”
“Can I provide that magic?”
“In theory,” Kemet allowed, this time with a healthy dose of skepticism. “The loss of efficiency in the transference is…immense.”
I cocked my head and ran the numbers again. It seemed to line up. “So, what? Three to one? Four to one? How much magic do I need to give you to handle a single teleport for
a Bortel-shaped target?”
“To be safe I would call it five to one, Captain.”
“All right, then.” I knelt and placed my hand against the deck. “Drink up.”
A torrent of dark magic rolled from my palm into the deck, which drank it eagerly. On and on it went, until pushing more magic from my chest became painful. I began to pant, but pushed again, hard.
“How’s that?” I managed through gritted teeth.
“That is sufficient. Where would you like me to teleport your target?” Kemet sounded impressed.
“Into the brig below, one of the ones that is sealed.” My knees were shaking, and the nausea began to grow. “I think I’m just going to lay down for a minute.”
I slithered off the helmet, and lay down right in the middle of the corridor. The deck was blessedly cool against my cheek, though it did nothing for the nausea.
“It is done,” Kemet’s voice came over the suit’s speakers. “The target is now confined in your cell. Well done, Captain.”
“Hey, Briff, buddy, can I ask you a huge favor?” My whole body shook, and my teeth began to chatter.
“Sure, Jer.” He knelt next to me.
“Can you get me a buck—”. My body convulsed. Too late. “Never mind. Now I need a toothbrush.”
“You’re going to interrogate this Bortel?” Seket asked. He leaned down and offered me a hand. I took it, and he hauled me back to my feet.
The nausea had eased, though I was coated in sweat now. Guess I may have overdone it with the magic. Time to see what it had bought me. “Seket, Kurz, Vee, you’re with me. Briff and Rava, go set up your Arena station, and see if you can make us some pizzas.”
“Oh, thank the Maker.” Briff perked up immediately. “I thought you were going to make us go do stuff.”
“We’ll let you know what Bortel has to say, and I’ll record it just in case, but I figured you two could use the R&R instead.”
“You think he’ll talk?” Rava asked as she followed Briff up the corridor toward the crew quarters.
“He’ll talk. I can use my breath to torture him.” I smacked my lips and wished I had a clean mouth spell. “Let’s go.”
I strode down the ramp toward the Brig, with Seket, Vee, and Kurz in tow.
25
By the time we reached the brig Bortel had already made himself comfortable. He sat on the bench with his back against the wall, and one leg propped up. He twirled his vape pen absently in one hand.
“Now that,” he drawled, “was a very impressive use of magic, as well as being a near instant display of karma. Well done, son.”
Bortel rose and straightened his uniform, then moved to stand near the crackling energy field that separated us.
“Thank you.” I stepped up to the field and let him look me in the eye. “Do you recognize this armor?”
“Of course I do.” He gave a harsh, self-deprecating laugh. “It’s at the heart of this whole mess, and I watched four people get eaten by that reactor. Or rather, I heard Jolene scream about it. The Heka Aten spellarmor. Absolutely priceless. Made for a king, or a hero. The only way you could have pulled off that teleport was being captain of this ship. Am I right?”
I nodded, then folded my arms and allowed my condemnation to leak into my gaze. “You’re unlawfully assaulting children, Bortel. Why?”
“Contract.” He shrugged, and returned to his bench with an exaggerated sigh. “It’s my own damned fault. The money was too good. She gave me a carrier and a command. I knew she was going to blow our planet up, but she’d have killed me and done it anyway. I didn’t protest and now my soul is blacker than the void. You’d be right to execute me, though if you’re going to do that I have a favor to ask first.”
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. Did he really believe he was in a position to bargain?
“I have enough evidence to take down Jolene with a Confederate court.” He licked his lips, and was suddenly unable to hold my gaze. “I don’t need a deal. You can have the evidence, and then do whatever you need to with me. Lady knows I deserve it. I wish I could have stopped today. If I’d had any idea when I signed on what she’d ask me to do…”
Sympathy extinguished my anger, and I relaxed the fists I’d balled. He was a man out of his depth, from the sound of it. He’d done some terrible things, but at least he felt remorse.
“Can you call it off?” I demanded.
“No.” Bortel sighed again. “Jolene bought all my officers, and no doubt their officers too. If we object…she’ll off us. They know that, and they aren’t going to follow me. They’re going to turn me in and claim the reward, and probably my rank.”
“All right, is there any weakness in your troops we can exploit?” I wrapped a hand around my pistol, and forced my breathing to slow. I knew a lot of the kids involved in the combat, and considered myself responsible for the rest.
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. Truly. I trained them as best I could, and they’ll do what they were paid to do. If they refuse…it’s not like there’s a planet to go back to.”
Something buzzed in my head; that was the best way I could describe it. Like a swarm of wasps had taken nest there, and they were pissed. There were words hidden in the buzzing. He lies…
In that moment I knew the voice was right. There was magic in me now that hadn’t been there before. Fire magic. It must have happened when I’d lost control of the temporal matrix. That was the new enchantment I’d felt afterwards, but hadn’t really had time to investigate.
“Tell me the sky is red,” I ordered.
Bortel gave me the oddest stare. “Okay, son, but that don’t make it so. The sky is red.”
The buzzing came back, and again I knew he was lying. I could test it more later. At least I knew he’d be truthful for the rest of the interrogation.
“You said you didn’t know of a weakness.” I shook my head, and offered a knowing smile. “That isn’t true. Let’s try again. How do we stop your men?”
“I won’t sell them out.” Bortel savored a long draw from his vape pen, and filled the cell with a greenish cloud. “You can’t get tactical data from me. Not without torture, and you ain’t gonna do that, son. Here’s what you can get. I can tell you how to hit Matron Jolene. You want to end this? You cut the head off the Wyrm. Once she’s dead my men have no reason to be here. She blew up our planet, son. Someone has to make her pay. It can’t be me, but maybe it can be you…assuming you’ve got the manpower.”
“All right.” I forced myself to relax. “Tell me how to hit her. I’ve got a full platoon to work with.”
“That ain’t gonna get it done.” Bortel took another pull, then made a production of exhaling a ring. “Not unless they’re the finest soldiers who ever lived. You’re gonna be hitting an Inuran cruiser. Fast, stealth enabled, and packed with automated defenses and well trained defenders. They’ve got thick bulkheads and strong wards, and every last defender is either mind controlled or brainwashed. They will fight to the death.”
“So let’s say,” I drawled in my best Bortel imitation, “that the great fleet marshal had to plan an assault and he had twenty cinder hatchlings with spellrifles, and a cadre of well armed fire mages. How would you get it done?”
“You got a ship?” Bortel gave me a half smile that suggested he was enjoying the exchange.
“We do. She’s got a spellcannon and a teleportation disk. She’s fast, and our pilot is…enthusiastic.”
Seket laughed at that, the first change in his expression. He’d been glowering at Bortel quite effectively, and returned to it.
“Then I’d attach to the very center of the upper side of the ship.” Bortel rose and approached the energy field again. “If you’ve got the mages I’d dispel the wards. If not, then you’ll have to light up the hull on your approach. Best bring some serious juice if you want to take those out. If you can, though? Then you attach like I said, and start teleporting in. You’re three levels above the bridge. You cut through the deck, and tunnel right do
wn into her fortified position.”
I turned to Vee, who’d been listening silently, as she often did.
“Are you any good with explosives?” I raised my hand and mimed a bomb dropping. “We cut through the first two decks, then I teleport an explosive directly onto the bridge. We let it detonate, then cut through the last deck and start dropping in.”
“I can rig up something.” Vee started up the stairs, then stopped and turned back. “Oh…I’ll be needing the forge. Keep people away from me. I don’t like distractions when making explosives.”
I nodded to Seket. “Go with her, please. Make sure no one bothers her.”
“Yes, Captain.” Seket offered a short bow, then headed up the ramp. I didn’t like putting him with Vee, but I had to think like an officer, and not some love-struck kid.
That left Kurz and I facing Bortel. Kurz hadn’t said anything.
“I don’t suppose you have another urn?” The words were out before I even realized what I was asking.
“I do,” Kurz said quietly, “and it will not be affected by the explosion. In fact, if you murder half the bridge crew with a bomb, then they’ll rise as wights and aid in the slaughter. However, I would get off the ship quickly as it’s likely to be overrun.”
“Are you sure you want to cross this line, boy?” Bortel demanded. “Using wights on living foes…that’s some dark magic.”
“Not as dark as blowing up a planet for profit,” I snapped, and fixed him with a glare. “It’s just being pragmatic. We use one urn and one bomb, and then we pick up the pieces. She murdered billions, and now she’s trying to exterminate the survivors. This is war, and she’s about to learn exactly what that means.”
Interlude VI
Visala stood atop Highspire and surveyed the legions of students who’d gathered to make their final stand. Most hadn’t yet met the enemy, but they stood resolutely nonetheless.
It was a sight any Wyrm would be proud of, her Outriders gathered and ready for war. Few suspected her true nature, but they were about to find out, as were the Inurans.