“What the fuck is that?” Cora said, eyes wide as she peered down at it.
“Uh…” Sara responded.
It was like a person had had a cat described to them, and then made one without actually looking at a real one. It was just off.
The little cat-thing hopped up on the counter and looked Sara in the eye, like a person would. They stood there, staring at one another, the animal’s yellow eyes cocked in a questioning manner.
Finally, the cat broke the silence.
“Merow.”
“Shit.”
6
“It sees me, Cora. It sees right into me,” Sara said, eyes still locked with the cat. “It knows what I’m thinking.”
The cat gave her a look she was sure only a person who thought she was an idiot could give. It rolled its yellow eyes slightly, but seemed to catch itself halfway and stopped.
“Did that thing just roll its eyes at you?” Cora asked, standing behind Sara, keeping her distance.
Sara felt like she could trust this creature. It was odd-looking, but still just a cat, after all—nothing it could do to hurt her. There was a hint of a connection between them, like a tiny string attaching them together in the Aetheric, but it was a weak and tenuous thing for now.
“Merow,” it said, slightly put off.
Cora and Sara both cocked their heads at the cat’s bored face. They stared in silence for a bit, no one moving a muscle.
Eventually the cat broke the trance with a flick of its ear.
He walked to the edge of the counter and presented a paw to Sara. Sara slowly came around the chair and, taking the paw between thumb and forefinger, gave it a shake.
“It’s very nice to meet you Mr. Burke. My name is Sara Sonders, and this is my sister, Cora.”
The cat looked over to the dumbfounded twin. “Merp,” he said.
Cora squinted at the cat with a look of disbelief. “Did you just shake a cat’s paw? And what did you just call him?”
Sara looked to her sister then to the cat. “Alister Burke. That’s his name.” She screwed up her eyes a little. “I think.” Sara shook her head. “It’s like I know him. Maybe it’s the familiar thing? This is so weird.”
Cora moved closer to Sara, “It has a name? Is it even a cat?”
Sara shrugged. “I don't know, but I do know that’s his name. This is fucking crazy, but if the book is right, this could be really good for us.”
“Crazy? Yes. Good? I guess we’ll find out,” Cora huffed.
Sara decided to give her new abilities a try. She went to the kitchen, filled a bowl with water, and set it on the counter beside Alister.
“Okay. According to the book, I should have way more power. I’m going to heat this water with a fire spell.”
“Just use a tiny amount of Aether. We don't know how much more power you have, and I don't want you to catch the apartment on fire,” Cora said, still standing away from Alister.
Alister blinked a few times and twitched an ear. He began cleaning a paw.
Sara constructed the fire spellform in her mind. At least, she tried to. The spellform was one of the first she had learned, so she barely had to think about it, but when she tried, it came to her as a fuzzy shape. It was as if her mind was trying to do something it had never done before.
“Well? Have you started?” Cora asked, leaning in to see the water sitting undisturbed.
“Uh, I’m trying. I’m having trouble focusing,” Sara said, panic beginning to build. Try as she might, the spellform wouldn't come.
“It’s a fire spell. You can do those in your sleep.”
“Give me a minute,” Sara said.
She started a breathing exercise, attempting to clear her mind. Taking a few breaths her mind became as blank as a new canvas. She tried the spell again. Nothing.
Her teeth began to chatter lightly with fear.
Have I just stripped myself of power?
She looked at the little cat thing, tears welling. “What have you done?” she whispered.
Cora saw her wet eyes and came around the counter. “What’s going on? Are you all right?” She took Sara by the shoulders.
Alister just stared up at her, his face blank.
Sara gently pushed Cora back and leaned down till her face was even with Alister's. “What have you done? Why can't I make a spellform?”
“You can't make a spellform? Oh, no. Sara, what have you done? We have a final in an hour. God dammit, Sara. Why do you always do this to us?”
Alister raised an eyebrow. “Merow?”
Sara growled, “Why can't I cast, you little shit?”
Cora put her face in her hands. “We are so screwed. I can't believe you did this. It was just an exercise in spell theory; if I thought you were going to actually cast it, I would have never drawn up the forms. How could you be so stupid?”
Sara was getting nothing from Alister, who seemed to be nearly as frustrated as she was.
“I’m sorry, Cora. Look, let’s see how bad this is before we freak out too much.”
Sara went to the living room and picked up a lighter from beside the decorative candles. It had a tiny fire spellform carved into the top; anyone with access to Aether could feed that Aether into the physical spellform to create that effect. She focused on the tiny spellform and fed it with her power.
A small flame burst to life over the intricate design.
“Well, I have access to my Aether, but my ability to create spellforms is toast. At least for now; maybe it’s a side effect that will go away. Like me and Alister need to become attuned to one another, or something.”
“How are we going to perform a final exam if you can't cast? They need both twins to operate a starship, it’s not like they can just take me. Package deal, Sara, you know this. I don’t think I can get us out of this mess alone,” Cora shouted.
“We can do it. You’ll have to be the controller, though. I can get us a win as long as you provide the power.”
“Are you serious? We have been practicing for this exam for months, and not once have I been the controller.”
“I can do it. I have a few ideas. It will be hard, but we can do it. Besides, it’s not like we have a choice.”
“Whose fault is that, Sara?” She said ‘Sara’ like a curse.
“I fucked up. I’m sorry. But there is nothing I can do about it now. We either try this, or we don't pass. If we fail, we’ll just have to take it again in a few months.”
“In a few months the best starships will be filled. Not to mention, with a fail on our record, we will be lucky to be hauling troops on a transport. I didn't work my ass off to be a transport pilot, Sara. I want my warship.”
“I know. We’ll get it. Trust me.”
Cora was so angry she had tears in her eyes. She stormed off to her room, returning a second later with her duffel bag. She began stuffing her battlesuit into the open zipper.
“Well, get your shit. We have an exam to get to.”
Sara looked at the little cat that had been watching the argument like a tennis match. “What do we do with him?”
Cora shot daggers at the cat. “Leave him the fuck here. We can't bring him to the exam.”
Alister looked around, then jumped to the back of the club chair and curled up for a nap.
“He’ll be fine. We need to go. You better pull this out of your ass, or so help me…” Cora's rage brought her to speechlessness.
Sara took the opportunity to run and grab her things, while Cora rubbed her forehead, the skin turning white where her fingers pressed down.
Sara returned, bag in hand, and Cora didn't even spare her a glance as she turned to the door and led the way out.
7
Sara gripped the strap of her bag so hard her knuckles were white. She had screwed up a lot in her life, but Cora was right; casting that spell may have been the most idiotic thing she had ever done.
Her sister was still fuming, she hadn’t said a word the whole walk, but would shoot a lo
ok in her direction occasionally, then huff and turn away in disgust.
“I’m sorry, but you are going to have to let this go if we are going to pass. Will you be able to take my commands in the exam?”
“Don't you dare try and act like my professionalism is in question. I’m not the one that cast an unknown spell and stripped myself of power. Yes, I’ll take your commands,” Cora said, not even sparing Sara a glance.
Sara nodded, her twin’s anger and disappointment washing over her, and knocking her self-respect down a few notches.
They entered the building on the edge of campus, which was set up with a holo room. All the exams were practical at the Academy, and the holo room let the examiners observe the students in real-world situations.
The room was dark to maximize the view into the testing area below. Sara and Cora made their way down the steep theater seating to the front, where a large window ran the length of the room.
An Elif Lieutenant was standing with his hands clasped behind his back, a tablet held loosely, watching the mages as they battled with a group of Teifen holograms. There were three other officers, two human and one Elif, holding tablets and taking notes of the action.
The lieutenant turned to the twins as they approached and gave a nod of acknowledgment.
“Sonders?” he asked, glancing at his tablet.
“Yes, sir,” Cora said, snapping a salute, joined by Sara.
“The mages should be done in a few minutes. You can take a seat and watch, if you would like,” he said, turning back to the view.
The sisters sat in the front row. Cora closed her eyes, trying to center herself, but Sara leaned forward to watch the mages.
The environment was an alien city block, littered with burnt out vehicles. Trash was blowing around in the virtual wind. The mages had set up a perimeter and were working to eliminate an attacking Teifen force.
The Teifen were tall, and came in a variety of coloring and skin types. Some were furry like a werewolf, others were scaly like a lizard. Some had horns, while others looked nearly human, but had hooves instead of feet. The Teifen were so genetically diverse that their children often looked nothing like the parents. Most humans described them as looking like demons. What they all had in common was that they were large, and had human-like faces. They varied in height, but none stood less than six feet, and most tended toward seven or eight. They were heavily muscled, and aggressive in nature.
The Teifen were stalking low in full battle rattle, powered suits and power rifles. They had lost a few in an earlier part of the test, evidenced by the dead bodies leaving blue bloodstains on the pavement.
The mages had swung around the approaching enemy in a classic flanking move, moving down an alley that would come out behind the small group of Teifen.
Sara tapped Cora on the shoulder. “You should check this out, the mages are about to spring their trap.”
Cora didn't even open her eyes. “I’m trying to get ready. You should be doing the same.”
Sara made a face at her, and turned back to the action.
The flanking mages got the signal from the main force of four mages hunkered down in cover. Three mages jumped from the alley, one immediately throwing up a low shield and kneeling behind it. The other two knelt beside him, one aiming down his rifle, and the second conjuring a firebolt.
The main force sprang from cover and opened up with their rifles. Thousands of tiny metal slivers shot from the magnetic rails. The snapping of tiny sonic booms filled the room.
A Teifen in front put up a shield just in time to stop the barrage, and the other five took position at its edge with their power rifles, sending small glowing orbs down range.
The flankers had caught the Teifen with their backs exposed. A firebolt shot from one mage’s hands, and he was preparing another before the first was halfway to the Teifen’s backs. The two other mages picked their shots ahead of time. The Teifen holding the shield was hit in the back of the neck, a known soft spot in Teifen armor, and dropped immediately. His shield dissolved along with his life.
The main force now had an open firing lane, and took out two more enemies before another Teifen was able to shield them.
The mage’s second firebolt hit the group from behind, exploding and sending them all sprawling, including the new shielder.
In less than five seconds, the Teifen were all down, and the lights in the holo room went green, indicating the end of the test.
“That was well done, men. You may exit to the right and return your equipment,” the Lieutenant said into a wall intercom. He turned to Sara and Cora. “Ladies, you may go on down and prepare. Your test will start as soon as you are ready.” He indicated a door on the side of the room.
“Thank you, sir,” Sara said, standing and heading for the door. Cora was right on her heels.
“This should be interesting,” Cora said, taking Sara's hand as they walked out the side door.
Sara smiled and squeezed Cora’s hand.
Cora might be mad, but she was still her sister; Sara knew that, when the time came, Cora would always have her back.
8
They made their way through the door and down a set of stairs, to find a room where a few Elif were stacking the equipment the last group had used onto racks. A tall Elif woman approached them with a pair of headsets.
“You will need these to dampen your abilities a little. We don't want you blowing a hole in the testing room,” she said with a bright smile.
Sara reached out and fitted the device over her head; the small arms repositioned themselves against her scalp. Once Cora did the same, the woman motioned for them to head into the exam room.
“Good luck, ladies,” she said, then closed the door behind them.
Sara was surprised at the detail the simulation projected. She knew it was largely an illusion, but it seemed as though they really had stepped into the hall of a starship. The bridge doors stood open before them.
They moved onto the bridge and took up their positions. Cora sat in a reclining chair surrounded by a clear glass cylinder with a section just large enough for her to enter through. As soon as she sat down, the cylinder’s door slid shut, cutting her off from the rest of the bridge.
Sara stepped into the command ring in the center of the bridge, and fed a little Aether into the spellform embedded in the ring.
A bubble formed around her in an instant, displaying the immediate space around the ship and including an icon of the ship they were on in the center. There was a planet close by with a shattered moon in orbit. She read the situation with a practiced eye and noted that there was a Teifen carrier coming around the planet to meet them.
The simulation froze as the lieutenant came over the loudspeakers. “Here is the situation report. You are the captain of a corvette attack vessel and have received word that a colony is under attack by a Teifen carrier. The planet is being bombarded, and fighters are picking off settlements. Your small ship is far outclassed in this battle; however, you know there are several destroyers en route that will provide you with fire support in twelve minutes. Your objective is to distract the carrier from their ground assault while you wait for backup.
“Your ship is equipped with one main Aether cannon, six PDCs, and two gauss cannons, and you have light armor—rated for fighter engagements only. You will not have support staff for this engagement, so the simulation will carry out all their duties.
“This is a test of your power management and tactical thinking. Points will be awarded for how quickly you are able to disengage the carrier from the planet, and how much damage you take in comparison to how much the carrier takes. Points are awarded for each fighter shot down, but you will lose points for each section of your ship that is damaged, so be careful in close battle. The destruction of your ship is an automatic fail. You may begin now.”
The simulation started back up, and Sara found herself in the beginnings of a panic attack. We need to get the attention of a ship twenty times our size
and hold it for twelve minutes while avoiding getting crushed. She took a calming breath and looked at the situation map like a tactician.
The ship was just now coming over the horizon of the planet, at just under one and a half light-seconds’ distance. The Aether, being everywhere and in everything at once, could provide instantaneous data. The problem was that their enemies had the same ability.
They knew she was there.
According to the display, the carrier was launching gauss rounds into the surface of the planet. She had to assume the carrier was opting not to engage them until they crossed the horizon.
“Cora, let’s head for the shattered moon. We can get closer without exposing ourselves completely,” Sara said into her headset.
The engines kicked in, and she felt the floor move slightly. They were accelerating at incredible speeds, but it was nothing more than a slight crawl on the stellar scale.
“Comms, are we getting any chatter in the open?”
A female voice came from the comms station. “No, Ma’am. Nothing on an open frequency. I am picking up encrypted chatter between the carrier and the fighters. I am guessing they are aware of us and are recalling the fighters, Ma’am.”
Sara bit her lip, trying to decide if they would have points taken off for recklessness. She decided that getting the carrier to disengage quickly was worth the risk.
“Cora, engage warp and jump us to the moon. We need to get these bastards focused on us.”
For the most part, space battle needed to happen up close, due to the limited speed of weapons. It was common practice for ships to warp across the battlefield to close in fast, fire weapons, and then warp back out. It only took a controller five to ten seconds to engage a warp field, so most battles happened in the seconds it took to power up the drive. While in combat, the captain used their Aether to power shields and deflect fire.
Genesis: War Mage: Book One (War Mage Chronicles 1) Page 4