Baxter slid to a stop on the other side of Boon, looking left and right. “What do you see?”
He was oblivious to the eleven tiny humanoids arrayed before them.
The priestess-or-noble cocked her head at Baxter and, in a deeper than expected voice, said, “He is not bound to one of you?”
“Bound?” Sara asked, looking from the pixie to Baxter, who hadn’t heard either of them talking.
“He must be bound, if he is to proceed further. Otherwise we may not continue our conversation,” she said, locking eyes with Sara.
So old. Her eyes are so old, Sara thought with a shiver.
“I have a few questions first,” she answered.
15
Grimms sat in his command chair on the bridge, watching the view screen along with Dr. Hess, who stood beside him. The view was almost completely expanded once again, signaling the end of their journey. The science team had been busy, collating data from the jumps and taking readings and measurements of the warp field. Dr. Hess consulted his tablet, mumbling to himself in his usual fashion.
“We are coming out of warp in ten seconds, sir,” Connors reported from the helm.
Dr. Hess dropped the tablet to his side and watched the final seconds of the voyage. “This is incredible, Cora. I don't know how you did it, but the compression on this Aether thread is beyond anything we Elif are capable of.”
“It comes down to the core, Dr. Hess. It is able to translate my spellforms much more efficiently,” Cora said cheerily.
“Dropping from warp in three, two, one,” Connors counted down. There was a flash of blue Aetheric light, and the view screen displayed an entirely different set of stars.
“Mezner, confirm our location,” Grimms ordered. He stood from his chair, rolled the tightness from his shoulders, and made his way to the holo projector.
As he and Dr. Hess approached, the projector came to life, displaying a golden icon and not much of anything else.
“We are within a million kilometers of our target destination, sir,” Mezner reported, after the computer calculated the positions of the stars around them.
Dr. Hess nodded. “Very good, Ms. Cora. A jump this distant is difficult to make accurately, even for our twin sets. That you’ve accomplished even this approximation without Captain Sara to guide you is incredible.”
Cora laughed, “Thank you, doctor. To tell the truth, we may have gotten a little lucky, but I won’t know ‘til we do a few more warps for comparison. A data set of one is useless.”
“Not ‘useless,’ just inconclusive. We now have a ‘ballpark number’, as you humans say, to start building our model for the next set of jumps,” Dr. Hess said, typing furiously on his tablet. One of the human scientists on his team joined him, and they consulted quietly.
Grimms patted the edge of the holo projector and said, “Good work, Captain.”
“Did you just pat me?” Cora asked in his comm unit.
Grimms felt his face flush; he had done just that. He cleared his throat. “Uh, no. I spilled some coffee on the projector earlier,” he lied, hoping she’d buy it.
To his relief, she laughed in his ear. “Good to know you’re keeping me clean, Commander.”
Grimms smiled. “Just doing my part, ma’am.”
“So, doctor, how did we do? Did you get some good data?” Cora asked over the bridge’s speakers.
Dr. Hess lifted his head from the quiet conversation he was having with his colleague. “Oh yes, Ms. Cora. We have the final measurements on the Aether thread, and they are fascinating.”
“You keep mentioning the thickness of the Aether thread, doctor. What does that have to do with our speed?” Grimms asked. Does this have something to do with why Cora is more suited for controlling a ship than anyone else?
“Do you understand fluid dynamics, Commander?” Dr. Hess asked.
Grimms shook his head. “Not any more than the layperson. What does flow dynamics have to do with warping through space?”
The doctor began flipping through screens on his tablet until he found what he was looking for, then turned it so Grimms could see. It was a 3-D model of a pipe with water flowing through it. The water started in a wide open pipe, six centimeters in diameter, and flowed at ten meters per second until it came to a flange that narrowed the pipe to three centimeters, and increased the speed of the water to forty meters per second.
“This is an example of flow rate. The same amount of water is flowing through each section of the pipe every second, but because the second section of the pipe is half as wide, and therefore has one fourth the area, the speed needs to be four times as fast to get the water out in the same amount of time. Do you understand?” Dr. Hess asked, raising his eyebrows.
Grimms nodded as visions of his physics classes at the academy flooded his memory. “Because the fluid can’t compress, it is forced to move faster. What does this have to do with warping?”
Dr. Hess smiled as he lowered the tablet, obviously grateful he did not need to explain further. “The warp thread is like a pipe that the ship travels through. A warp bubble is formed around the ship and a small volume of space around it. The bubble is made of Aether, which creates a barrier between the reality inside the bubble and the one outside. Then a ‘pipe’ is created between the starting position and the destination, and the reality inside the bubble flows through the thread. So, like in the example, the ship and the reality around it is the water, and the Aether thread is the pipe.”
Grimms nodded. “So the thinner the pipe, the faster the water needs to flow.” He rubbed his chin in thought. “How did you drop the rock out of warp in your final test, Captain? Wouldn't the rock need to travel through the barrier from one reality to the other?”
“I didn't actually push the rock out through the barrier; I just created a second barrier closer to the ship that didn't include the rock, as I dropped the larger one around it,” Cora said.
Dr. Hess’s eyes bulged at that. “You changed the shape of your warp bubble while in warp? How could you do that? You would need to cast two spells at once.”
“I did cast two spells at once, but only for a split second, and they were almost exactly the same, so it wasn’t all that hard. I couldn’t cast two spells for much longer than a split second,” Cora said modestly.
“You shouldn't have been able to do it at all!” he exclaimed. “And this was before you had the core? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Like I said, it was only for a split second, and I was basically casting a copy of the same spell. Sara and I did it all the time while practicing quick spellwork. It’s like priming yourself for the next spell with the back of your mind.”
Before Dr. Hess could continue what Grimms thought might be a long series of questions, Mezner spoke. “Sir? We have an Aether communication coming in.” She double-checked her console. “It’s coming from an Elif relay station close by.”
Grimms frowned. “Is it being sent to us directly?”
“No, sir. It is being broadcast to any human or Elif ship in the area. They are sending the signal wide, though, so it’s not getting far,” she said.
“Put it onscreen, Ensign,” Grimms said, looking up as the image of the star field changed to the face of a particularly young looking Elif male.
Dr. Hess gasped in surprise, but the stranger began talking before he could comment.
“To any friendly ship in the area, this is High Prince Paelias DeSolin. I am in need of rescue. I have escaped the destruction of Effrit, and am currently aboard my private yacht Empori. Please respond to the private channel included in this message. Our vessel is damaged, and we are unable to maintain warp for a long jump. We are currently in deep space, but the ship is only minimally armed, and is therefore unable to defend itself from a Teifen attack. Please send a message as quickly as possible.”
The prince’s eyes were rimmed in red, as if he had been crying, and he tugged on his ear tip nearly the entire duration of the message.
&
nbsp; “What do you think, Captain?” Grimms asked, his eyes narrow as he regarded the frozen image of the prince.
“We must save him,” Dr. Hess demanded, nearly hysterical. “While the prince lives, the royal line is still in place. His presence would do much to rally my people.”
Cora’s voice was much more measured than the doctor’s. “He’s right. We need to save him. If for no other reason than the fact that he knows what is happening in the Elif’s home system. This war is far too large for just us to fight; we need the Elif backing us. The return of their prince would go a long way for their morale.”
Grimms nodded. “Mezner, forward this to the UHFC and include a request for instructions.”
“You are not going now?” Dr. Hess looked as if he had been slapped.
“We will send them help, doctor, but I need clearance from UHF Command before I can put this ship in danger. I shouldn’t need to remind you that we are fairly defenseless without Captain Sonders onboard. She shields us and maneuvers our offenses in battle,” Grimms reminded him, running a hand over his short, white hair. “We are the only working ship with a tank system, and possess one of only two cores ever discovered. If the prince’s message is a trap, we don't want to lose the Raven.”
The doctor threw up his hands. “How could it possibly be a trap? The message was encoded. The Teifen can't receive it, so they have no idea he is out there, but you can be sure they are looking. The longer we wait, the more danger he is in.”
“I understand your feelings on the matter, Dr. Hess, but the fact remains that this ship is far too valuable to risk without orders. My first concern is this ship and her crew. We wait,” Grimms said with finality.
He returned to his seat with a scowl on his face as he thought through all the ways this could go terribly wrong.
“You think it’s a trap?” Cora asked in his comm.
Grimms nodded and murmured, “What are the odds that message could have found us out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“Well, if they were passing it from relay to relay, then I suppose it’s not that far-fetched,” she said, her voice not all that convincing.
“Could be, but I just have a bad feeling about this. How did he escape a planet that, presumably, was surrounded by thousands of Teifen battleships? If their warp is damaged, how did they get so deep into space? It doesn’t sit well with me,” Grimms said.
“Fair enough. But remember that we are not completely defenseless. We still have weapons, and the hull armor is rated for Aetheric cannon blasts,” she said.
“Only one or two, and I’m sure the damage would be substantial.”
“True, but I can always jump us away if it gets bad. I’m just saying it’s not a suicide mission,” she soothed, and Grimms could imagine her putting her hands on his with the comment.
He gave a grim smile. “We’ll see what the UHFC says.”
It only took the UHFC an hour and a half to answer Grimms’ request for further instructions. It was a text-only message, three words long.
[Retrieve the prince.]
“Connors, get me a heading and prepare for warp. It looks like we have a rescue mission to complete.”
“Aye, sir. Heading imputed, awaiting Captain Cora,” he replied.
“Warp in three, two, one,” Cora said.
The screen smashed down to a point, and they were underway.
“I hope this goes better than I imagine,” Grimms said quietly into his comm.
“Me too, Commander,” Cora replied.
16
The pixie priestess bowed to Sara, then to Boon. “I am Nyx Morenna, Keeper of the Records. We felt your presence when you returned to Earth a few days ago, then yesterday we felt the birth of a second War Mage. We have been expecting you,” Nyx said, in her deep and feminine voice.
Sara and Boon both bowed, copying Nyx’s movements. “I am Sara Sonders, and this Alicia Boon.” When Nyx looked to the familiars, Sara quickly continued, “And this is Alister Burke, my…” She wondered how best to refer to him. “Companion. And this is Silva August, Boon’s companion.” The familiars gave the best bows their animal forms would allow.
“A pleasure to meet you. Now, we must do something about your guest,” Nyx said, indicating Baxter.
Since Sara and Nyx’s conversation had begun, Baxter had gotten more and more dazed. He was now standing slack-jawed, with blank eyes.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sara asked, concerned.
“He is under the influence of our protection spell. Alant and Altis provided us with a number of very efficient spellforms to keep this place safe from wandering humans. Even us pixies are able to provide enough Aether to power them comfortably. They were such craftsmen with spellforms,” Nyx said dreamily.
“I’m sorry, who are Alant and Altis?” Sara asked, trying to place the names and failing.
Nyx smiled. “Forgive me, I forget that humans purged their knowledge of magic. Alant and Altis are the names of the War Mages that brought us to Earth. They built their city out here on the peninsula, which became known as Alantis. This was before the ice melted, and the land was claimed by the sea. All that remains of their once proud lands are these mountaintops we now stand on.” She spread her arms to indicate the green fields and forest.
“Alantis. As in Atlantis?” Boon asked, trying to clarify that the pixie was talking about the fabled lands of an advanced race that sank into the sea.
Nyx gave a smile. “Yes, the name has changed slightly over the years, but it is the same place. It was named after the War Mages.”
“They were the ones who captained the dreadnought?” Sara asked.
“Yes. They are the ones that brought us to this world,” she said with a half-smile. “I am guessing you have come for volunteers for your siblings?”
“Volunteers? To become familiars?” Sara asked to clarify.
Nyx gave a stately nod, “Yes. It is tradition that the second pairing of a War Mage twin set is chosen for their specialty. Mine, for example, is a specialty in history and controller systems.”
Sara’s eyes widened a bit at that. She knew Cora had the potential to become a War Mage, but she never guessed that there would be pixies who’d volunteer to be familiars.
“I am actually here to find the dreadnought that Alant and Altis brought.,” she admitted. “We need to find the machine that can make more cores for the fleet, and my sister’s core pointed us to the dreadnoughts.”
“I see,” Nyx said. “We should go speak with the elders, in that case. You must first bond with your guard, if he is to be trusted with our secret,” she gestured to Baxter, who was still slack-jawed and dazed.
“Right, so what does that entail?”
Nyx approached Alister, and held out her hand to him. “I will give the spellform to Alister so that he may provide it to you.”
Alister reached out a paw and covered the pixie’s smaller appendage. They both closed their eyes, and a moment of silence passed between them.
Nyx released his paw a few seconds later and said, “Now, the important part of the spell is that he must give back in equal measure. He will need to give you a portion of his Aether in return, using you as the spellform. Does he know your shape well enough to do this?”
Sara blinked at that. “When you say ‘know’ my shape, what are you talking about, exactly?”
“He must know your form; your body’s shape. It is how one gives a portion of themselves to another. He will use you as a spellform, while you use him as a target for the spell,” Nyx explained, her head cocked to the side, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
Sara considered that. It would be like when she had focused her Aether into Alister in order to complete the Familiar spell. Which meant he would need to know her in her purest form: naked.
Fuck.
“You know what? Let’s just skip it for now. We can just leave him here,” Sara said, flipping a hand at the slack-jawed man, her face burning with embarrassment at th
e thought of him studying her while she stood fully exposed to him.
It wouldn't be that bad. You’ve even fantasized about it a few times, she scolded herself, and her face burned all the brighter.
Nyx hesitated a moment before saying, “I would not advise that, if you care about him. Most people that enter our area of influence are turned away by the spell after a few minutes, wondering why they wanted to go into our woods at all. However, sometimes an individual becomes obsessed with entering, and will not be deterred. They come, and the spell cannot dissuade them, so they stay here, under its influence. Alant and Altis built a safety into the spell, in case individuals came that would not leave us in peace.”
Sara had a bad feeling about what that safety was; considering a War Mage created it, she figured it wouldn't be good for Baxter. “Let me guess, it erases their mind or something?” she asked, a hand on her hip.
“Oh, no. Nothing so complicated as that. It simply kills them. If they stay in the area of influence for more than an hour, or return more than twice in one day, the security measure is activated, and the body is rapidly decomposed, leaving no trace.”
Sara and Boon both stood with their mouths open in shock. “It kills them? Fuck, those guys were not messing around,” Sara said.
“I get the feeling, from the fact that your friend has not tried to wander away, that he is rather stubborn about leaving you,” Nyx said with an apologetic smile.
Sara took a deep breath and blew it out in a rush. “Yeah, he won’t leave while I’m still in there.” God dammit. I can’t just let the thing kill him… “When he becomes bonded to me, will he be able to interact with you?”
“Yes. And your contract with Alister will extend to your bonded guard. He will be able to mitigate some of the rage you feel when casting for long periods, as well as have an increased Aether reserve and an increased flow into his well. He will also feel your general direction and some of your emotions, like Alister does. The bonding is permanent, but unlike with Alister, you and your guard may travel apart without repercussions,” Nyx helpfully explained.
Dreadnought: War Mage: Book Two (War Mage Chronicles 2) Page 9