Mercenary Mage - A Dark Space Fantasy (Star Mage Saga Book 4)

by J. J. Green

  “Do you believe in fate?” she asked the pilot. “You’ve mentioned it a couple of times but I didn’t know if you were being serious.”

  “Uh…” Stevenson made an adjustment on his flight control panel before replying, “I believe there’s more to existence than we currently understand. Look at you, for instance. What explanation is there for what you and your sibs do?”

  “Nai Nai—my grandmother—and Ma told me the explanation accepted among mages. It makes sense, in a way, but it doesn’t explain it properly.”

  “No kidding,” Stevenson said. “What does mage lore have to say about what you do?”

  “That most mages’ energy to Cast comes from the stars. And the mages who derive their energy that way are called Star Mages. Parthenia, Oriana, Ferne and I are all Star Mages. Darius is a Spirit Mage. His energy comes from living things. As for Castiel, I’m pretty sure he’s a Dark Mage. Dark Mage’s energy is hidden in the universe.”

  “That does make a little sense,” said Stevenson. “And there’s no doubt that what you do is real so there has to be an explanation for it.”

  “I might find the answer on Earth,” Carina said pensively. “That’s where mages originated so it stands to reason that’s where most research was done.”

  “But, assuming you’re right about mages originating there and that you manage to find the planet, is it likely any of the information still exists after all this time?”

  “Who knows?” Carina asked. “But at least I will have tried.”

  More important to her than information about mages was the dream that Earth would be somewhere people had learned from their history of persecuting mages and grown more tolerant and accepting. All she wanted was for her and her family to be left alone and to live without fear. It didn’t seem too much to ask.

  “Your boyfriend, Bryce,” Stevenson said. “He’s going with you?”

  “He says he wants to. I hope he does.”

  “That’s quite a commitment.”

  “He’s quite a guy,” said Carina, somewhat flippantly, but she meant it.

  “He is?” Stevenson said. “I mean, if you say so, but he seemed the jealous type for a while there.”

  “He was, but he got over it.”

  “I’m glad, for your sake.”

  “So am I,” Carina said. “I think I figured out where he was coming from. You see, he got really sick one time, and his entire family abandoned him. They just went off and left him to die, alone and homeless. He says he forgives them and he’s gotten over it, but I don’t think he ever has. I think deep down he’s worried I’m going to abandon him too.”

  “That must be hard.” Stevenson’s attention returned to the Duchess’s flight controls.

  Carina snuck a glance at the man’s profile as he worked. Bryce hadn’t been wrong when he’d sensed something between them. The pilot had been a port in a stormy sea for her when she’d first joined the Black Dogs. After years of homelessness, she’d been well-fitted to the name of the band. She’d been feral, scared, determined to prove herself, desperate for and terrified of companionship. She’d been a mess.

  She’d bounced around the other mercs, not knowing who was friend or foe, who was genuine and who wanted to take advantage of her. And the mercs themselves were almost as much of a mess as she was. The lifestyle attracted the worst and most damaged of humanity. At times, Stevenson had seemed the only sane, normal one among them with the exception of Cadwallader and Speidel, whose higher ranks prevented them from having much to do with her.

  The pilot had helped calm her down and reassure her that she was doing okay, that she wasn’t about to be kicked out of the band. He’d warned her of the mercs to stay away from and who she could trust, to an extent.

  They had never been exclusive. That wasn’t how it worked when you didn’t know if you would still be alive at the end of the next mission. But they had been more than friends, and Bryce’s gut had told him so.

  “You’d better go ask your little brother begin Cloaking the ship,” Stevenson said.

  “What?” said Carina. “Are we nearly there?”

  “Uh huh. It would be better if the Dirksens didn’t know we were coming.”

  Carina got up to leave, but she paused and turned. Bending down, she gave Stevenson a hug.

  “Not unwelcome,” he said affectionately, “but why?”

  “The last time we parted ways I didn’t get to say a proper goodbye. After this mission’s over we probably won’t see each other again. I just wanted to say thanks.”

  “For what?” He had drawn back and was looking Carina in the eyes.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Just being who you are, and for being there for me when it counted.”

  “I could say the same.” He gave a soft smile. “Good luck, Carina. I hope that if fate does exist it leads you where you want to go.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The Duchess sat on the dark side of a gas giant in Ostillon’s system, gathering data on the state of affairs on the Dirksens’ former hideaway planet. The ship’s scanners had been set to pick up signal leakage. Media reports, private conversations, and comms on domestic matters would paint a picture of what was happening on the planet’s surface.

  It had been months since Carina had left, or rather, had been kidnapped and forced to leave. Were things still as dire? Perhaps the Dirksens had closed up shop and left. That would be ideal, but Carina had a feeling things would not be so simple and easy for her.

  They never were.

  But she was in a better position than she’d been for a long time—ever, in fact. After plenty of practice and meditation, the kids’ Casting had improved enormously, and the Black Dogs were equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and armor, and were battle-ready. It would have been good to carry out more rehearsals, but this was her chance and she was going to take it.

  She was on the bridge with Cadwallader when the latest computer analysis of the scan data arrived. He was first to check it.

  “It’s the same.” He sighed.

  “The same?” she echoed. “Nothing?”

  “Not a thing.”

  “And you’re sure it can’t be an error?”

  “We ran diagnostics on all the scanners like you asked,” Cadwallader said. “They’re all functioning perfectly. They’re just not picking up any signals from Ostillon.”

  “It doesn’t seem possible,” said Carina. “The situation was bad when we left, but it’s hard to imagine things going so far south that no planet-wide comm systems are working.”

  “We can send out probes to gather more data. Maybe get some visuals of the surface, especially that mountain range where your brother says the Dirksen headquarters is situated.”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Please do that.” Another six or twelve hours’ wait wouldn’t hurt. She was fairly confident that due to Darius’s regular Cloaking of the Duchess, they had slipped into the system unnoticed. Providing they remained in their current position they shouldn’t be detected. A departing Dirksen vessel might happen to pick up on the Duchess’s presence, but the chances of that were slim.

  “This gives me an idea about what to do with Lomang and his little brother,” Cadwallader said.

  He and Carina had been debating how to get rid of the smugglers for some time, without coming up with a solution. Murdering the two men in cold blood seemed harsh, yet if they allowed them to go free there was little doubt Lomang would come after them—perhaps in his wife’s destroyer. The fact that Nahla had taken his jewelry from the Zenobia had never been divulged to him in the weeks he’d spent in the Duchess’s brig, but the man wasn’t stupid. He would know the money for the complete refitting of the mercs’ vessel had to have come from somewhere.

  “You think it’s safe to abandon them on Ostillon?” Carina asked.

  “If we’re going to maroon them it seems a good place to do it,” replied Cadwallader. “Assuming they survive it’ll take them months to leave.”

 
“Okay, let’s do that.” She thought for a moment. “But not until the mission’s over. I want Lomang safely confined here in the meantime, out of danger of interfering I can’t stand the sight of the man’s hat. It’s way too distracting.”

  She spent the next few hours double-checking the provisions and equipment they were taking along on the mission. A plentiful supply of elixir was paramount. Each mage would carry two large canisters and the shuttle would carry a small tank full of the precious liquid. She had also packed ingredients so they could make more if necessary. She’d gathered wood and soil at Martha’s Rest.

  When the data from the probes arrived, it was shocking. No aircraft were plying its skies, no ships sailed its seas, and very little traffic traveled along its road systems. Over the cities the atmosphere was hazy, as if smoky from intentional or accidental fires. Ostillon appeared to have reverted to an early settlement state.

  Even more pertinent and shocking was the fact that no starships appeared to be in orbit around the planet. It was conceivable that one or more could have been orbiting sunside and thus not visible, but the probes hadn’t even picked up traces from starship engines. It seemed that no space vessels had been on site for several weeks at a minimum.

  Could the Dirksens really have abandoned the planet? It was more than Carina dared to hope.

  “I know what the data says,” said Cadwallader, “but we should proceed as if the planet and the Dirksen headquarters remain heavily defended.”

  “Agreed,” Carina said.

  “And, on the chance we’ve arrived at an opportune moment but Dirksen starships are on their way,” Cadwallader continued, “we should commence the mission as soon as possible.”

  “Also agreed. I’ll break the news to the kids.”

  ***

  The mages put on their armor in silence. It had been custom-made for them at Martha’s Rest. These were no cut down EVA suits, potentially with vital components missing. The mages wore the same state-of-the-art reinforced plexi-silicon as the mercs. It would protect them against direct hits from highest-energy pulse rounds, though not at close range and not forever. No armor protected you forever.

  As Carina also got ready to go to the shuttle, she recalled her argument with Bryce in their cabin, when their anger had visibly hurt Darius. Bryce had implied that what she was trying to do wasn’t worth risking the lives of her siblings. At the time she’d dismissed his words, telling herself that she was doing the right thing, the best thing for all of them; that finding the way back to Earth could be the only solution to all their problems.

  But, in truth, she had to admit that reaching Earth was her dream, not her brothers and sisters’. Everything they did and were about to do was her idea. Though they’d mostly gone along with her, she didn’t know if that was because they really wanted to, or if they were doing it out of gratitude for her rescuing them from the Sherrerrs, or because they were too submissive or scared to say no.

  “Kids,” she said suddenly. It was somewhat late in the day to be putting the question to them but this would be her last opportunity.

  The mages paused in their movements.

  She took a breath. “If you don’t want to do this you don’t have to. You can stay on the Duchess. All of you. I can go down to Ostillon by myself.”

  “No!” Darius exclaimed. “I want to come with you, Carina.”

  “I know you don’t want me to leave,” she replied, “but that doesn’t mean you have to come on this mission with me. I’ll be coming back whether I find the coordinates for Earth or not.” Her last statement was less certain than she made out but she didn’t want to frighten her brother.

  “I still want to come with you,” Darius declared.

  “So do I,” Parthenia said gravely. “This is family business. We have to stick together.”

  “That’s right,” said Ferne. “You need us. We all need each other if we’re going to survive.”

  Oriana said, “We couldn’t allow you to do this by yourself. Besides, I want to see where the early mages lived.”

  Carina was also curious to see the mountain castle. She knew she could be wrong about it being the place the mages on Ostillon had built to live in when the newcomers began to persecute them, but something told her she was right. If only she could ask Jace, the tall, black-bearded Ostillonian native, descendant of those first mages to arrive from Earth.

  She noticed Castiel had said nothing while the others had given their assurances they wanted to take part in the mission. She still didn’t trust him even as far as she could hoist his scrawny body. He hadn’t done anything to draw attention to himself since he’d been threatened with being left behind on the first rehearsal, and the other kids seemed to have forgiven him if not forgotten his past despicable behavior. But Carina had a long memory. She would be keeping a close eye on him.

  Finally, they were ready.

  They walked through the Duchess to the shuttle bay. Stevenson would be flying them the remaining distance to Ostillon.

  The mercs who would accompany them were already boarding. Atoi would be their CO for the mission as they would be out of radio contact with Cadwallader, who was remaining aboard ship.

  Bryce moved out of line to join the mages and Carina. It would be several hours’ travel to Ostillon.

  Everyone’s visor was up so they breathed the starship’s atmosphere and conserved their suits’ gases. As Carina sat down she noticed Chandu had taken a seat in the shuttle. Her gut rebelled at the thought of the man taking part in the mission but there wasn’t anything she could do about it now. It was too late to ask Cadwallader to pick someone else a as substitute.

  Then Chandu turned in her direction and she saw he was sporting a black eye.

  “What happened to him?” Carina asked Bryce softly, nodding her head in the scarred man’s direction.

  “Didn’t you hear?” Bryce asked. “He got too familiar with Parthenia.”

  Anger rose in Carina but then she chuckled. “She punched him? I guess I shouldn’t have worried about the mercs taking advantage of her after all.”

  She opened a private comm to her sister. “I forgot to warn you to watch out for Chandu, but it looks like I didn’t need to.”

  Parthenia leaned forward to give Carina a smile.

  The cabin Stevenson’s announcement the shuttle’s hatch was about to close. His co-pilot would be responsible for the Duchess while they were gone.

  In another few seconds they were sealed in. The rumble and roar of the shuttle’s engines firing vibrated through the vessel.

  They were on their way.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Castiel took the lead as the mercs and mages advanced along dusty mountain tracks toward the Dirksen hideout. Atoi walked directly behind him, followed by most of the mercs. The mages walked to the rear of the group with a few mercs at the very back. Nothing moved in the slopes around them. It was night time on that part of Ostillon, and everyone was relying on night vision to see the way ahead.

  Carina hoped it didn’t make too much of a difference to her brother. According to what he’d said, he’d always approached the Dirksens’ headquarters in a skimmer or similar vessel and usually during the daytime.

  He’d seemed confident about where to set down in the Duchess’s shuttle, however, so she guessed she had to trust to his judgment.

  She’d asked Bryce to stick close to the mages. They needed the additional firepower—they couldn’t Cast and shoot at the same time—and once they were inside the two groups would inevitably split up and she would stick with her siblings. If things didn’t go their way she didn’t want to be separated from him.

  As before during the rehearsals, Nahla had remained behind with Stevenson. The mission was simply too dangerous for a nine-year-old girl with no way to protect herself. As consolation, the pilot had promised to teach her about the shuttle’s controls.

  Not a single sign of the Dirksens’ presence had been spotted. Flying down in the Cloaked shuttle ha
d given a close up of the state of things on the surface. Everything the vessel picked up confirmed the data from the Duchess’s scanners and probes. No electric lights shone in the darkness and the planet’s communications networks seemed dead. No signals were passing to or from its satellites. Ostillon was in a dire state.

  Carina recalled the young woman, Asha, who had helped her when she was in need. She hoped her short-term friend was doing okay.

  Ferne opened a private comm to Carina. “Can’t we Transport in?”

  “No,” she replied. “Think about it. We don’t know what or who is there. If a bunch of people in armor suddenly appear from nowhere and the Dirksens are still at the castle they’ll shoot us to pieces. And where would we Transport to? Only Castiel knows exactly where we’re going.”

  “Okay,” Ferne sighed. “I guessed there was probably a good reason.”

  Carina was gratified to hear his mature response. The days of dealing with whiny kids appeared to be finally passing.

  The rough mountain path dipped into a hollow and began to rise again, winding its way across the steep slope. She wondered what had made it, people or animals? And if it was people, had it been Dirksen troops? The area was so remote it made more sense to fly troops in and out but perhaps the Dirksens had once stationed lookouts and guards among the peaks.

  If so, it hadn’t done them any good. For their purposes, Ostillon was a dead planet. The Sherrerrs had discovered the Dirksen presence there and their attack had devastated the place, collapsing its infrastructure. The land and people would not recover for a long time. The Dirksens turning up had been the worst thing that could have happened to them.

  But so it was across the galactic sector. The warring clans exhausted resources, exploited populations, and wreaked havoc wherever they set foot.