Maiden Voyage: Star Magi Saga - Prequel

by Andrew Dobell

  ‘Down and clear,’ Amanda said as she rose from her seat. Lux did the same and followed Amanda’s lead out of the bridge and down towards the rear loading ramp.

  Amanda was still in the white fitted outfit she had picked up from the Red City, while Lux had changed into a similar black stealth suit. Her long blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, though, ruining any chance of her being in any way stealthy.

  They walked down the ramp onto the docking bay floor. There was space for several ships in here, and indeed, a couple of other Aetheric Craft stood on nearby pads, with the occasional person moving around them.

  ‘Welcome, ladies,’ said a voice from close by. Amanda looked up to see a figure stood a short distance from the ship, wearing a more formal dress than she or Lux were. His outfit had an official look to it, and he stood with good posture with his hand behind his back. He was a young man sporting perfectly styled short hair and a warm, handsome face with cheekbones to die for. Despite all this, he managed to look friendly and nodded as they both looked at him. ‘I’m Mr Emreys, and I’m here to take you to Miss Rane. She’s expecting you.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Lux said with a smile and a nod, before glancing back to Amanda. Amanda gave Lux a questioning look that she hoped didn’t need an explanation. Amanda felt Lux’s presence grow in her mind as she reached out to talk to her through their Link.

  ~Rane is a friend of Astrid's and mine. She’s also an Ormond.~

  Amanda frowned. ~An Ormond? Who are they?~

  ~They’re the ruling family of the Sol Protectorate, and they basically run this station. They also work towards keeping Sol protected and out of the Nexus,~ she answered through the Link.

  ~Are they one of the dynasties that Cyrac mentioned a while back?~ Amanda asked.

  ~That’s right,~ Lux answered. ~They’re a member of the Nexus as well.~

  ~Got it,~ Amanda said as she walked beside Lux into the building and up a set of white marble stairs, following Emreys.

  Part way up the stairs, a man coming down the other way paused, looking Amanda and Lux up and down, and then he looked over at the man who was leading them.

  ‘Emreys,’ he said, in a soft, cultured voice. He didn’t speak very loudly. Amanda noted that he was glowing in her Aetheric sight, marking him as a Magus.

  ‘Sir?’ Emreys said.

  ‘Who are these and where are you taking them?’ the man said, waving almost dismissively towards herself and Lux.

  ‘I beg your pardon, sir, these ladies are—’

  ‘That’s a matter of opinion,’ the thin man interrupted, a sneer escaping his lips as he glanced at Amanda.

  I don’t like this idiot already, she thought. He was dressed in some very fine-looking clothing that was cut to fit him perfectly and was covered in some very intricate detail that shimmered in the light.

  ‘Very good, sir. But they are here under Miss Rane’s orders.’

  ‘Of course, they are,’ he said, and turned to look at Amanda and Lux again, assessing them it seemed.

  ~Who’s this joker? ~ Amanda asked Lux through their Link.

  ~That is Dasha Ormond, one of Rane’s brothers. He’s a self-important fop as far as I’m concerned. I’ve only met him a couple of times, but I disliked him from day one.~

  ~Make that minute one for me,~ Amanda answered.

  ‘Well, keep an eye on them, Emreys, wouldn’t want them stealing anything from their betters, would we?’ Dasha said before he wandered off, apparently ignoring the looks that Amanda was giving him. She desperately wanted to speak her mind to him, but this was all new to her, and she didn’t want to cause too many problems before they’d really got anywhere. Emreys watched the man go before leading them to the top of the stairs, where he glanced back down, looking towards where Dasha went, and then looked back to herself and Lux.

  ‘My apologies, Dasha isn’t the most eloquent member of the House of Ormond,’ he said in little more than a whisper.

  Amanda smiled. ‘I’ve been called worse, so I have,’ she said.

  ‘Well, it’s most assuredly undeserved. Please, accept my apologies,’ he answered her.

  ‘Of course,’ Amanda said with a disarming smile.

  Apparently satisfied, the man led them through a hallway to his right, through some doors to another hall, and them up to a door on the left wall, where he knocked lightly.

  Amanda couldn’t help but look at the surroundings she found herself in as she waited close by. The walls of the corridor were white with gold leaf details. The floors were an off-white carpet with a thick pile, giving them a luxurious feel while ornaments and potted plants lined the hallways. It looked like they were in some kind of palace rather than aboard a space station.

  Amanda sensed the Magic flare from within the room briefly before the door suddenly unlocked. Nodding, Emreys took hold of the door handle and walked into the room a couple of steps before stopping.

  ‘Miss Ormond, I have Miss Luxana Nix and Amanda-Jane Page to see you,’ he said with deference in his voice.

  ‘Aaah, excellent, show them in,’ said a feminine voice from within.

  Emreys quickly turned and waved Lux and herself forward. Amanda followed Lux and found herself walking into a lavishly appointed room that, if it were possible, seemed even more ornate than the corridor outside.

  Golden seats with pristine white cushions stood around the room in small groups, surrounding low wooden tables, while a wet bar hugged one wall. On the far side of the room, the walls were covered with floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the city beyond and the impressive star field.

  Sitting upon a collection of seats in the middle of the room were two other women, one of which Amanda had met before.

  Astrid, she recognised from her handful of previous meetings, and she wore her usual black fitted stealth suit with tactical belts holding a selection of guns, and even a blade strapped to her back. She had her typical blue hair tied up in a ponytail and was looking towards the door. The other lady was someone new to Amanda, though.

  She wore a formal white gown with loose, draping fabric that pinched in at her waist, but flowed over her legs and the seat she was sitting on.

  Both ladies rose from their seats. Astrid nodded to them, her expression neutral, but not unkind, while Rane offered them a wide smile.

  ‘Welcome, my friends, welcome; it’s such a pleasure to meet you, Amanda. I’ve heard so much about you.’

  Amanda’s eyebrows rose a fraction in surprise. ‘Really?’

  ‘Astrid here speaks very highly of you,’ Rane said, stepping forward and offering her hand. Amanda took it, and Rane shook it warmly.

  ‘Oh, well, thank you,’ Amanda said a little hesitantly. She glanced over to Astrid, who nodded to her and winked. Amanda smiled back.

  ‘Lux, lovely to see you again,’ Rane said, stepping over to her and giving her a friendly hug, which Lux returned. Lux smiled once, but only briefly.

  Rane stepped back and gestured to the seats, getting Amanda and Lux to sit. Once they were all seated, Rane, sitting forward on the sofa, got straight down to business. ‘So, how can we help you?’

  ‘Well,’ Lux said, taking a breath. ‘I’m sorry to report… that Cyrac was…’ Lux choked up as emotion rose up within her and she couldn’t speak. Amanda reached over and put her hand on Lux’s. Lux looked up her and through the emotion, managed to say, ‘Can you…’

  Amanda nodded and turned to the other two, who were watching with looks of concern on their faces. ‘Cyrac was murdered, by Kade,’ she said.

  ‘What? By the Aether! Lux, I had no idea. I’m so sorry,’ Rane said, getting up from her seat and moving around to sit beside Lux, putting her arm around her.

  ‘That void-cursed fucker,’ Astrid hissed to herself and looked at the floor. For a moment, everyone was silent as Rane hugged Lux close and muttered soothing words in her ear until Astrid looked up, first at Lux, and then at Amanda.

  ‘You want to find him, don’t you?’ she said.
r />   Amanda nodded.

  Astrid mirrored the movement, and stared into the middle distance for a moment before looking back. ‘I have a few leads I can chase up,’ she said.

  ‘I’m coming with you,’ Amanda said.

  ‘Me, too,’ Lux added.

  ‘Are you sure,’ Astrid asked.

  ‘Yes, I’m sure. He’s not getting away with this,’ Lux spat.

  ‘Of course, he’s not. Okay, well, better we get this done sooner rather than later,’ Astrid said, standing up.

  Amanda stood as well, followed by Lux and Rane. Astrid made to move, and then stopped, noticing that Rane was coming with them. ‘Are you coming as well?’

  ‘Of course,’ Rane said. ‘He was my friend, too.’

  Astrid shrugged. ‘Fair point, but you’ll need to change into something more… suitable I think.’

  Rane looked down at herself and nodded. With a flare of Essentia, her ornate Ormond Dynasty clothing changed to a much more practical and utilitarian stealth suit and boots as she tied up her long dark hair. ‘Better?’

  ‘Better,’ Astrid nodded.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Amanda asked.

  ‘I have some informants in town,’ Astrid answered her. ‘I think we should pay them a visit.’

  Astrid led them all down to the street levels of the station, below the Magically shielded spires of the Magi, into the inside of Sol Prime itself. She led them along corridors and promenades, using her Magic to look into some of the bars they passed, pausing outside before she continued on.

  Down here, away from the gilded hallways of the dynasty spire, the décor wasn’t quite so ornate. The corridors were unadorned, with metal walkways, pipes, and trunking running along the walls while harsh light lit the passageways sporadically, leaving some sections unlit entirely.

  ‘I hope you’re not getting a bad view of what Prime is like down here,’ Rane said to Amanda.

  Amanda smiled. ‘No, don’t worry. Everywhere has its bad areas, or less well-off areas,’ she said as she scanned around her with her Aetheric sight, looking for potential danger. A few times she passed someone with a Magical item on them, but she had yet to spot another Magus down here. So far, everyone was Riven.

  Amanda suddenly noticed Astrid change the direction she was walking as she sped up and strode towards a bar with seating outside on the promenade. As they approached, one of the patrons, a woman in her late twenties, maybe, looked up and spotted them. The woman got very nervous, and after a moment, stood up and made to walk off. Essentia flared around Astrid, and the girl sat back down in her seat heavily and apparently against her will. She struggled against Astrid’s Magic for a moment, and then relaxed, apparently in resignation of what was to come.

  Astrid grabbed one of the other seats at the girl's table and sat down. Lux followed suit and so did Amanda. Rane stood nearby and watched.

  ‘Casdy,’ Astrid said, her voice giving her name a sing-song tone. ‘You weren’t running away, were you?’

  ‘No. No, no. I wouldn’t do that to you, Astrid, you know that. I was just… You’ve brought some friends, so…’

  ‘Don’t worry about them, they won’t hurt you. I just have a question for you. Do you know someone going by the name Kade?’

  ‘Kade? No, sorry, don’t know anyone by that name,’ she answered.

  ‘Mind if I just check to see if you’re telling the truth?’

  Casdy sat back and threw her hands in the air for a second. ‘Sure, why not. It’s not as if I have anything else to do, is it?’ Her voice was sarcastic, but Astrid seemed to ignore it.

  Essentia flared for a moment around Astrid, and then she stood up. ‘Sorry to bother you, Casdy. I’ll see you some other time,’ she said, before moving away from the table. Amanda followed as the others moved to keep up with her.

  ‘No luck?’ Rane asked.

  ‘No,’ Astrid said. ‘She was telling the truth, so, we move on. I have more where she came from.’

  ‘Good to know,’ Amanda muttered as Astrid led them along more tunnels and down to a more industrial level of the structure. Walking up to a makeshift metal wall with a door set into it, she kicked it open and strode through. Lux followed close behind her, and then Rane, with Amanda bringing up the rear. Inside, a few guys sitting just inside the door scattered, but didn’t try to stop them. Astrid strode through the complex of rooms and corridors, her focus set, ignoring the strange looks from the people they were passing until she walked into a dingy looking office with one man behind a desk and two others standing talking to him. Astrid stopped at the edge of the desk and smiled at the man.

  ‘Hi,’ she said.

  The man eyed her for a moment, and then looked at the other two guys who had been in here with him. ‘We’ll finish this later,’ he said to them and waved them out. Amanda held the door and let the pair walk out, looking a little annoyed at the interruption. She kept her face neutral and shut the door behind them as soon as they were out.

  Looking back, Astrid had sat in one of the seats opposite the man and relaxed into it. ‘Been a little while,’ she said.

  ‘Not long enough,’ the man answered.

  ‘Sylas, you love me, really,’ she said.

  ‘Get on with it,’ Sylas said. ‘I’m a busy man, and I have work to do.’

  ‘Sure thing. Do you know someone called Kade?’ Astrid asked.

  ‘Fray!’ the man cursed, and Amanda watched the man's heart rate spike as he said it.

  ‘That’s a big fat yes, then,’ Astrid smiled. ‘Tell me what I want to know.’

  ‘And what’s that, exactly?’

  ‘Where is he?’

  ‘What’s in it for me?’ has asked.

  ‘We don’t kill you,’ Lux spat.

  Sylas looked at Lux, and then back to Astrid. ‘Alright, good deal. Yeah, I know a Kade. He was here not long ago, needed to get out of Sol, so naturally, I passed him on to a contact.’

  ‘Nomad?’ Astrid asked.

  ‘Of course,’ Sylas said, his voice flat. ‘Goes by the name of Vastus. They were keeping their destination quiet, but I knew something like this would probably be important to someone. Didn’t know it would be you coming knocking my door down, though. So anyway, I planted a bug, you see. Eh? Clever eh?’

  ‘Genius,’ Astrid said, her tone unimpressed, but Sylas didn’t take any notice.

  ‘You see, turns out, Vastus has a base on Pyke in the Brexus System with his mentor.’

  ‘Pyke?’ Astrid asked.

  ‘That’s the one. Pretty good, huh?’

  ‘Not bad,’ Astrid said, standing up.

  ‘I won’t kill you today,’ Lux said.

  ‘Wow. Fray! Thanks, lady,’ Sylas answered, no small amount of sarcasm in his voice.

  ‘See you soon,’ Astrid said as she led the way out of the office while Amanda held the door for her.

  ‘Nice friends you have there,’ Sylas said to Amanda once the others had stepped out.

  It wasn’t meant as a compliment, of course, but then, he didn’t know the details of what had happened. She felt pretty sure that the other ladies were not usually this forceful in their day to day lives, but when a Nomad kills one of your friends, desperate times called for desperate measures. Amanda merely shrugged in response and stepped out also, moving to catch up with the other three.

  Once they were out of the office, Astrid gathered them together. ‘We’re done here, let’s get back,’ she said.

  ‘I’ll take us back to the spire,’ Rane said, and Essentia flared.

  With a series of whip-snaps, the four of them were Ported up to the main foyer just inside from the landing pad where Amanda could see the Arkady, waiting for her.

  ‘Planet Pyke?’ Lux asked.

  ‘I’ve heard of it,’ Astrid said. ‘I suggest we head there.’

  ‘You’ll get no argument from me,’ Lux said.

  ‘Is it far?’ Rane asked.

  ‘No, you’ll be back inside of a few weeks,’ Astrid answered her.<
br />
  ‘Then I’m coming. Dynasty business can do without me for a little while.’

  ‘My ship’s ready and waiting,’ Amanda said, keen to offer whatever help she could. So far, she felt a little like a fifth wheel, but she was keen to see this through as well.

  ‘Lead the way,’ Astrid said.

  Death World

  Planet Pyke, Brexus System

  The Arkady dropped out of Flux a short distance from a lush, green looking planet hanging in the darkness. White clouds skidded over the surface of the globe, which seemed to be around seventy percent land, with large lakes dotted around it.

  ‘Is that it?’ Lux asked.

  ‘These are the coordinates that Astrid found,’ Amanda said.

  ‘That’s it,’ Astrid answered. ‘Planet Pyke.’

  ‘Looks nice,’ Amanda said. ‘No signs of colonisation in space, though, no stations here it seems.’

  ‘And the surface?’ Lux asked. ‘Can you see anything down there?’

  ‘I’m getting massive life sign readings from Pyke itself, looks like it’s teaming with life down there. Hold on, I’ll see if the ship can detect any electromagnetic signatures or signs of Magic,’ Amanda said as she directed the core to scan the surface. It only took a moment for the scan to detect a good-sized Aegis down on the surface, so she brought the location up on the main viewport and overlaid the scan of the Aegis on top of the zoomed-in image of the surface.

  Several buildings were visible on the viewer, built in the middle of a clearing.

  ‘Looks like we’ve found something down there. No idea if it’s these Nomads or not, though,’ Amanda said.

  ‘Only one way to find out,’ Astrid said, rising from her seat.

  Lux jumped up also. ‘I have to know, I’ll come with you. Amanda?’

  ‘Oh, I’m coming,’ Amanda answered. She wasn’t going to miss out on this. Rane had also stood up, but Astrid turned to her.