The Paladin Archives Book Two The Withering Falseblade

by Jason Psilopoulos

  "Marcus Kasidyne. I came to see the captain. Permission to come aboard," Marcus asked calmly. The red-haired deck officer gave him a slight nod. Marcus could see the approving look in her eyes. She was checking him out. After a moment’s admiration and a quick shake of her head, Tracy checked her terminal. Sure enough, Marcus was listed as a VIP.

  "Granted Sir Kasidyne," she said, trying to hide the tone in her voice. Marcus could see the slight flush in her cheeks. It brought an unconscious smile to his face. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Tracy was nervous sounding in her speech.

  "Just tell me. Where's Captain Dirk?" Marcus asked simply, stifling his flirting reflex. Rebekah would kill him if he pursued that line of conversation. The deck officer could see that business was the only thing on Marcus's mind. She quickly composed herself.

  "He's on the bridge, secondary deck." Marcus thanked her, and turned to walk away. He could hear the faintest sigh coming from behind him. He shook his head a little and tried not to let himself become too proud. He knew what she was thinking.

  Marcus knew the paladins were looked at with wonder and awe sometimes. But it was always a little unnerving to be appreciated for the more sensual things. Not that he minded. He was just a little uncomfortable about being eyed like a prime cut of rib eye steak by someone he didn't know. Marcus didn't like being stared at. He was a paladin, not an underwear model.

  The hangar was connected to a small corridor that led to a wide series of ladders. Sage had said the ship was without any kind of lift or elevator system. When Marcus had asked why, Sage had said that he couldn't figure out how to keep people from waiting for the lift. Besides which, with the modular nature of the ship, any kind of lift system would be logistically impossible. And seconds lost in an emergency waiting for the elevator could mean life or death. Sage's solution was a series of ladders and utility stairwells that connected the different decks at key junctions. The crew was going to be in shape. That was for sure.

  The decks themselves were not all that different from his other designs on the Cloudrunners and the Vindicators. The halls were roughly hexagonal, and not much wider than four people standing shoulder to shoulder. The floor plan for each deck was arranged in a kind of diamond shape. Sage had called it a rhombus, and Marcus took his word for it. Because of the ship's structure, the decks couldn't be just floors in the hull. The ship moved at such speeds and was designed with an organic form in mind that the decks had to be staggered in ways that were strange to most designers.

  Sage had built the ship to alter itself as it gained speed. Typical airship design was like nautical design. The decks were built to fit the frame of the ship. But Sage had placed the decks within the ship so that they were as much as fifteen feet from one another. The airship engineers in Meridian had laughed about the strange idea, thinking it was sloppy.

  That was until Sage had showed them with the static model. The Triumphant was capable of such great speed, because of what they had called a design flaw. As the ship gained speed, the decks themselves would compress as the hull of the ship tightened itself down to become more aerodynamic. All decks were built with servomotors that would shift and warp the ship so that maximum aerodynamic flight could be maintained.

  But that left Marcus with one problem. The bridge was at the forward position of deck five, which meant he was about to get a lot of exercise.

  "I don't care if you have to dismantle the entire transceiver assembly, Freya. I want the problem fixed, understand?" Donavan said, tipping his cap away from his eyes. He was standing at the communication console with his comm officer on the secondary deck. Freya Vargas shook her head, looking at Donavan without so much as flinching.

  "With all due respect, Captain, it's not the transceiver. There's interference coming from one of the other stations on the ship." Donavan watched as she brought up the readings she'd been working on that morning. Sine waves and mathematical grids popped up on the viewscreen, showing Donavan in numerical terms what was happening. "Somewhere in the aft quarter near or in the crew quarters there's a computer or a conduit junction or something that's not aligned properly. It's putting out a low grade, low quality jamming signal. It's got a peculiar magnetic resonance." Donavan nodded.

  "Meaning it's consistent." Freya didn't bother to nod.

  "It has a regular resonant interval. Every two minutes it pulses. That's what's causing the interference. Something on that deck is cycling at a regular pace, causing signal disruption." Donavan looked impressed. Freya had obviously done her homework. She was one of those exceptional officers he was always so proud to know.

  "Looks like B Deck aft. That's near the engineering section," Donavan muttered. "That's why we've got static on the line?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest. His question wasn't terribly complicated. He'd asked for confirmation only. Freya nodded, shutting down the display.

  "I'm almost positive sir. Between section twenty and thirty. The interference is coming from that deck." Donavan sniffed slightly.

  "How long before you can get on that?" Freya gave her head a tilt. She was trying to narrow down a rough estimate.

  "Well, Chief Engineer Cortez said he'd be working in that section today. I suppose I could ask him to give it a look-see. Not that he'll jump on it." Donavan gave his approval.

  "Sounds good. Get Sage on it and don't take no for an answer."

  "No Sir." Donavan stopped and looked up at Freya. She just smiled at him.

  "Communications problems I see." Donavan turned and saw Marcus walking over from the aft corridor, a casual look on his face. Donavan smirked wryly.

  "Communications, navigation, tactical. Even the bridge water dispenser's on the fritz." Marcus smiled and extended a hand. Donavan took it gladly. "How was your half mile walk through the ship?" Marcus shrugged. It had been a good six months since Donavan had stopped into Littlefield. Marcus looked a little haggard, but still as positive as ever.

  "The Holodrome has rougher endurance courses." Donavan had expected as much. "Shakedown's progressing I see." Donavan motioned around at the secondary deck, with all the stations in some state of disarray. All the fixing that needed to happen was happening right now.

  "We've got a lot of work to do," he lamented.

  "Built by monkeys?" Marcus asked.

  "Built by bureaucrats!" a Spanish laden voice barked from under a console. Marcus looked over to see Sage Cortez climbing out from beneath the Internal Ship Status station, his hair unkempt and his face grimy with some kind of bluish greasy lubricant. "I said that certain things needed to be done a certain way. But do they listen to the designer? No. They do what they flaming well please and endanger this whole crew's lives to save a few bucks." Marcus chuckled a little at Sage as he got to his feet and walked toward them.

  "It flies at least," Donavan noted calmly. Sage grunted at that.

  "Of course it flies. And that's because I know what I'm doing." Marcus shook his head.

  "I see you're as chipper as ever Sage," he said with humor in his tone. Sage wiped the sweat from his brow, smearing more of the blue lubricant across his forehead. Marcus tried not to smile. Sage was almost more blue than tan.

  "Are you kidding? This is what I do for fun Marcus. I've got an airship all to myself, with a million problems in her construction. And I'm the only person in the world that knows how to fix them all." Sage set down his tools and pulled off his insulated gloves. "I'm in heaven." Marcus extended his hand and Sage took it gladly. The two hadn't seen each other since the Horthok Incident. But then, Marcus hadn't been allowed to leave the campus, and Sage was neck deep in construction details. “I do need to speak to you sometime,” he said quietly. “It’s important.”

  "It'll have to wait Sage.” The engineer nodded slowly.

  “No rush. It'll keep.”

  “Donavan, do you have a few minutes to spare?" Marcus asked slowly. Donavan motioned to the chaos around him.

  "Do I look like I can go anywhere?" Marcus nodded in understandin
g. "Sage." The half-elf nodded. "Get a shower, will you please?" Sage frowned as Marcus turned and followed Donavan to the briefing room.

  "I see nothing's changed around here," Donavan said casually as he and Marcus walked in. Marcus nodded only slightly, not sure if the way things were on campus could be considered normal.

  "I'm in a teaching post, Rebekah going stir-crazy, Ian's trying to learn everything at once and the Council just declared Jacob dead." Donavan's bright look went grim almost instantly. He sat himself down, removing his hat and took a moment. "I'd say that accounts for normal." Donavan watched as Marcus slumped down into a chair, his entire being seeming to sag as he let gravity pull on him. Donavan had seen Marcus under stress before. Something about it always made him seem small compared to normal.

  "They give you a reason?" Donavan asked finally. Marcus rehearsed the particulars of the meeting for him. After it was over, Donavan could see why Marcus wanted to keep this quiet.

  "So, what can I do?" Marcus smirked. Leave it to Donavan Dirk to want to get his hands dirty.

  "I need you to see if you can find out what happened to Jacob." Donavan nodded.

  "Just circumvent a Paladin investigation?" he asked, his voice never changing tone. Marcus grimaced a little.

  "I'm not asking you to break the law Donavan. On the contrary. Rebekah, Ian and I discussed this and we're all in agreement. The disappearance happened in the jurisdiction of the SCTF. And your men conducted a preliminary investigation. I'd like to see the report." Donavan didn't want to get involved with something like this. He'd had his fill of Paladin-Dread Paladin affairs last year. Almost becoming a blood sacrifice was enough for him. "Technically, you should've been on the case immediately. Circumstances being what they were, of course." Donavan shrugged a little at that.

  "I've got a load of responsibilities here Marcus," he said, half-hoping Marcus would let him out of his request. "I can't just up and leave Sage to change whatever he likes." Marcus smiled a little.

  "You could take him with you, you know." Donavan grimaced at that.

  "I'd sooner throw hands with you." Marcus straightened up a little, and gave Donavan his most serious stare. The young captain hated that look.

  "I'll take it as a personal favor Donavan." Donavan could always tell by that look on Marcus's face that he meant every word of it. Whatever it was that Marcus wasn't telling him, it was big. Marcus wasn't faring as well as he let on. Donavan could see the young man was hiding something. Something that was bigger than a simple disappearance. Marcus wanted his mentor back to help him sort it all out. In the end, Donavan relented.

  "All right. I'll help you out. But you owe me after this Marcus. And I won't take another life-saving as payment." Marcus looked mockingly shocked.

  "What? Saving your life isn't good enough anymore?" Donavan smiled.

  "Saving my life is just too easy." Marcus laughed.

  "If you didn't put yourself in jeopardy all the time," Marcus jibed. In a way, Donavan was absolutely right.

  "So, what else can I help you with?" Marcus let out a loud sigh.

  "MISTER BURKE!" Donavan snapped. Ellis nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his last name. He straightened up and found Captain Dirk staring him dead in the face. Donavan had come out of seemingly nowhere.

  "Sir!" the boy squeaked hoarsely. Donavan suppressed a smile and continued to glare at Ellis.

  "Hold simulation," Donavan said to the air. The room around him seemed to wind to a stop. His face was not happy. "What is the point of this exercise, Mister Burke?" Ellis swallowed hard.

  "To infiltrate an . . . um . . ." he stammered. Donavan could see him struggling to remember what he was supposed to be doing.

  "Um is not an acceptable response in this exercise Mister Burke! What is the point of this exercise?" Ellis's face went pale as his mind raced for the answer.

  "To infiltrate a . . . an HVOC stronghold and . . ." Ellis clamped his mouth shut before another 'Um' passed his lips. "To secure all contraband before it can be shipped from seller to buyer.” Donavan leaned back away from him only slightly. Ellis had picked it up finally.

  "So why are you just standing here?" Ellis seemed a little confused by the question. Donavan jumped on his silence. "You're supposed to be watching for threats and keeping your companions guarded against rear attack. So why aren't you doing it?" Ellis was about to respond when Donavan cut him off.

  "I don't think you're taking your job seriously Mister Burke. I don’t think you get that people's lives are on the line here." Ellis got a sour look on his face.

  "With all due respect, Sir, it's just a simulation." Donavan's face darkened at that. He wasn't all that used to people challenging his instructions.

  "You don't respect me Mister Burke. Don't act like you do. And as for this being a simulation, well, frankly, I don't care. You are learning how to save lives here. And if you can't get it right in here, you're going to end up dead out there, along with a lot of other people. Some of whom may be your friends." Ellis didn't back down from his stance.

  "I scanned and I found nothing. I did my job!" Donavan grabbed Ellis by the arm. "Oww!"

  "Follow me and I'll show you how you botched this mission." Ellis wasn't anywhere near as strong as Donavan, and try as he might he was going were Donavan wanted. The two passed through one wall, and found themselves in a dark room with Uther, Jack and Mary, all of whom were wondering what had happened to the simulator. Uther in particular looked very concerned about something, glancing about with his eagle sharp eyes.

  “Foul up again Ellis?” Jack said soberly.

  "Can it, Roykirk!” Donavan spat, cowing the boy. Jack got a little smaller for a moment. The airship captain turned Ellis to face him, never straying very far from the confused young man. “HVOC’s or Havocs use what they call Hard Velocity suits. It alters their perceptions of time and allows them to pass through at what we would see as super speed. They are detectable through passive scans and leave a definitive disruptive signature." Ellis shrugged Donavan off and looked at his scanning equipment.

  "I scanned for that. I'm scanning now. There's no one here but us." Donavan stepped into a puddle of water, his footsteps making the only sound. With a casual move, Donavan reached over and turned on the lights in the room. Jack and Mary both jumped a little.

  "They also figured out how to cloak those disruptions almost a year ago." Ellis opened his mouth, but only a faint vowel sound came out. "You fouled up Burke," Donavan said harshly. Around them, all ready to pounce, were no less than fifteen HVOC officers, all within a foot of the group. Mary recoiled in surprise.

  "Good job genius," Jack muttered.

  "But I scanned. I did what you asked." Donavan shook his head.

  "You ONLY did what was asked! And barely that! You didn't try scanning for anything else. You didn't take this exercise seriously, and now your companions are dead!" Ellis's face turned dark red. He didn’t know what to say. He had no defense. "I didn't ask you to scan! I ordered you to protect your crew! You failed because you didn't do everything in your power to help them. If you can't take this all seriously, if you can't get your act together, and if you can't listen long enough to hear what's actually being said, then one day you're going to make a mistake that's going to cost someone their life, their friend's lives, or even their souls." Ellis looked at the floor. He didn't want to hear any more. He didn't like Donavan Dirk or how he handled this situation. He wasn't to blame. It was just a simulation. It didn't even matter.

  "Yes sir," he mumbled. Donavan jumped into his face.

  "Look at me Burke! Say it like you mean it!" Ellis almost fell over, his feet sliding a little in the puddle. He jacked up his courage and found his footing.

  "YES SIR!" Donavan nodded, showing the disapproval in his posture. Ellis stood like a lightning rod for a moment. Donavan turned to the others and grunted.

  "We're going to do this again. And we're going to keep doing it until we get it right. Ellis, you're switching places
with Uther for the moment. Maybe your friend can show you what you did wrong. All right. Starting positions. MOVE!"

  After a long afternoon, Donavan headed up toward the second floor to join Marcus in the control room of the simulator. He stepped up toward the automatic door, only to have it buzz at him. After a second of standing there, the door shushed aside.

  “Sorry,” Marcus said as Donavan sat himself down in a high-backed chair. Ian and Rebekah sat nearby, having watched the afternoon's proceedings. “I forgot you don’t have a clearance card.” Marcus waited for the class to walk out of the simulator and into the classroom before turning to his friend.

  "Good to know you've still got it sir," Ian said wryly. Donavan smirked.

  "Just like falling off a bike." Rebekah looked a little confused.

  "Don't you mean riding a bike?” she asked. Donavan shook his head.

  "I meant what I said. Never could ride worth a flame anyway." Marcus let a smile creep across his face as he waved Rebekah off. He could see the joke on her face before she said it.

  "So? What do you think?" Donavan took off his cap and rubbed his eyes.

  "Well, first, I wish we had a simulator like this in Meridian. Would make training a lot simpler." Marcus smirked a little. Donavan got to the point. "As for the first three in the class, you're right. They have problems, but they just need a push in the right direction." Donavan's face became grim.

  "And Ellis?" Marcus asked. Donavan shook his head.

  "Where do I start?" Marcus nodded sympathetically. "He's combative, resentful, snide and takes criticism entirely too personally. And to top it off, he doesn't care what's happening around him. He’s terminally internal, living inside his own head." Marcus nodded. That's about what he thought.

  "Sounds like Robby," Ian said quietly. Donavan looked up and nodded.

  "Robby?" Rebekah asked. Ian explained.

  "Robert Harrock. His friends called him Robby. Not that he had many. Guy kinda kept to himself. Not very social. Always angry about something. And usually it was something useless. We were in the middle of the Terminal Gardens Siege. Robby was the point man on the reconnaissance team. He was supposed to scout out enemy positions and report them to us so we could avoid the outer guard and storm the Ingress. Well, Robby let his mind wander." Marcus nodded.