I could guess where he was trying to lead me, but I decided not to take the bait. “The heart of the Empire still stands as its own nation with perhaps the most powerful navy in current existence. You could travel to the capital planet and find work there, I am sure.”
“True. We have talked about that as a possibility, but with their population problems it is unlikely they would take us all.”
I decided to repeat my question in order to lead him to making the request I was pretty sure would be forthcoming. “That is quite a problem. Have you any possible solution?”
“Yes. We would like to travel back with you to the Wizard Kingdom, if you would have us,” he replied.
“Doctor Leslie, what do you think of us absorbing the hospital staff from here?” I sent.
“Grandmaster, that would be a great help. As you know, finding good people to perform anything other than magic in our kingdom has been hard, especially in the medical field,” she sent back.
“How have you been surviving out here? Our funding cannot possibly have been enough,” I asked.
“This section of space is controlled by a mixture of nations, tribes and consortiums. They have conflicting claims and the borders are in constant flux, but the one thing they all usually agree on is that this station is neutral space. Every few months, a trade fleet shows up from one of them with supplies for us. We pay greatly reduced prices in return for sending doctors onto their ships and helping them. They stay for a few weeks, and then our doctors return to the station and the ships move on,” he said.
“It surprises me that none of them have tried to take this station as their own,” I said.
“That is due in part to a rumor floating around out here,” he said.
“A rumor?” I asked.
“Yes. I am not sure how it started, but it has long been believed that you own this station and are willing to leave it alone as long as no one interferes with it. Needless to say, we have never corrected this rumor,” he said.
“I see.” I could definitely imagine from his point of view that it would be advantageous not to dispel that rumor. I suspected they had even encouraged it a little.
“It has worked very well for us. Many of the major consortiums have high-ranking members who owe us their lives due to the treatment they received here. In fact, I would say all the consortiums have been helped in some major way by our services, either directly or indirectly.” He gave me some examples of the people they had helped. I could see the pride and hear the joy in his voice when he talked about the success they had had over the years.
“Tell me something, Doctor: if money was not an issue, what would you prefer to do in the future?”
“That’s easy to answer; carry on with what we are doing now,” he said.
I thought on that a while. What they were doing out here was a good thing, but unsustainable as it was. “Doctor, this may surprise you but, in general, the Wizard Kingdom has no friends. Inside our borders we enjoy a stable, peaceful society, but our borders are under constant threat.”
“Sadly, that’s true for almost everyone these days. Our little bubble here is an anomaly,” he said.
“I wonder if we could take advantage of that?” I mused.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Suppose that we left this station here, but made it the official property of the Wizard Kingdom?”
“What would that mean, exactly?”
“We have a lack of fully-trained medical personnel, for various reasons. What if we turned this into a school? You could run this station as a research hospital and sustain relations with the nations around you. In addition to the locals, you would also treat citizens of the Wizard Kingdom.”
“But your kingdom is too far from here for that to be practical.”
“We would establish a permanent gate here. That would eliminate travel time.” The idea was coming together in my mind. “We could make use of the positive reputation of this medical center and begin to trade through this station. That would open new markets for us and expand our reach for finding magi.”
He leaned back in his chair and considered that for a while. “Grandmaster, are you saying we would basically return to how things were under the Empire?”
“Yes and no. ‘Yes’ in the sense that you would report to Doctor Leslie and treat our citizens, but ‘no’ in the sense that you would continue your free or discounted services to the local nations. My hope is that we can continue to foster a positive image out here and perhaps find some friends.”
We talked some more about it for several hours. His excitement over the prospect continued to grow and became contagious. I was just about to leave when he sighed and said, “Sorry, Grandmaster, but there is one more issue.”
“Ah, yes; you mentioned two problems. What else is worrying you?” I asked.
“Grandmaster, I am not sure we should wake the Cathratinairians just yet,” he said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because I have every reason to believe that this virus was genetically manufactured specifically to eliminate them. Whoever did it could still be out there. Given their limited population, I don’t know if we could save them a second time,” he said.
“Doctor Leslie and Kellyn both expressed the same concern to me, but this is not a decision I can make. The plan is to wake their ruling council and let them decide their own fate,” I said.
Just then we were interrupted by a call from one of his aides. He spoke for a moment and turned to me, saying, “This is the kind of problem that we face around here all the time.”
“What is going on?” I asked.
“Well, there is a cruiser requesting medical help for one of their number. They have no doctor on board and have the young lady in a hyberpod,” he said.
“That seems like a fairly normal problem,” I said.
“Yes, if that was all, but there is more. You see, this cruiser was here once before, very recently, and at that time brought us a critically-wounded soldier whom we were unable to save. We did all we could, but the victim was too badly injured. In payment for our attempt a very large sum of money, far more than our normal rates, was transferred to us in the name of the victim,” he said.
“It sounds as if he had generous benefactors,” I said.
“Yes; the Phareon government, in fact,” he said.
“You said he was a soldier, so that makes sense,” I started.
“Well, until that donation the Phareon government has never sent us a single penny. They feel that we’re operating illegally out here since they believe we are in their space and should be subject to their laws. They don’t dare to tangle with us because they are not yet able to take on the consortiums,” he said.
“Very interesting. Go on,” I said.
“So here is the problem: that ship obviously is working with or for someone high up in the government, and helping them could break down that political barrier for us; but, according to the report from my aide, the woman in their hyberpod is an escaped slave. If I help them, then I risk the ire of the consortiums that make quite a bit of money from the slave trade. If I do not help them, then I lose any ground we might be making with the local government,” he said.
I leaned back in my chair. “Yes, such is the game we politicians have to play. Which evil do you appease, and which evil do you strike down? Not even I have the power to take them all on at once, much less you.”
“True.” He sighed and looked pensive. “I want to find a way to help them. Not only do I hate slavery, but I would like to break down the hostility there.”
“If they are a government vessel, would they not have the right to free a slave if they saw fit?” I asked.
“No, not without just cause, and there is no record of just cause or any legal documentation around this slave at all,” he said. “There is very little reason to believe there is anything legal about what they are doing, other than that large donatio
n.”
“I see. It is a tough decision for you. If it were I, I would free her, but keep in mind the law I wrote and passed says slavery is illegal; I could do nothing else but release her. Until we are ready to risk actually raising our flag over this station we must keep things low-key, which brings us full circle back to the problem,” I said.
“True. I want to say it is never right to do the wrong thing, but living out here has been a game of careful compromises. I think I will board their ship and evaluate the situation personally. At least then I can get a better understanding of what is going on,” he said.
“If you choose to free her, you can be assured of our support. You are our people now, and if necessary the full might of the Wizard Kingdom will be brought to bear,” I said.
“You know, at some point you will have to meet with the local government, since we are in their space,” he said.
“You are not far from truly unclaimed space. We can move the station, if need be,” I said with a grin.
“Not that far? Move the station?” he said. “Surely you jest! Even if you could move it, it’s hundreds of light years to unclaimed space.”
“No, I am serious. If we need to move the station, we will. Then you can let your convoys know your new location and we carry on as we were,” I said. “You are not alone anymore. You have a full kingdom behind you.”
“I am truly grateful for that, but let me just try talking with this crew about their slave before we do anything drastic,” he said.
“Certainly,” I said, and after some closing remarks I left to deal with issues back at home. I was thankful I could leave Doctor Leslie out here to handle the daily operations of this station, because the issues that Shadow’s team was currently fighting were more critical at this time.
Chapter Three
It had taken a full month before Doctor Hawthorne was convinced that the treatment worked and then two more months to wake, cure and rehabilitate the ruling council of Cathratinairians. The ruling council was made up of three of their elders. They were elected to their positions for life, and before their race became part of the Empire they had had absolute control over their species. Under the Empire, their power was limited by Imperial laws but was still quite broad and overarching.
I joined them at a table in the suite which had been set up for them. After the formal greetings I asked, “Before I speak, do you have any questions for me?”
“Karath has done well over these past weeks in bringing us up to date, Grandmaster. Please carry on,” said one of them.
“Very well.” I paused a moment to gather my thoughts. Unlike Karath, these Cathratinairians were still in their prime and physically very impressive. They dwarfed me in size and would easily outdo me in speed and physical strength. Any normal human would rightly be intimidated in their presence. “Doctor Hawthorne tells me you are completely clean of the virus now and that the treatment we have devised will work on your entire race.”
“Yes. We greatly appreciate you coming to our rescue with this cure,” said Tharak, who was the voice of the Cathratinairian council.
“This, however, leaves us with two problems,” I said.
“What are they?” he asked.
“First, your home world is gone. When the Empire collapsed, the Zalionian Empire claimed your world as its own and it is now a military weapon testing compound and uninhabitable. This means we need to find you a new home when we awaken the rest of your race,” I replied. I told them I had spoken with Emperor Zalith of the Zalionian Empire and he was willing to find them a new planet to live on.
“What is the second problem?” he asked.
“The virus that attacked your species was genetically engineered specifically to wipe you out,” I said.
The three of them turned to face each other and sat in silence for a few moments. Their pointed ears twitched back and forth, but there was no other indication that any communication was taking place. As I did not know what was going on, I let the silence stand. I knew little about their culture and did not want to risk insulting them.
“By whom?” he asked.
“We do not know,” I said.
“I see. Then the problem is that if they are still out there, they could produce another virus and try again,” he said.
“Yes, and as your population is now so small there is good reason to think the virus could kill all of you before we could prevent it,” I said.
“What are our options?” he asked.
“They are connected to the first problem. One option is that you could rejoin what is left of the Empire. They control a vastly overpopulated section of space around what used to be the capital planet. The Imperial Navy is still the strongest fleet in the galaxy, but it is just a shadow of what it once was,” I said. I doubted that the Emperor would be much inclined to take them in, but I was confident I could convince him if it came to that.
“How will that help?” he asked.
“You could mix in with that large population and spread yourselves out so that no one virus could ever get all of you,” I said.
“But our culture would disappear, and we would die out over time anyway,” he said.
“That is the likely outcome,” I said. “Another option is that I could provide you with a carrier and you can fly your people off to uninhabited space somewhere and attempt to regrow your population in secret.”
“That cuts us off from any help,” he said.
“Yes, which brings us to your final option. Currently only three nations are stable: the Zalionian Empire, the Old Empire, and our nation, the Wizard Kingdom. The rest of the galaxy is locked in a constant struggle for control and power. In short, in most places chaos rules.
“I control a large region of space, but my nation is sparsely populated. There are many worlds, currently unused, which have great potential for colonization. If you were willing to join us, I could give you one of those.”
“Your nation is at peace?” he asked.
“We have many enemies at our borders, but internally things function much as they did under the former Empire. The only catch is that we are constantly rooting pirates out of the uninhabited sections but they do not represent much more than a nuisance to the population centers,” I said.
“If we take you up on this offer, would we be moving into their space?” he asked.
“They will probaby feel that that is the case, but I own it all. The navy would make sure the area is clear before you move in and you would have the same protection as any other world. The pirates would not be any more of an issue for you than any other common criminals would be,” I said.
Again we sat in silence, they looking at each other and me feeling left out. “Kellyn, what do you think they are doing?”
“My love, they are talking,” she sent.
“I hear nothing,” I replied.
“They communicate at a frequency well beyond that of human ears,” she sent.
I can fix that, I thought to myself and began to weave a spell, but before I got far Kellyn interrupted me.
“Vydor, stop,” she sent. “Let them have their privacy as we do.”
“Of course; you are right, as always,” I conceded. She was correct; it would be wrong to eavesdrop on their conversation. I just hated not knowing what was going on around me. Besides, I was sure they were discussing matters to which I could make a useful contribution.
“We would be honored to join the Wizard Kingdom,” he said after what seemed to be a yearlong silence. “As for whoever tried to kill us, we can just hope they try again and this time we will catch them.”
“Excellent,” I said. “I will ask one of my wizards to brief you on the possible planets so that you can choose one to live on. Once that is done, I will assign some engineers to work with you to help you begin to lay the foundations for your new home.”
“We will need a complete listing of all our citizens who survived in these pods so we can work
out a plan to wake them in the best order possible,” he said.
“Of course,” I said. “Doctor Hawthorne will get that for you. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to see to things at home. I will visit again as matters advance.”
Before I could leave the station, Doctor Leslie called me into her office for a private conference. When I entered her office, however, she was not alone but in the company of a tall woman with yellow eyes, straight red hair and pointed features, wearing purple enchanted armor. As I entered the office, this woman dropped to one knee and bowed her head.
“Greetings, Grandmaster,” she said without lifting her head.
“Greetings. Please stand and tell me whom I have the honor of meeting,” I replied. I recognized her, but she did not know that I knew who she was. I felt it better not to reveal that I had kept an eye on her and Narcion, at least not yet.
She slowly stood and said, “Grandmaster, I am Raquel of Ravenwood, though it has been ten thousand years since that name was known.”
“Ten thousand years?” I asked.
“Yes, Grandmaster. I have spent the last ten thousand years in a sort of timeless sleep, only to be woken recently by your return,” she said.
“I see,” I said, not really understanding. “Why was this?”
“Grandmaster, as you know we, um, the wizards of old put an end to all magic ten thousand years ago. At that time my husband, myself and many others fled the certain death that would come to those of us bound too tightly to the weave. I escaped into a timeless realm where I waited for the return of the Wizards’ Council, and now I am here to once more honor my oath of loyalty to the Council,” she replied.
I examined her aura and saw that she was a powerful wizard, at least elite level. When the weave was torn most magi of her level died with it. The council of sorcerers survived by hiding in the Spirit Realm, and we were currently deploying our forces in an attempt to eliminate them before they could rise up again, but I did not know how many others had survived. There was something wrong with her aura, though; something unclear to me. I wished I could ask Spectra for her opinion, but she was currently deep in the Spirit Realm hunting for clues to the location of the sorcerer stronghold.
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