“Status?” I asked.
“Our cloak is back up, the bait ship is destroyed, and they are actively searching for us,” said Saraphym.
“Jade, get us out of here,” I said.
“Yes, Master. It will be a couple of hours before we reach the jump point,” he said.
“That’s fine. Just don’t bump into anything and we should be able to fly out of this pretty easily,” I said.
I watched the tactical display as we flew away. The five craft were fast attack-class cruisers; the kind pirates used for hit-and-runs. It was likely that we could cut through them pretty easily, but it would be a risky waste of time. I knew that Master Shadow would take them out, and so would Phoenix; neither of them ever backed down from a fight, but I much preferred to slip on by and forget them.
As we flew out another craft jumped in, and this one was a pleasure yacht of some kind, light on armor and weapons.
“What are they doing out here?” I asked.
“This is a common trade route, so sometimes inexperienced pilots fly ships like that through here,” said Greymere.
“They don’t stand a chance!” said Kymberly.
I looked at Spectra who shrugged and sent, “I guess we get that practice fight, after all.”
“All right. Nemesis, work on prioritizing targets. Jade, bring us around for an attack run. Kymberly, get ready on those jammers. The moment they move to attack we will have to remove their ability to aim. I doubt that yacht will survive more than one or two hits,” I said.
As we came around for our attack run the crew of the yacht must have come out of their post-jump hangover and realized the trouble they were in because they moved to align for a jump back the way they had come.
“Pirates have a lock!” called out Kymberly.
“Shut them down and attack!” I said.
I could feel Nemesis power up to full strength as we left the lower power mode of a stealth ship and accelerated to attack speed.
“Jamming successful,” said Kymberly.
“How long do they need?” I asked.
“Assuming their jump engines are charged enough, only a few minutes,” said Greyemere.
“The pirates are turning to intercept us,” said Saraphym.
“Kymberly, keep them locked. Jade, get us within grand stave range and let’s take them down in the order that Nemesis has chosen for us,” I said, then an idea occurred to me. “Jade, you take the lead from here.”
I watched as Jade flew toward the lead attacker. “Saraphym, we should only need two of the staves for each target.”
“Okay, Jade,” she said. “If you can manage to get between two, I might be able to take them both down at once.”
“I don’t think any of them are close enough, but we can try,” he said.
Jade flew Nemesis within range of the lead craft, and thanks to Kymberly’s work with the ECM, the pirates could not fight back. The lead ship was quickly destroyed.
“The yacht is jumping,” said Kymberly.
“Okay, then engage the cloak and let’s be gone,” I said. “Well done, everyone.”
“Hey, that was kind of fun,” said Nemesis.
He had been mostly quiet during the skirmish and I wondered if that was out of fear. It was so hard to judge his emotional state. We completely outmatched the pirates so it was a good test run, but I wondered how Nemesis would react the first time the ship took a hit. “What is the status on the pirates?”
“Master, they appear to be leaving,” said Saraphym.
“They know we are still here and can tell they are no match for us, so they won’t stick around,” said Greymere.
“Let them go, and let’s get back on track for the station,” I said.
Chapter Nineteen
We traveled for another week after the skirmish with the pirates before we finally reached the station. In that time I learned a bit more about how the wizard navy operated. Apparently there were two major divisions: regular troops, referred to as Battle Wizards, and the elite forces, referred to as the Dragon Guard. Dusty and Spectra used to lead the black ops for the Dragon Guard, but gave that up for this assignment.
“Greymere, what do you make of it?” asked Dusty, interrupting my thoughts.
We had arrived at the station, but it did not appear to be uninhabited as I had expected. “Its shields are fully operational, but it appears to be running on the lowest power configuration possible. The probability is that there is only a skeleton crew on board.”
“Any indication that they saw our approach?” asked Dusty.
“No, Master,” said Kymberly.
“I suggest we stay hidden until we know what we are up against. Saraphym and I can sneak on board and see what is happening over there,” I said. I hoped it would also give me a chance to verify that Saraphym was one of my kind.
Dusty looked at Spectra in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally he said, “Okay. Good luck, you two. Jade, get us as close as you can without revealing our presence.”
Saraphym and I headed down to the equipment lockers to make sure we had everything we needed. From there we got into the airlock and waited for the signal that Jade was in position.
“It’s weird,” she said. “I’ve always felt at home out there – even though it’s about the most hostile work environment I’ve ever been in.”
I smiled and said, “It is home.”
“Okay, you can exit when you’re ready,” said Jade over the comm.
“I’ll leave my armor on. It will be easier for us to stay together that way,” I said as I took her hand and opened the door.
“I can teleport faster than you can fly, you know,” she said.
“I believe you, but we need to stay together,” I replied, and with that we jumped out and activated our thruster packs. “Just a quick burst and then we can let inertia carry us.”
We floated toward the station in silence. I watched her as she admired the stars around us. There was something about her that drew me in. Perhaps it was merely the prospect of finding a female of my species, but I believed it to be more.
I knew that if I were right she could safely take off her helmet, and that magical armor of hers would flex to fit her even if she instinctively reverted to her native form. If I were wrong, it would be a dangerous mistake to make. In the hard vacuum of space she would have at most fifteen seconds of consciousness, which should be enough to get her helmet back on, as long as she did not panic. I was pretty sure I was right, but I was not ready to take that risk yet.
“How will we get in?” she asked as we got close to the station.
“All stations have maintenance entrances and exits that their robotic staff uses to work on the exterior of the station. The environment in those tunnels is very unfriendly to most races so they tend to overlook them when securing a station. I can almost always sneak on a station through one, even the most secure,” I said.
“Unfriendly to all life?” she asked.
“No, we will be fine. Trust me,” I said.
“But you just said …” she argued.
“I said to most, not us,” I cut her off. “Just follow me and you will see.”
She seemed to accept that and followed me as I searched for the entrance. Eventually I found one and had started to slide open the hatch when she said, “Stop. I’m reading high levels of radiation from there.”
“Yes, it is the waste product from the robotic workers,” I said. I decided that the time had come; I had to know either way. The prospect of not being alone anymore was too inviting. “It is not harmful for us.”
“My armor is reporting that it’s deadly, and too strong for it to shield me,” she said.
“Take off your helmet,” I said.
“Are you out of your mind?” she asked.
I took mine off and reached out for her mind. “You can do this.”
“How are you using telepathy? You’re not a magus!�
�� she sent back.
“Is this telepathy? It is how our people talk,” I sent back.
“Our people?” she sent.
“Yes. Shea discovered when doing my DNA testing that you and I are the same race. That radiation in there is not dangerous to us, it’s food.”
She looked at me, then back to the entrance, and then back to me. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I sent. “Reach into yourself; you know it is true. You’ve always felt that draw to space, which is why you came out here in the first place.”
“I came out here because you asked me,” she sent.
“I meant your role with the Wizard Kingdom in general. You know you belong here among the stars,” I sent.
“But what if you’re wrong?” she sent.
“You know I am right; your very cells are crying out to you,” I sent. “Besides, I will be right here to save you if necessary.”
She slowly reached up and unlocked her helmet and its air rushed out. I got ready. If I was wrong I knew I would have enough time to reach over and lock her helmet back on before any damage could be done. I knew, and I assumed she knew, that a human could safely be exposed to a vacuum, as long as the exposure was brief.
For a split second panic set in on her face and she started to gag, but then she calmed down as she realized she was fine. “But how?”
“Shea’s guess is that you adopted your bipedal form when you were very little, before you can remember, and then you were taught by everyone that you were human, so you believed it; until now.”
“So I can do the whole butterfly thing?” she asked as she removed her helmet the rest of the way.
“Yes, but right now that form would be too big to fit in the tunnel. Power down your armor. That will extend the time it can be exposed before it’s damaged. Once on the station you will want to power it back up …” I started but she interrupted me with a kiss. At first I started to pull back in surprise, but her hand slipped around the back of my head and through my hair to stop me. Time seemed to stop for that kiss, and for the first time in my life I tasted one of my own. There was a warm tingle that flowed through my lips and a heat rushed through my body as my mind reeled with emotions and feelings I could not understand. Everything about that moment felt right and I wanted to lose myself in it forever.
“Sorry,” she said after letting go.
“No, please don’t be sorry,” I sent, struggling to get my mind back in my own body. I took off my glove and gently stroked her cheek. It was softer than mine, and warmer. An unfamiliar but pleasant feeling passed through my fingers as I stroked her cheek. So this is what a woman feels like, I thought to myself.
With a sigh, I reluctantly turned back to the hatch. “We need to get back to our mission.”
She was quiet as I finished opening the entrance, and we slipped down the tunnel into the station. Once on the station we put our helmets back on for protection and powered our armor back up.
“Now what?” she asked.
“We take it one step at a time,” I sent, unsure if she was referring to the kiss or the mission. Either way, one step at a time was the right answer.
We moved through the station looking for signs of life, but finding only robotic workers who completely ignored us.
“If anyone is here, they would be near the center,” she said over our inter-suit comm.
“What makes you say that?” I asked. I completely agreed with her, but was surprised at her insight.
“Standard infiltration tactical training,” she said with a grin.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I am new to this magic thing and to combat, but I was a covert operative for my father’s business before joining the Academy,” she said.
“What kind of business was he in?” I asked.
“Toys,” she said. “Toys for the learning-impaired.”
“Not the kind of business I would have expected to have spies on the payroll. Anyway, you’re correct. Let’s head toward the core.”
“Oh, it was very competitive,” she said. “Corporate espionage was a key part of any successful business plan.”
We moved quickly through the station and eventually reached a checkpoint where there was a human on guard. He was obviously bored out of his mind and trying hard to keep himself awake. It was odd that they had a guard stationed here deep in the station when there was no sign of anyone alive whose entrance he might want to prevent.
“How do you want to get past him?” she asked.
“There are two options. The easier one is to wait till he falls asleep and then slip by him. The other option is to make a distraction nearby and hope he leaves his post to investigate.”
She reached into one of her pouches, pulled out a tiny box, and said, “This is a noise-maker. We can put it down one of the side corridors and it will make an unidentifiable sound that should draw his attention.”
“There is a robot working at a panel around the corner. Go place it on the robot and teleport back. I’ll keep an eye on the guard,” I said.
As I waited I wondered what new trouble I had got myself into. In my previous life I had had to deal with the dead rising up and attacking me, even if they had been on my side before they died; now I was traveling with the very kind of magi who could perform that heinous act. As if that was not complicated enough, I was falling in love with one of them.
“Okay, all set,” she said, reappearing next to me.
In a few moments I heard a sound down the corridor and had instinctively turned to look when she said, “See, it draws you. It’s as if you can almost identify it, but not completely.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s mind-boggling.”
The guard thought so, too, and to my surprise he got up and headed toward the noise.
“Now!” sent Saraphym and we quickly slipped past the sentry post.
“He will find the robot as he makes that turn and assume the noise was just the robot working,” I sent.
“Exactly. I’ll shut it off now,” she sent.
“Where did you get such a device?” I asked.
“My father invented it for just this purpose,” she sent back.
I began to wonder something as we moved deeper in. “So this is telepathy? Does that mean I can talk to the other magi the same way?”
“I would assume so. Have you never tried?” she asked.
“You’re the first being I have attempted to reach out to in over a century,” I sent.
We moved deeper through the station and dodged several patrols of humans until we reached the central command. “We should be able to find a heating duct someplace nearby,” I sent.
“But that would cook us,” she sent back.
“No, that would cook a human,” I sent. “For us, the biggest problem will be not to overeat, which would lower the temperature noticeably.”
She sighed. “I wish I had know that all those times I was trying to find a place to hide on my father’s missions.”
We found a main heating duct large enough for us to climb inside and worked our way through the maze of connections until we found ourselves over a main control room of some kind. “Be very quiet. These ducts tend to amplify even the slightest sound.”
“Does this mean I am adopted?” she asked suddenly.
“Well,” I sent, completely unprepared for that angle. “I would say that is a question for your parents, or maybe Shea.”
Below us men and women were arguing in a language I did not understand over a table with symbols and writing which I could not read. “Capture as much video as you can with your visor. We can get it translated later.”
“They look like they’re planning something,” she sent. “I think that table is a map, and those symbols probably fleets or stations.”
“Yeah, probably both,” I sent. “Some of them appear to be moving and some stationary. Wait, I think I recognize some of those dots. They could be star sys
tems.”
Out of nowhere a loud, high-pitched alarm started to sound. People below us were arguing and weapons were being drawn. “Time to go,” I sent.
Slowly and as quietly as possible we moved through the ducts, looking for an exit. Then the alarms on our suits began to go off.
“Poison gas,” she sent.
“Yeah, but don’t worry. You do not actually need to breathe as long as you are absorbing energy. This bipedal form is nowhere near as efficient as our native form, but it can do it,” I sent. The environmental filters on our armor should have been enough to protect us either way, but I needed her to start embracing what she was if we were to escape this station.
“How do you think they found us?” she asked.
“My guess is that they found your noise-maker,” I sent.
“Impossible. It dissolves when deactivated,” she sent.
“Clever,” I sent. I didn’t like hearing that, because it meant we must have made a mistake somewhere.
“But if they fill the ducts with poison gas, won’t they all die too?” she asked.
Just then we found an exit to the ducts and slipped out into the hall. The corridor was filled with the poison, and there were several dead people lying there. “Yeah,” I sent.
“But why would they do that?” she asked.
“Let’s see if we can find a secluded terminal …” I started to say, when I heard something coming.
Chapter Twenty
“Run!” I called out over the inter-suit comm.
Saraphym and I made it around a corner just as two sentry robots came into sight. They opened fire on our position just a fraction of a second too late as we turned the corner.
“Go!” I pushed her in front of me.
“Where?” she asked as she ran in the direction I had indicated.
“We need to find a blast door to put between us and them!” I said.
It became apparent as we ran that we would not make it. They were gaining on us too fast. I knew my blasters were no match for their armor, and I was sure our armor would not hold out against their concentrated firepower.
I stopped running, turned toward the sentries and began to steel my focus. I had never attempted this while in my bipedal form. It was too risky, as it would have made it obvious to everyone that I was not a human, but logically I knew I could do it. I put all sounds of the environment around me out of my mind and focused as the sentries rounded the corner. I removed my gloves and helmet in preparation for battle.
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