“This is fucking brilliant!” Nathan roared as he jumped into the vessel.
There were three rows of two seats, and I took shotgun in the plush chair next to Zac.
“How did Hirsch afford something like this?” I asked as I studied the control panels. They were distilled down to a few motions sensors for detecting the pilot’s hand movements. This skiff was state-of-the-art, with the detection systems and artificial intelligence taking most of the work out of flying a craft.
Zac booted up the computer system. “Like I said, the guy’s a tight-ass. He loves his racing crafts, though. Which is why I went to him first.”
“I should never have doubted you,” Richard said as he clapped Zac on the shoulder and sat in the seat behind him. Nathan was sitting next to Richard, and Neville took a spot in the back row.
The artillerymen made a few hand motions in front of the sensors, and the skiff’s engines whirred to life. We floated above the garage and into the airway. Other vessels zoomed past us, and Zac activated the autonomous driving system to take us to a particular point on the map.
“We’ll have to leave through the designated zone to get out of the city’s atmospheric field, then it’s about a four hour trip from there,” he said. “It’s gonna be a bit rough in spots, since the distribution of terraforming zones wasn’t thought through very well.”
We soared above the cityscape, and I could see the various districts clearly below us. The massive palace of the king sat on the northern edge, while the religious sector was at the southernmost point. Between them were the poor districts and the aristocratic suburbs.
“How did you know where the knights were going?” I asked Zac as he moved his open palms in front of the steering sensors like he was waxing a vehicle.
“I didn’t. But Patrick did. I made him tell me, and then made him promise not to tell anyone else.”
“Really? He doesn’t seem like someone who’d be pushed around.”
Zac winked at me. “I’m not the kinda guy you refuse.”
We crossed the customs zone, and all it took was a flash of Zac’s Caledonian identification for the border guards to let us through.
Outside the city, the landscape was a vast desert. As far as I could see, there were no cities, only small buildings springing up like weeds around bundled hills. Primitive atmospheric fields encased the communes, giving off a faint reflection.
The burgeoning sun illuminated rolling hills and towering mountains. The local time where we were was 05:36, but Caledonian Universal Time was 01:12. I had a little under five hours until Polgar would buzz the comms device and I’d have to provide him with a report.
“You know,” Nathan said from behind me, “this isn’t too bad. I was getting kinda sick of drinking and partying on the planets while the knights went and did their super-secret stuff.”
Richard pulled open a compartment from beside his chair and reached into it. His hand came back with a carton of bottles. The squire’s eyes lit up like a child on the morning of his birthday. “Beer!”
He tore a bottle from the packaging and tossed it to me. I fumbled to catch it.
“To figuring out what the fuck is going on with the knights.” Nathan raised his bottle after we’d all popped one open.
“For the Queen,” I said.
“For the Queen!” the others yelled.
Once we’d taken a mouthful of the surprisingly good beer, the inside of the skiff became oddly quiet. As Tachion’s twin moons relinquished ownership of the skyline to the sun, a somberness darkened the aircraft’s occupants.
No one spoke while we sped across the desert, and it was at least ten minutes before the sun had completely risen.
“If the knights are working against Queen Catrina,” Neville said, “then we’ll catch them. Who are you working for?”
I didn’t know whether I should reveal the identities of Duke Barnes and Silvester Polgar, even to my friends. They might have wanted to keep their identities secret for reasons I didn’t know.
“The Queen,” I said.
“You’ve met Queen Catrina?” Richard said with awe. “Is she as beautiful as she looks in the holos?”
“Well, I haven’t met her personally,” I said.
Richard grinned. “So the guy you’re working for is working for the Queen, and we’re working for you, so we’re operating directly under Queen Catrina, right?”
“Every person in the RTF serves the Queen,” Zac clarified.
“Sure, but the chain of command is filled with at least a dozen links from me to her. Nick’s working for . . .” Richard turned to me. “Who exactly do you report to, Nick?”
“Uhh . . . it’s probably best not to say.” I knew Polgar carried somewhat of a reputation, and I figured the squires might not like to hear that I was reporting to him. The sorcerer was the middle man between the duke and me, and the duke could be trusted, so I assured myself that I had made the right decision.
The squires gave me confused looks, but Zac nodded as though he understood my silence. “We’re all devoted to the Queen. Any way we can serve her, we’ll do it.”
“I’m just here to see Nick do the teleporting thing again,” Nathan said with a sly grin.
“Teleporting?” Zac asked with confusion.
“You should have seen it! Nick was inside a building, and then he was outside all of a sudden.”
“Like a jump mage?” the artilleryman asked.
“Kinda, but there was no portal,” Nathan replied.
“It was weird,” Richard said.
“Sounds weird.” Zac appraised me with a raised eyebrow. “How many more secrets are you hiding?”
“I think that’s the last of them,” I said, and I felt a flurry of mixed emotions. Everyone knew I was a mutant, and they could ruin my life if they so chose.
I turned to Neville, and the other squire gave me a slight grin. We’d become brothers-in-arms today, but he still bore the sanctimonious aura that reminded me too much of Ludas. “You think I’m not being honest with you guys?” I asked him. “I’d tell you who I report to, but I could get into trouble.”
“I don’t expect you to tell us, but what makes you so sure the person who sent you to the Stalwart is working for the Queen?” he asked.
“Well . . .” I paused for a bit and considered it. Duke Barnes hadn’t given me any proof, but then I had no reason to suspect he was lying. What purpose would that serve?
“The twins and I are on the Stalwart because our families once trusted the Core World’s superior houses,” Neville said. “Be careful of who you trust.”
“Understood,” I said as I nodded. It was good advice, but I couldn’t see any reason for Duke Barnes to lie to me. Perhaps the high sorcerer would deceive me, but he wasn’t the one who gave me the mission.
I was exhausted, and the others looked like they were about to pass out, but I still had too many questions. If I could get some answers, then I might have more than the day’s events to share with Polgar.
“Do the missions always go like this?” I asked Zac.
“Not quite as bad,” he replied. “But they’ve been getting worse. I think trouble follows the Stalwart’s crew.”
“Like on Brigantes?”
Zac stared at me for a second before sighing, and I figured he was debating whether to tell me what he knew about the crew’s last mission. “The knights were chasing portals there, too, but they aren’t supposed to be. They cleared a few high-level rifts and came back with gauntlets. I’ve never seen the like before. I don’t know much about Runetech, but I could tell they were crazy powerful.”
I nodded. “I’ve seen Casey repairing some Master class gauntlets in her workshop.”
“That must be them,” Zac said. “Leith used their rune effect to summon this massive squid creature that almost nailed an entire platoon. But he did something wrong, and the squid almost took out our starship and the crew, too. He also turned the gauntlets into smoking ruins. That’s why the crew wa
s so pissed at him after the Brigantes mission, and I’m guessing they charged Casey with repairing the items. The gauntlets are important for Captain Cross’ true mission.”
“Which is?” I asked.
Zac shrugged. “I had a few theories, but after you said the crew might be insurrectionists, I don’t know what to think. They’re clearing portals on Tachion, so I can only assume they’re looking for more gear under the guise of humanitarian missions.”
My stomach dropped as I realized the knights probably weren’t participating in insurrectionist activity. There were plenty of reasons why they might hunt high-level portals for quality equipment. The ship would benefit from a bunch of upgrades, and they could hire more crew members with additional currency.
I’d accepted this mission because Barnes and Polgar were both convinced the crew was insurrectionists. I hadn’t found any evidence to confirm their theories, but the sorcerer required clear proof by the day’s end. Otherwise, I’d be kicked out of the RTF. Or worse, Mom would be on Dobuni’s streets.
But it was now obvious the Stalwart’s crew was only clearing portals, just like every other crew on every other ship in the RTF fleet. Yeah, they were supposed to be on humanitarian missions, and not fighting Grendels, but the only punishment they would get is a demotion to a worse ship. The Stalwart already was the worst starship in the fleet, so my crewmates had nothing to lose. There was probably no insurgency, and I was fucked.
“Something wrong?” Zac asked.
I explained my thoughts to him, and he shook his head.
“Nah, the knights aren’t looking for currency for upgrades or anything like that. They brought hardly any gear back to the ship. A few things, but if their purposes were salvaging, they would have looted more.”
“I’ve seen them before,” Neville said out of nowhere.
“Huh?” I said.
“The gauntlets,” Neville said, as though he was coming out from deep thought.
“Of course you have,” Richard said. “You’re always prowling around the enchantry.” The squire looked at me. “He’s got a thing for Casey.”
Neville scowled at the twin. “No, I’ve seen them even before the knights got them.”
“Right,” Richard said in a sarcastic tone. “So you visit the Grendel realm often, do you? Probably saw the gauntlets on one of your trips there, I suppose.”
“Easy, bro,” Nathan said to Richard.
“I’m not talking about the actual items,” Neville said with a sigh that seemed to diffuse his anger at the other man. “I’ve seen their likeness. An old holo of King Justinian my dad used to have in his office. I swear those gauntlets in the enchantry were the same ones the king was wearing.”
“Weird,” Nathan said. “It’s all too weird.”
“Even if they are the late king’s gauntlets,” I said. “Why would the knights want them?”
“They’d be powerful,” Zac said.
I stitched together a few mental threads and came up with a theory.
“The Aquitanian knight who captured me said Captain Cross came to Tachion to find some prize, and he was looking for it in one of the portals. Maybe that prize is more of the late king’s armor.”
“But why would the Grendels have King Justinian’s equipment?” Nathan asked.
“There’s a rumor,” Neville said. “My father believed it, and it made him a laughing stock. Half the reason why I’m on the Stalwart is because he couldn’t be convinced otherwise.”
Richard rolled his eyes. “You gonna tell us what this rumor is or what?”
Neville glared at the other squire. “Apparently King Justinian wasn’t killed. He went missing.”
“Where’d he go?” Richard asked with plain skepticism.
“He went through a Grendel portal.”
“As in to the other side?” I said. “No one has ever entered the Grendel realm before. The ethereal barrier prevents it.”
Neville shrugged. “It’s just a rumor. Might be bogus for all I know.”
“Let’s say it’s true,” I said. “It would explain why the Grendels are bringing the king’s equipment through the rifts. But it still doesn’t tell us why the captain wants the gear.”
“And that’s a mystery I don’t expect you’ll solve easily,” Zac said. “The knights won’t tell you. And Captain Cross definitely won’t.”
The other squires mulled over our conversation in silence, and soon the twins were sleeping while Neville stared blankly outside the aircraft.
Everything we’d discussed would be valuable for the sorcerer to know. I was glad to finally have something worthwhile to share with Polgar. But it all seemed so far-fetched. Would he really believe Captain Cross was ordering his knights to clear portals so they could retrieve the lost items of the late King Justinian?
On the chance Polgar didn’t accept the theory; I still needed to follow Olav. I didn’t know whether I’d discover anything more than what Zac and the squires just told me, but the sorcerer had ordered me to tail the berserker knight, and he’d been clear on the costs of disobedience. I’d done a miserable job of following Olav so far, and I hoped I’d at least get a little first-hand information by catching the knights at the portal.
My muscles throbbed as I stood and tried to stretch my limbs. The cockpit was a little too short for me to pull my arms above my head completely, but I was able to soothe most of my aches.
I stifled a yawn and rubbed my eyes as I sat again.
“You should get some shuteye,” Zac said. “I’m about to do the same. We can’t be exhausted at the portal zone. The knights might need a hand clearing Grendels. I don’t imagine they will, though. Those guys can take out a wave of lizards like no one else.”
“Do you think they’re insurrectionists?” I asked as I yawned again.
“Don’t know. Mind if I give you some advice?”
“Go ahead. I could use some of that.”
Zac smiled at me, and he gave me a look an older brother might give his younger sibling. “Don’t do anything hasty. The truth is always complex. You gotta dig down to find out what’s really beneath all the rubble, and sometimes it’s a whole lot different than what you originally thought it was.”
I was expecting some more practical advice from the worldly artilleryman, but I thanked him anyway before I settled into my chair and begun using the repair kit I’d purchased from Elle. I started on my lightning hammer first since it had taken a serious beating after Emeric. I barely finished retracing the rune’s outer circle when I nodded off.
I woke to Zac’s gentle nudging, not knowing how long I’d been asleep.
“Rise and shine, Nick,” he said. “We’re about to close in on the Grendel portal.”
I looked out at the windscreen and saw the sky streaming with oranges and pinks behind a mountain rage.
“This skiff is a work of art,” Zac said. “The engines are almost soundless.” The artillerymen turned the craft and then the screen showed a gorge with a stream running through it. Leafy plants with purple foliage bunched around the edges of the water, and I sighted a few creatures that looked like feathered llamas drinking by the bank.
“You guys all have ELs above a version 3.24?” Zac said. “You’ll need them to breathe outside.”
We all nodded as the artilleryman guided the skiff over the gorge.
ELs, or Exterior Lungs, were runic-empowered tech engineered from the Grendel organic respiratory system. I’d always struggled with biology and chemistry, but according to my limited knowledge, the EL provided ample oxygen in almost any atmospheric conditions as long as there was enough CO2 and trace levels of sunlight.
How it worked didn’t really matter, I was just glad we’d be able to breathe outside the skiff without difficulty. Our helmets would be points of weakness since our other armor could automatically seal itself if there were breaches elsewhere, but I didn’t plan on fighting today. I’d let the knights do the work while somehow recording them retrieve whatever they were sea
rching for.
“This skiff has some basic atmospheric monitoring capabilities, so I did a scan of the Dust particles in the area, and it looks like the portal is a Level Five. It should be no trouble for the Space Knights.”
No trouble. I would have been surprised to hear Zac say that if I hadn’t seen the knights fight before. A Level Three completely obliterated the cadets on Tyranus, along with our sergeant, point clerk, and Ludas’ personal guards.
“It should be at the bottom of the gorge,” Zac continued. “I’ll see if I can land somewhere without notifying the knights of our presence.”
He waved his hands in front of the control sensors, and the skiff maneuvered toward a cave hewn from the eastern side of the gorge. The craft landed on the basalt rock, hidden by a thicket growing along the cliff face.
“Ha!” Nathan said after we’d exited the skiff. He thrust a finger at the water, and I saw a moving figure the size of a thumbnail. “There’s Olav in the herd of those feather looking llama creatures.”
The animals did look like feathered llamas, and they scattered as the berserker knight sprinted through their flock. A flurry of plasma balls chased Olav, but they glanced off his prot-field and disintegrated. The llamas weren’t so lucky; they exploded into a cloud of feathers. Grendel Warriors charged from the northern thicket and trampled the feathered beasts’ corpses as they pursued Olav.
The Warriors belonged to a power class lower than Elites but higher than Grunts. They were equal in fighting prowess to the Elites, but thankfully they didn’t share their cloaking technology. The humanoid lizards wore bulky armor over their chests and shoulders while their taloned hands gripped plasma rifles or serrated broadswords.
The berserker turned to face his pursuers as two more knights charged from within the cover of the purple-leaved trees. Leith flicked his dirks to and fro, carving the lizard-men with all the precision of a master sculptor.
A light burst from a few meters away, and I caught Moses’ finishing blow as he severed the serpentine head of a fallen Grendel with the razor-edge of his glowing shield. Soon, the white sand along the stream’s bank was stained green with the enemy’s blood.
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