Behind her, the door opened and Stephanie’s concentration broke. She sighed as the magic faded from view and turned as the ambassador entered.
“Do you still see the energy?” he asked.
She looked briefly at the window and nodded. “This third type of energy I told you about, it seems so…out of place, yet familiar, like it belongs with everything. I want to know if it’s stronger out in space.”
He gave her a kind smile and his robes brushed the floor as he walked toward her. “You will have time to explore it. I came to give you your doctor’s release.”
Stephanie turned, took the paper, and grinned at him. They both chuckled over the irony that she’d had to wait for an Earth-bound human doctor to say she was well enough to return to work at Burt’s compound. Her magic was so strong and she’d needed special Meligornian care to recover from the after-effects of using so much magic at the Gala that a human opinion actually seemed irrelevant. Still, it was what it was, and her manager, Ms. E, wouldn’t let her budge a muscle until that paper had been signed.
It was peace of mind for everyone, Stephanie supposed.
The ambassador lifted a piece of her hair. The strain of using so much magic had mostly manifested as overwhelming fatigue, but there had been one lasting physical effect.
When she saw him inspect the white streaks that ran to the ends of her hair, she chuckled nervously and pulled it out of his grasp. “I haven’t dyed it yet. I think I might like being the sexiest-looking white-haired old lady on the street.”
A smile curved V’ritan’s lips. He tucked his hands in his sleeves and glanced out the window. “I am waiting for a response from my king on a couple of matters. Of course, nothing happens in a timely fashion when it comes to government. Apparently, it doesn’t matter what planet you live on, this one truth is universal.”
Stephanie laughed, walked over to her dresser, and gathered a couple of things. She hadn’t been out in what seemed like forever, and the eMU that radiated from below had teased her almost deliberately. The ambassador watched as she made her preparations.
“I want to make sure you are careful down there. Remember that eMU is not the same as Meligornian magic, and there are so many things that could go wrong. I’m sure you feel much more magic now that your channels have opened.”
“It’s strange,” she replied and paused her task to stare off into the distance. “I can see it all around me. I can feel its power. What I need to do is learn how to let it flow into me and learn to control it. That will probably be my greatest need. God knows what I’d do if it overflowed.”
“We might find you in pieces,” the ambassador half-joked. “Oh, and so you know, I’m following up with the Federation Navy.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes. “Do they always recruit so forcefully and then demand information that is really not their business when they fail?”
V’ritan loved her spark—her sass, as Ms. E called it—and it only seemed to have grown since the fight.
With a smirk, he shook his head. “No. They don’t. It wasn’t an appropriate request to make of you. I’ve seen them act similarly in the past toward other people they hoped to acquire. I think they are up to something.”
“Probably because they can’t simply acquire humans. We aren’t objects,” she snipped.
The ambassador drew a deep breath. “Unfortunately, the Federation doesn’t feel that way. To them, everything is obtainable. Everything can be an asset and vice versa.”
Stephanie shrugged. “What will they do? Conscript me?”
He pursed his lips and his gaze slid to the side.
She looked at him with shock and tossed her hands up in the air with a sigh. “Great.”
Brilgus walked into the room, wiping his hands on a towel. “Are you packing?”
The tension left her shoulders and she looked at the bodyguard, who had worked his butt off as a housemaid even though he was head of security and her team tried to clean up after themselves as best they could.
“I have the all-clear, my friend. I gotta get back to the bunker and do more research. I’ve taken my time healing, and it’s time I stopped being a lazy ass and got shit done. Right?”
Brilgus shrugged but didn’t seem too fond of the idea. The ambassador put his hand on the security chief’s shoulder and chuckled. “Of course it is. A bright explorer and scientist like yourself cannot simply wait around. But remember not to push yourself too hard.”
Stephanie shouldered her bag, walked to the door, and rested her hand on the doorframe. She paused and turned to them. “Would you care to join me for dinner sometime soon?”
The two men exchanged glances, and V’ritan nodded. “We would never turn you down but had thought that with as much as we put you through, you might want to steer clear of us for a while, at least in public.”
She tilted her head as she regarded them steadily, the crisp white ends to her hair obvious against her black top. “I can choose to run, or I can choose to embrace my future. I’m a Morgana. I don’t run from anything.”
Brilgus laughed deeply. “Is that the house motto?”
“It should be,” she said with a wink. “And as a matter of a fact, it is now.”
When she made it to the front of the house, the team was ready and waiting for her. Lars reached over and took her bag and Ms. Elizabeth wrapped her arm around Stephanie’s shoulders. “Are you ready to get back home?”
Stephanie gave her a half smile. “Yep. As long as the guys are ready to get an ass-whooping in training.”
Johnny scoffed and tapped her on the top of the head. “While you’ve lounged around pretending to watch magic, we’ve trained to kick your butt.”
She laughed at the jokes and enjoyed the sense of camaraderie they shared. Ms. E cleared her throat and they all fell silent and turned to face the ambassador and Brilgus. She put her hand to her chest and bowed. “Thank you for everything you have done. You have been kinder than we could ever have imagined.”
V’ritan bowed back. “It is our pleasure. Anything for Stephanie Morgana.”
He winked at Stephanie as he turned to walk out of the room. Lars nudged her in the back and chuckled as he stage-whispered. “Fan club. Why didn’t I get an invite?”
They all turned to leave, and she nudged him in return. “Because it’s only for winners, not slackers.”
The laughter that filled the space as they left was pleasant, much needed, and had been absent for too long.
>>CROSS REFERENCE: STEPHANIE MORGANA
BURT clicked through his system and searched for all the news about Stephanie—the battle, the magic, and basically, anything else he could get his virtual hands on.
He wanted to keep up with how the world viewed her and what type of attention she would receive on an ongoing basis. Things had largely settled since the battle, but there was still a significant load of new articles and reports on her.
She hadn’t faded from the public eye yet, and he wasn’t sure that she ever would. After all, she was the Federation’s witch, although the Federation struggled to gain control of her.
From what he could determine, research into her background was performed without being signaled by his system. They had discovered that Stephanie had not been picked for the top two percent of graduate opportunities. Of course, BURT was a valued member of the website and used different names as cover.
On this particular instance, he had chosen to log in as The Iron Lady—a play on the historical Margaret Thatcher, of course.
He went to work and typed a reply, using the persona of a relatively strong-willed reader who dug in when it came to equal opportunity among the classes.
This doesn’t seem to be accurate or fair. If she is the most powerful human or one of the most powerful in history, how does she not make the top 2%? This doesn’t seem fair and definitely appears to be some kind of political screw.
Happy with his comment, BURT moved on and continued his search for how to tap in to find others lik
e Stephanie who needed to be tagged for his company’s efforts.
He had computed the odds of her being the only one capable of research on a scale which would advance them and found the likelihood to be very remote. There might not be another witch, but that didn’t mean there weren’t more incredibly intelligent students who would never see the advantage of a prep-school campus.
As he searched, his system discovered additional research. The information immediately triggered a warning and he took a closer look. What he’d found were partial research notes taken during Stephanie’s time in the Virtual World.
Without computing the possible consequences, BURT immediately removed the files and provided other rather innocuous information. It included details that anyone could find if they dug hard enough but wouldn’t give away her secrets or his data. Still, it concerned him that things were so readily available, so he ran a quick search on who had sought out her files.
>>SEARCHES: STEPHANIE MORGANA FILES…
>>RETURN INFORMATION: 6 FILES RETRIEVED BY FEDERATION NAVY
The Navy had pulled Stephanie’s files and downloaded them. It wasn’t illegal but definitely not what he wanted to find. Due to him shifting information within the system upon her arrival at the compound, the Navy had none of the new stuff, only the old, rather obvious information.
It still didn’t make sense why they continued to dig until BURT found the back door.
He also found that the Navy could request other files which created an issue for him and the system. He was ‘open’ to legal requests. “Oh, this is…interesting, and in a not so great way,” he muttered.
>>INQUIRE: MS. ELIZABETH: LEGAL COUNCIL TO ADDRESS FEDERATION SNOOPING AND INTENT TO ACQUIRE CLASSIFIED AND OTHERWISE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION IN ONE R&D FILES. LEGAL MUST NOT BE FEDERATION AFFILIATED.
BURT hoped Elizabeth could add a few more roadblocks than he could. His systems and proverbial hands were legally tied.
Chapter Two
“Was your stay with the ambassador to your liking?” the AI, Sarah, asked.
Stephanie lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. “It was, thank you for asking. The room was enchanted to look like a Meligorn castle room.”
Sarah computed her response. “If you so desire, I can also change your room to look the same. It will not have the same texture or feel as magic does, but it will have the aesthetic.”
She smiled, held her hand up in front of her face, and stared at the light scar across her palm from the magic and the battle. “No, thank you. It was nice for recovery, but I think it’s better that I keep my feet on the ground while I am here on Earth. There is a lot this planet can teach me.”
“If you have specific questions about Earth, I have uploaded with the most recent discoveries, science, and featured news,” the AI replied.
Stephanie let her hand fall back to the bed and sighed. “I think right now, I have to do some internal processing and piece things together.”
“I will retire into the background,” Sarah replied.
After a short hesitation, Stephanie inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and focused on her internal storage abilities for magical energy.
She had learned, spending so much time alone at the ambassador’s, how to understand the level of MU she could hold and exactly what those levels were from moment to moment. For now, it took a fair amount of concentration, but she hoped to be able to do it without thinking after a while.
Her thoughts relaxed but focused, she explored her magic through to the deeper levels of its existence to determine where her body and mind held her MU, eMU, and now, her gMU. Her MU was low but discernable. What she had taken from the ambassador and not used during the fight was a little more than what she had thought she had, but still not much.
When she located her eMU, she discovered that she had a huge space for it. Her bank for Earth MU was ten times the size of the one she had for MU. She hadn’t realized how much she could actually hold. Unfortunately, it was also close to empty, like it contained only the last few drops at the bottom of a fuel tank.
The difference in size between the two spaces might be because she was human, but it also sparked the question of whether they would shift and alter in size depending on the availability of a specific energy. If she were to spend extensive time on Meligorn, for example, would her eMU tank shrink and her MU tank grow to accommodate the changing availability of energy types?
Good question.
Stephanie continued to explore the available spaces and made notes in her head to transfer to the system the next time she hooked into the pod. As she continued through the process, however, she discovered a hole.
It was difficult to see, at first, but being familiar with her body and her powers, she was able to pinpoint and determine that it was simply another very small and magically-based holding area. It was for a new type of energy, one she hadn’t seen before—something that was interesting to touch but which also felt slightly dangerous.
She reduced her concentration and opened her eyes, blinking them steadily. Intrigued by her new discovery, she sat up, grabbed her notepad, and jotted down what she’d learned.
- New type of energy, unknown and unused before.
- Possible Origination: Outside the planet but within the galaxy. Far enough away to not emit too much MU but also not have a clear and easy path to the surface. Possible obstructions include: Planetary alignment, reaction to atmospheric conditions, strength at origination, etc.
- Can’t gauge where the reservoir for this power is filled from.
Stephanie looked away from her notes and tapped her pen against her lips. She wanted to be able to use whatever was in her reserve but assumed there was less of it and that it was more dangerous. Not knowing the mysterious power’s strength or capabilities was also a concern, even with her growing control and understanding of the process involved. She wasn’t even sure if there was anything in the reservoir of this new MU.
She bit the inside of her lip and started to consider her holding tanks for magic and how they worked. This generated a slew of additional notes as she realized she’d need answers to all of it and not only part of it.
- Does gMU actually work off of a reservoir system?
- Could my reservoirs be similar to a vase with a hole in the bottom? Do they let the magic in but allow it to flow out again like a waterway or even like what the MU did when I was on Meligorn?
Stephanie put her pen on the side table and read through her notes. The only way she would find any kind of conclusion was to test it.
Obviously not in the real world, not with the ability to blow herself up, but inside the net of safety that the Virtual World offered.
The data would be almost invaluable once she determined how it all worked. Unfortunately, given that it all existed inside her, no one else could help her find the answers. She could only keep trying until she found the right set of questions to take her there. With a sigh, she set her notes aside and stood.
As she left the room, she addressed the AI. “I’ll be in the pod if anyone needs me.”
“The Federation Forces give zero shits about not overwhelming us with requests today,” Petty Officer Chloe McDonald said to her team partner, Petty Officer Joshua Collins.
He swiped his hand across the screen to separate the different sectors of the request sheets. He sent some to the printer, some to outgoing mail sections, and others to be created into their own separate files. “Do they ever take it easy on us down here in R&D?”
McDonald scoffed. “Not since before we were the Board of Navy R&D. You know, back in the good old days where we were still referred to as D&C. From what I hear, they don’t even offer those rates anymore. Either they have us do it or they do without. They weigh it now. The idea is to get more work out of us and pay less for labor.”
Collins glanced at her. “Yes, because labor is so expensive for the Federation when it comes to the military. We make micro-credits. Before I know it, they’ll replace you too.
I’ll sit here and talk to some AI who computes instead of thinks.”
She chuckled, her laughter a little dry. “Like you would understand that kind of computing power. I knew from day one you weren’t a robot. You struggle to make the coffee some mornings.”
He flicked a piece of his paper at her. “I am not a morning person, okay? It takes me a minute to get my head wrapped around this hell. Look at this one from Navy HR & Acquisition.”
Collins flipped a copy across to her screen so the two of them could read it at the same time. She shook her head. “It’s another request for more information on ONE R&D. What in the world are they digging into this company for?”
“Apparently, there is something with this company that doesn’t sit well with the Navy.” He flipped another information sheet to her. “I haven’t found any red flags yet, though, so it might be a case that they have something the Federation wants. They are trying to find out what the company knows about magic with this request.”
McDonald grabbed her stylus and picked up the 3D image like she used a magnet to lift metal.
She flung it across the room to a screen on the wall, where their different scheduled tasks ticked and moved as each avenue of research for the Navy’s request was completed. Once those were exhausted, the two petty officers realized that simply transferring the information into the system would be difficult.
Collins leaned back in his chair and read while she wrote. “We’ll have to request a meeting for tomorrow.” He glanced quickly at her. “Make sure to put that in there. We need to discuss what is applicable and what is—”
A demanding beep from the screen cut his sentence short. Their request had been denied before they’d even finished submitting the paperwork.
“What the hell?” he demanded, shocked.
McDonald skimmed through the document and frowned. “They don’t even give a full reason as to why. I didn’t manage to submit anything beyond the initial request.”
Her colleague shook his head. “No way. Let me pull a couple of things up. ONE R&D just came into the spotlight. They may be a power player but there is no way they have that much pull over the Federation.” He leaned back in his chair and his feet stamped back onto the floor. “They are tiny. I don’t see more than a dozen people on their employee roster.”
Witch Of The Federation (Federal Histories Book 2) Page 2