the emptiness around them. Missiles began to die, but only by the ones and twos – and the survivors grew closer.
At a hundred thousand kilometers, with the missiles barely thirty seconds away, Damien reached for the attack spell he’d used in Excelsior against the boarding pods. He might get dozens of them – but there were dozens left . And it was all he had. He reached for his power, and then –
“ Jump flare !” Jenna shouted, and the white radiation flare of multiple jumps blinded Damien as the sky around him lit up.
Seventeen ships materialized out of nowhere – eight monstrous cruisers, each a match for the Gauntlet he’d just destroyed, and nine more destroyers. An entire fleet of Protectorate warships burst into existence around the Blue Jay .
Seconds passed, ticking away as Damien stared at the impossible ships in shock, and their sensors stabilized.
Then their turrets opened fire. The Gauntlet ’s missiles died by the dozens: the salvo that had utterly doomed their modified freighter vanishing like ice in sunlight.
Damien stared at his screens in complete shock, and then a visual transmission popped up. He wasn’t sure if someone had overridden the Blue Jay ’s systems or if Jenna had just accepted it without saying anything.
An older woman, clad in a black uniform and a golden chain with an open-palmed hand, stood ramrod straight, staring levelly into the screen.
“I am Alaura Stealey, Hand of the Mage-King of Mars,” she said calmly. “I am here to speak with Damien Montgomery.”
“We are not your enemies, but I will prevent you from jumping,” she continued. “I will board your ship with one companion. Please meet me in your shuttle bay.”
#
Alaura recognized David Rice from the case files from his encounter, long ago, with the Blue Star Syndicate that had triggered much of the current mess, though age had not been overly kind to the heavyset Captain. Damien Montgomery, on the other hand, didn’t look like he’d changed in the slightest from the photos from his imprisonment in Corinthian. Until you met the youth’s eyes, anyway.
Both were waiting for her at the exit from the Blue Jay ’s shuttle bay as she and Mage-Lieutenant Harmon disembarked from the Navy shuttle that delivered them to the freighter. She had decided to allow Amiri to accompany them after the Hunter started making paranoid noises, though the younger woman was remaining in the shuttle as a most-likely-unnecessary security precaution.
Years of practice allowed her to reach the two men without any undignified flailing, and she greeted them with a calm nod.
“Is there somewhere private we can discuss?” she asked. “This may be a long conversation.”
Rice nodded carefully, one hand keeping him stable in the microgravity. “Follow me,” he instructed.
The trip deeper into the trip was silent. Alaura had no intention of playing any of her cards yet, and the two men seemed a little shaky. Twenty minutes ago, she suspected, they had known they were going to die. Now a complete stranger held their fates in her hands.
Rice led them onto the elevators that linked to the ships rotating ribs, and Alaura breathed a concealed sigh of relief as the rotational pseudo-gravity took hold. She did not like microgravity, and it would have been rude to use magic to provide her own footing on someone else’s ship.
Finally, they reached a plain conference room, the type found on any merchant ship for staff and business meetings. Rice led the way in and took a seat at the head of the table, with Damien at his right hand. Alaura remained standing, looking at the two men and considering.
“I take it from the absence of the Azure Gauntlet that Mikhail Azure has met with an accident?” she asked.
“He did,” Rice replied calmly. “He attacked us, and we defended ourselves. I believe that is still our right under Protectorate law?”
“Your right, Captain?” Alaura asked. “Your privilege! We owe you a debt
At a hundred thousand kilometers, with the missiles barely thirty seconds away, Damien reached for the attack spell he’d used in Excelsior against the boarding pods. He might get dozens of them – but there were dozens left . And it was all he had. He reached for his power, and then –
“ Jump flare !” Jenna shouted, and the white radiation flare of multiple jumps blinded Damien as the sky around him lit up.
Seventeen ships materialized out of nowhere – eight monstrous cruisers, each a match for the Gauntlet he’d just destroyed, and nine more destroyers. An entire fleet of Protectorate warships burst into existence around the Blue Jay .
Seconds passed, ticking away as Damien stared at the impossible ships in shock, and their sensors stabilized.
Then their turrets opened fire. The Gauntlet ’s missiles died by the dozens: the salvo that had utterly doomed their modified freighter vanishing like ice in sunlight.
Damien stared at his screens in complete shock, and then a visual transmission popped up. He wasn’t sure if someone had overridden the Blue Jay ’s systems or if Jenna had just accepted it without saying anything.
An older woman, clad in a black uniform and a golden chain with an open-palmed hand, stood ramrod straight, staring levelly into the screen.
“I am Alaura Stealey, Hand of the Mage-King of Mars,” she said calmly. “I am here to speak with Damien Montgomery.”
“We are not your enemies, but I will prevent you from jumping,” she continued. “I will board your ship with one companion. Please meet me in your shuttle bay.”
#
Alaura recognized David Rice from the case files from his encounter, long ago, with the Blue Star Syndicate that had triggered much of the current mess, though age had not been overly kind to the heavyset Captain. Damien Montgomery, on the other hand, didn’t look like he’d changed in the slightest from the photos from his imprisonment in Corinthian. Until you met the youth’s eyes, anyway.
Both were waiting for her at the exit from the Blue Jay ’s shuttle bay as she and Mage-Lieutenant Harmon disembarked from the Navy shuttle that delivered them to the freighter. She had decided to allow Amiri to accompany them after the Hunter started making paranoid noises, though the younger woman was remaining in the shuttle as a most-likely-unnecessary security precaution.
Years of practice allowed her to reach the two men without any undignified flailing, and she greeted them with a calm nod.
“Is there somewhere private we can discuss?” she asked. “This may be a long conversation.”
Rice nodded carefully, one hand keeping him stable in the microgravity. “Follow me,” he instructed.
The trip deeper into the trip was silent. Alaura had no intention of playing any of her cards yet, and the two men seemed a little shaky. Twenty minutes ago, she suspected, they had known they were going to die. Now a complete stranger held their fates in her hands.
Rice led them onto the elevators that linked to the ships rotating ribs, and Alaura breathed a concealed sigh of relief as the rotational pseudo-gravity took hold. She did not like microgravity, and it would have been rude to use magic to provide her own footing on someone else’s ship.
Finally, they reached a plain conference room, the type found on any merchant ship for staff and business meetings. Rice led the way in and took a seat at the head of the table, with Damien at his right hand. Alaura remained standing, looking at the two men and considering.
“I take it from the absence of the Azure Gauntlet that Mikhail Azure has met with an accident?” she asked.
“He did,” Rice replied calmly. “He attacked us, and we defended ourselves. I believe that is still our right under Protectorate law?”
“Your right, Captain?” Alaura asked. “Your privilege! We owe you a debt
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