Resurgence of Ancient Darkness (18 page)

“Thank you for the match; it was fun. We must do this again sometime,” I said as I left. “Well, Ashton, do you see anything unusual?”

“Master, you mean besides a ship’s captain beating up his crew?” he asked with a smile.

“Yes; there is something here, some pattern that I am missing. I feel that it is right in front of my face, and I cannot see it,” I said.

He looked at me a bit funny, but then it was as if something clicked in his head. “Interesting,” he said. “Master, please come with me to my office.”

Once we reached his office he said, “Here is a list of the magi we saw sparring. Can you arrange them in the order you would rate their skill at sparring?”

“Yes,” I said. It took me a few minutes to work it out, but eventually I came up with an order of which I felt reasonably confident.

“Master, I see you placed Rigal and Ferran at the top of the list,” he said.

“Yes. Those two, I think, are the best of those we saw,” I said.

“Yet you beat both of them; so if you added yourself to the list, you would be on top, right?” he asked.

“I suppose so, but it is not that I am particularly good; I just have more experience than they do,” I said.

“Okay, Master, I am going to hide this list for the moment. Please do the same exercise, but this time rate their skill with magic,” he said.

“That is a little more difficult,” I said, but I went to work. Eventually I finished the list and noticed immediately that Rigal and Ferran were on top of the list again. “I will save you the trouble of pointing it out, Doctor; yes, I would put myself on top of this list too.”

“Good, now let’s put the lists side by side and see what we have,” he said.

The lists were almost identical. There were a few out of place, but each of those were ones I had judged very close in skill and was not confident of their placement on the lists.

“Master, it’s too early to tell if there is a real connection here, but the data you just presented is very interesting, at least. If this was all I had to go on, I would say there is definitely some connection to a magus’ skill at physical combat and his skill in magic.”

“Is it their skill in combat, or is it their physical condition?” I asked.

“Master, from the data we have so far, it is impossible to tell. There are too many variables,” he said.

“Spectra insisted there was a connection of some kind between physical combat training and our success in the future. She did not know what that connection was, but she said she could sense that it was there. Is that what we are seeing here?” I asked.

“Maybe. It’s hard to tell. I will have to do more research and get back to you,” he said.

“Do your research, but please do not tell anyone about this yet. If not controlled, information like this can be very discouraging to some,” I said.

“Shadow, this place is packed. I dare not approach any closer while cloaked,” said Flame just after we came out of jump space.

“Hold at a safe distance for now. Comm, monitor communications and see what you can learn,” I said. The space station was definitely attempting to attract the business left by the destruction of the other station. Merchants, haulers, and various other kinds of spacecraft were lined up waiting for a turn to dock and do business. “I do not want anyone to know we are here yet. Just listen in and see what you can learn from the comm traffic. Surely people will be talking about whatever happened to the other station.”

“Good idea, but with this much comm traffic we may need to put more people on it,” said Stalker.

“Put as many people on it as you need,” I said. “Also, listen for whatever the procedures are to join the line and dock.”

While we waited there, I noticed that a section of the station was under construction. It seemed that they were expanding, no doubt in response to the increased demand. Whatever the reason, it gave us a potential opening to get onto the station.

Hours passed without much of interest happening. Whatever had become of that other station, no one was talking about it. It made no sense, unless the destruction of the station was so long ago that no one thought it worthy of mention any more.

“Ferran, Rigal, please report to the bridge,” I said over the comm. “Flame, I am going over to the station to see what I can learn. While I am there, keep the Nevermore hidden.”

Stalker started to say something, but a look from me silenced him. I was not prepared to argue about whether or not a person of my rank and position should be leading missions like this.

Once Rigal and Ferran were on the bridge I said, “Ferran, Rigal, we are going to visit the trading hub. It does not appear that we will be able to get very close safely, so we will have to teleport most of the way. We should be able to find an entrance to use once we get close to the station, either through the main hangars, or via the construction site. Either way, it should be simple to get in. Once we do, we will see what we can find out without drawing attention to ourselves.”

“Shadow, I can get you a lot closer if we are careful. I just don’t want to park too close,” said Flame.

“Good. Get us as close as you safely can. That will save a lot of time,” I said.

While Flame moved the Nevermore II closer, Rigal, Ferran, and I gathered and checked our equipment to make sure we had enough fuel and air to reach the station. This would mean testing our armor to the limit. It was designed for working in the vacuum of space, not for long-distance travel. The propulsion units were built for quick bursts, so relying on them for sustained power would be risky. This meant if for some reason
we could not get close enough by teleporting, we would have to travel slowly with occasional pulses from the packs to control momentum.

“Master, why not just get in line like everyone else?” asked Karlith.

I smiled at that question. I knew he hated going in covertly; he much preferred a direct approach. “We do not know enough to risk being seen yet. We must not forget that most of the consortiums and tribes out here were hurt by our securing our borders and taking over Aleeryon. With so many potential enemies flying around here, it is prudent to stay cloaked.”

“Shadow, I am as close as I can get,” said Flame.

“Then it is time. Let us go,” I said as I clicked shut my helmet. “
Until we get back, use telepathic channels for conversation.”

The three of us teleported out into space, first to the exterior hull of the Nevermore then, when we had a line of sight with the space station, we teleported as far as we could go. We teleported many more times until we were close to the station. From there we used our propulsion packs to coast along the exterior, looking for a way in.

As we passed through the construction area we found where the robotic workforce was exiting and entering the station. I cloaked our group in darkness, and we slipped in behind one of the returning groups of robots.

Once on the station we found an out-of-the-way place to cancel my cloaking spell and blend in with the other travelers. I was worried that our battle armor might make us conspicuous, but the population of the station was so diverse that it did not matter. There were all ranges of clothing types; some travelers were even outfitted in much heavier gear than ours. The only constant was the lack of weapons. I assumed this meant there was a rule against them.

“
Good, it seems we should be able to walk around unnoticed. Keep your eyes open and pay attention to what appears to be normal behavior. We need to try to match that,
” I sent.

As we walked through the corridors we were constantly assaulted by people trying to sell us their wares, get hired for a job, or hire us. It was quite a cacophony of noise, and we could make out very little.

Several of the vendors became aggressive with those who were not buying ,and there were not enough guards to keep order. On at least three occasions we had to take a different route due to a fight blocking our path.

“This is not working. We will find a bar or something of the like and try there
,” I sent.

It required some searching, but we finally found a bar with an open table where we could sit and listen to the conversations around us. It did not take long to find out why the seat was empty, as a large Zalionian walked up to me and said gruffly, “That’s my table, buddy.”

Back in his office, the old man was studying a holographic display when the steel-eyed man walked in. He stood there silently watching the old man, who made no indication that he knew the steel-eyed man was there.

Eventually the old man said, “Report.”

“We have spotted the Nevermore II,” said the steel-eyed man.

“Excellent. How long until they reach the table?” asked the old man.

“They are not going there. It appears they have sent the Shadow Fox instead,” said the steel-eyed man.

“Are you sure?” asked the old man as he stood up and looked over at the steel-eyed man.

“The last time we saw either vessel was three months ago when they went separate ways under cloak. We just saw the Nevermore II in the Quillain system. It came out of jump space alone.”

The old man turned back to his holographic display and waved his hands around it. The display changed in response to his gestures and became a three-dimensional map of the galaxy. “That is completely in the wrong direction. I was sure that Shadow would take this task upon himself,” he said.

“You sent the message to Grandmaster Vydor, though. He might have assigned the task to Phoenix or Dusty,” said the steel-eyed man.

“Which one, I wonder, and why?” asked the old man.

“Shadow Fox is Dusty’s ship,” said the steel-eyed man.

“Yes, but he lacks Phoenix’s self-confidence and would never volunteer for such a mission. Phoenix is the more powerful wizard and does better under pressure. He is the better choice between them,” said the old man.

“Granted, but why would he fly the Shadow Fox and not the Dust Dragon?” asked the steel-eyed man.

“Perhaps the damage done to it in the last fight was much greater than we thought,” said the old man.

“Maybe, but I could not imagine giving up my ship for someone else to fly,” said the steel-eyed man.

“Yes, but you are not Dusty,” was the old man’s response. “Dusty would not stand up to Phoenix. If Phoenix asked, Dusty would agree to it.”

The old man paced back and forth for some time. He seemed troubled by something; his normal cool, calm, and controlled exterior was somewhat shaken. Returning to the map, he marked the last known location of the Shadow Fox. “Computer, using the known operational specifications of the Shadow Fox, what is the ETA to the system I labeled as the table system?”

The holographic map twisted and refocused around a single point. A red line appeared that connected the last known position of the Shadow Fox with the table system, and the computer said, “The Shadow Fox should arrive at its
destination tomorrow.”

“Make sure that system is watched closely. If Dusty is on the Shadow Fox we will only have a tiny window of opportunity to see them coming out of the jump,” said the old man.

“We already have magi in the system, watching,” said the steel-eyed man.

“They had better be alert. Once they clear the jump, the Shadow Fox will not be findable until Dusty lets it be found.”

“They are watching,” said the steel-eyed man. “What if the Shadow Fox finds nothing there?”

“The table is still there, and that will be enough for them to continue to trust messages from me. However, I am certain that table is a clue,” he said.

“I don’t understand why we don’t check it ourselves. We don’t need them,” said the steel-eyed man.

“We need them to draw out whoever the new players are. That way the attention is on them, and we can make our move when we are ready,” said the old man. “Now, go and ensure our magi are in place and we don’t miss the Shadow Fox.”

It had been three months since we left the Nevermore II and headed off to chase down a lead given by the magus who, until now, I was sure was a sorcerer. “Spectra, how long until we jump?”

“By the time we slip around this system it will be well into tomorrow,” she said.

“Rocky, this should be a fairly safe section of our trip. Reduce the manpower to a skeleton crew and make sure everyone gets some rest, just in case the old man has any surprises for us tomorrow,” I said. I remembered that Master Shadow did that just before fights; it seemed like a good idea, so I decided to copy it.

“Yes, Master Dusty,” said Rocky.

“Spectra, it’s almost time for our session with Lythiran. Why don’t we head down a bit early and see how Phoenix is doing?” I asked.

“Sure!” she said.

It had been a tense couple of months with Phoenix. The forced diet and exercise left him very short-tempered and generally grouchy. As a result, we had been avoiding him as much as possible, but I needed him ready for our arrival at the planet. I had no idea what we would be facing.

Once we got to the training rooms, I looked in the windows and saw Phoenix working with Lythiran on staff drills. He was not what anyone would call thin, but was definitely leaner than I had ever known him to be.

I watched his training quietly and was impressed. He was obviously exhausted, but still pushed himself hard. When he first started training, he could go no more than a minute without stopping to rest. Now he was able to last significantly longer without breaks, and Shea had been singing praises about his vital signs improving. The only problem was that his powers had not returned.

“We should go in,” said Spectra.

“Yeah,” I said reluctantly and led the way.

“Hey, guys, you're a bit early,” said Phoenix.

“Yeah. Tomorrow we make our final jump, so I’m putting the ship on rest duty until then,” I said.

“Good idea,” said Phoenix. “I just wish I could be helpful tomorrow.”

“Phoenix, don't be so silly!” said Spectra. “We will need you on the bridge tomorrow!”

I needed his help, but I wasn’t sure I wanted him on the bridge. However, I certainly couldn’t turn him away after that comment. “I take it there has been no change?”