Spectra's Gambit (22 page)

“They don’t usually let me down here,” he said.

“Oh?” I asked.

“Yeah. I guess I’m too young or something. Nobody ever told me why,” he said.

I found a place to stow my bag and hang up a makeshift hammock. “I think I’ll just stay down here.”

“Might as well. There are no bunks available anywhere else,” he said.

Once we were in space, I started working on prioritizing the repairs the ship would need. Feron was a great help, since he knew a lot about what was broken already. I figured I would start with all the parts that just needed cleaning and hope that would carry me all the way to my stop.

“Okay, Feron, if all goes well we should be able to get to at least twenty or twenty-five per cent efficiency by the time we make port. If we pull that off, then I will tell them that I’ve trained you so that you can take over after I leave. You just make sure that foreman leaves me alone and that I am well fed. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said with a big grin.

I didn’t know if the crew would follow my recommendation, but at least I had someone to help me who was small enough to climb into the tighter places to clean them. I suspected he knew more about engines than I did, which was a bonus.

The trip to the hub took a couple of weeks, and we worked ten- or twelve-hour shifts every day. I took time to explain to him some of the parts of the engine that he did not know, and showed him where in the engine’s database he could find the repair guides that would get him through most of the trouble he could expect out here.

He never once tried to teach me anything that he knew, nor did he ever tell me to skip over material which he obviously already understood. Occasionally the foreman would look in on us, but Feron would just smile, wave and look extra busy until he’d left. Feron kept his part of the bargain and made sure I was left alone and had enough to eat. I never left the engine room and had no desire to meet the crew of the hauler. I had met too many hauler crews over the years to want to deal with another one. Usually they were fiercely loyal to each other, and hated outsiders with a passion.

When we finally made port at the hub, the captain and several of his officers came down to speak to me as I was packing up.

“So you’re the one that fixed us up?” asked the captain.

“Yes, sir,” I said. “She needs a lot more work, but I have trained Feron here. He can carry on in my place.”

“You sure we can’t convince you to stay on a bit longer? This ship has not run this well in a decade,” he said.

“I have some things I need to handle at this stop, and I don’t know how long it will take. Besides, Feron here is an excellent worker, and you should see continued improvements as he works through the necessary repairs,” I said.

The captain looked over at Feron, who was doing his best not to beam with pride, and then back at me. “All right, have it your way; but if you change your mind, come find us.”

Once they were gone I turned to Feron. “Don’t know if that did any good, but I hope so.”

“You tried, at least; no one else would have,” he said.

“Hey, I meant what I said. You can do this, so suck it up and get back
to work,” I said and left him before he could argue.

On the way out, the foreman stopped me and said, “You know, I figured you were bluffing when you signed up, and I had my kid watch over you the whole trip, figuring sooner or later you would slip up. Guess I was wrong. But tell me, do you really believe what you told the captain about him?”

I noticed that several of the crew were wandering around, listening in. “He is smart, he knows the basics, and I left him with instructions on how to continue the repairs you need. All he needs is a chance and for someone to have a little confidence in him, and he will be a great engineer.”

With that I walked away. I was not interested in continuing the conversation, but as I walked away I felt good. I knew that helping that boy get a start was the right thing to do, and I did it. For the first time in as long as I could remember I had done
something right.

“Tea, my love?” asked Kellyn.

“I am hurt!” I said in a false pained tone. “I thought you loved me!”

She chuckled, handed me a mug of my favorite coffee and snuggled in with me.

I felt a shift in power nearby and said, “Shadow and Flame will be here soon.”

“Oh!” She jumped up and started picking things up. “I really wish you would give me more warning!”

“Then you would just fret for longer. Really, the place looks fine,” I said, knowing the effort was pointless. I had long ago given up trying to prevent her from striving to make the place look perfect for company. Instead, I just found a place to sit and drink my coffee out of her way. Sitting there, watching her tidy up, my mind drifted to Dusty and his team. I knew they were on the edge of something which would once again shift the balance of power in our realm, but I had to let things play out. Any interference from me could make things much worse.

“Come in, Shadow
,
”
I sent as I felt them approach.

Shadow opened the door and said, “Hello, Grandmaster.”

Then, as Flame walked in, Kellyn exclaimed, “Congratulations!”

I turned to ask what she meant, but Flame cried, “You mean it?” and then they were hugging and crying. I looked to Shadow but he seemed just as confused as I was.

“When?” asked Flame.

“Oh, you are not very far along yet. I would say they will arrive in a little more than eight months,” said Kellyn.

“Wait … eight months … do you mean?” exclaimed Shadow.

“Yes, Shadow, you’re going to be a daddy!” exclaimed Flame.

“But h-how … ?” he stuttered.

“Now, surely you know how children are made,” chided Kellyn.

“No, I mean … yes, of course, but how can you tell?” asked Shadow.

“I can see their life forces growing in her womb,” said Kellyn, and then she and Flame wandered off, making all kinds of plans and talking far too rapidly for me to keep up.

I walked over and guided the very surprised Shadow into a chair. “Well, congratulations.”

“Thank you, Grandmaster, but now what?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“How does one prepare for something like this?” he asked.

I laughed and said, “You cannot. Just embrace it and you will be fine. You two will make great parents.”

Suddenly something struck him, and he said, “Will Kellyn be able to do the delivery?”

I laughed. “Do you think I could stop her?”

He smiled. “Good point.”

“I will be on hand also. You just need to relax and be her husband.” I understood his concern. Flame was a very powerful pyromancer, and the stronger the magus, the higher the potential for uncontrolled power to be released chaotically during a time like labor.

“Relax, yes,” he said.

Before we could continue the conversation I felt a presence. “It appears that Mantis is also coming to visit.”

“Officially? Should I leave?” asked Shadow.

“Yes, I am sure it’s an official visit, but please stay,” I said. I sensed that he was bringing bad news. “
Come,
” I sent to Mantis.

Mantis appeared, looking exactly as he did the very first day I had met him over a half a century previously, wearing the same floppy hat, grey beard, and impossibly colorful purple robe. “Hello, old friend.” There was a sadness in his voice that I had heard much too often lately. “And Shadow! You have the look of someone with news.”

“Well, nothing major, just that Master Kellyn has informed us that Flame is pregnant,” he said, beaming.

Mantis smiled. “That is great news! Congratulations!”

“Ale?” I asked, offering Mantis the warm, spiced drink that I knew he loved.

“Thank you, I think I will.” He took a long draft and then sighed. “I hate to have to bring this message on such a joyous day.”

“I understand. I was expecting it,” I said. “Time continues its march forward without any care for those trapped in it.”

“Yes. As Ambassador of the Korshalemian Realm, I am obliged to tell you that unless you immediately cease your training of necromancers, the treaty between our realms is over,” he said.

Shadow’s head snapped up and he started to say something, but I motioned for him to be silent. “Mantis, I appreciate the difficult position you are in, and should it ever come to that,
you know you will always be welcome here,” I said.

“Thank you, that means a lot. Unfortunately, I need to carry back an official response to the council,” he said. “Do you need to confer with your own?”

“No, we have been down this road too much lately. They stand with me,” I said.

“Then what will your response be?” he asked.

“Ambassador, tell your council that, until they can point to a single necromancer that I have trained, I find their words insulting and unreasonable. I expect them to honor our agreement as true wizards should,” I said.

He dropped heavily into a chair. “I see you have yet to learn the fine art of disagreeing tactfully.”

“They have already removed most of their wizards and their assistance. I am not going to play their game. When you leave, I will extend an invitation to all remaining elite Korshalemian wizards to reside here permanently; if they refuse, I will send them home,” I said.

“I suspect that most of those remaining will stay,” he said.

“Yes, they will. Almost all of them have already asked to do so; this will merely make it official,” I told him.

“So you mean to do it, after all? You will end the treaty?” he said.

“I am only taking care of my own people first. I would like to maintain a friendly relationship with Korshalemia, but not at the price they are asking,” I said.

“This may be my last visit as ambassador, then,” he said.

I walked over, placed my hand on his shoulder and told him, “As I said, you are welcome here regardless of your status among them.”

He finished his ale in one long gulp and then turned to Shadow. “I hope to be here for the birth and every birthday going forward, but if I am not, please understand it was not by my choice.”

“Thank you, Mantis,” responded Shadow.

“Grandmaster, I will bring your response back to the council. They should have it by this time tomorrow morning,” he said.

“Thank you, old friend, and farewell,” I replied.

Mantis disappeared. Shadow turned to me and queried, “Necromancers?”

“They are referring to Spectra and Dusty.”

“What? That is preposterous!”

I settled back into a comfortable chair and asked, “Is it?”

“Yes!” he said.

“Try to think about it from their perspective. Spectra is one of the most powerful spiritualists that either realm has seen in a long time,” I said.

“Exactly: spiritualist, not necromancer,” he said. “Just because their idiotic training facilities cannot seem to produce decent wizards is no reflection on her!”

I smiled. “You know, that is one of the reasons I like you so much: you are fiercely loyal to your friends.”

He took a deep breath and said, “As are you, old friend.”

I chuckled. “Thanks, but bear in mind that Spectra is a wild card right now. She is playing a dangerous game.”

“What do you mean, Grandmaster?” he asked.

“Well, she has fully embraced her powers in both action and spirit. She has even lived in the realm of the dead for many years, far more than she remembers, and now she is training others in her philosophy of magic and life,” I said.

“That is why her marriage to Dusty was so important. It gave her a stabilizing influence,” he said.

“Yes, it did, and it is still the best choice she could have made; but Dusty will follow her to the end, no matter where that end is,” I said.

“What are you saying?” I asked.

“I see the same thing that Henrick sees,” I said. “Spectra is making an attempt to build a power base of spiritualists.”

He stood and paced for a moment,
and then said, “That would make her a third major power in this realm.”

“Yes, and one whom Henrick desperately wants to befriend,” I said.

“I will go to them,” he said.

“No,” I interrupted. “This must play out. If you try to stop it … well, you know how Spectra handles a direct challenge.”

He chuckled. “Yes, Grandmaster. She handles it very well.”

“Very well, and leaves a wide swathe of destruction around her if need be,” I said.

“This whole thing with the Cathratinairians - is that merely a convenient cover for her?” he asked.

“Not deliberately, but it is a part of Spectra’s gambit,” I said. “She reasons that, if she can complete this mission successfully with only spiritualists and no other help, she will be able to attract more spiritualists to her side and build them up the same way as she is raising those now with her.”

He was pensive for a long while, and I did not want to disturb his thoughts. I had not yet spoken of this to anyone besides the council, but it was time he knew. Next to Shea, Shadow and Flame were the people closest to Dusty and Spectra, and they would soon need friends.

“What does this mean for the treaty?” he asked.

“It is a lost cause. The Korshalemians have been trying to find a way out of it for some time now, and this is just their latest attempt. They fear us and what we represent,” I said.

“Why?” he asked.

“Before us, they were the only wizard council. Since finding me, they have lost that exclusive control. Henrick and now Spectra just make it all worse. They cannot deal with a plurality of councils, and they are trying to force it back to the way it was with themselves in control and all the wizards in this realm under their influence,” I said.

“So we are adding to our enemies by supporting Spectra?” he asked.

“Yes, in a way we are,” I said.

He stood and said, “Then bring them on. With your permission, I would still like to visit Spectra and Dusty to tell them our good news. I will not interfere in Spectra’s plans, other than to remind them of their family back here.”

“I think that might be a good idea. Yes, go ahead and do that,” I said.