Rooks sat in Alban’s barren office, taking one of only two chairs on the other side of his desk. The only thing on the wall was a picture of the Ischyros in a very colorful rendition of space, released from captivity in Alban’s quarters.
“You sure you don’t want to go home?” Alban asked.
Rooks interlocked her fingers and let them fall to her lap. “I’ve been able to coach the mages to change some of their strategies. If I stay, I might think of more things that help.”
Alban glanced up from his paperwork. “We have yet to see if those strategies are any good. Don’t take it as an insult. I’ve had to direct arcanes for a good decade, and I still feel I should leave the majority of the choices up to them.”
Rooks shrugged. “They’re my troops. I have to learn how to use them, and they’ve agreed with my strategies. So, I’m pretty confident they’ll impress you.”
“They plan to destroy any ships?”
“That’s always been the plan, but we should get some success this time.”
Alban continued to read. “We also have Pan in play, and unfortunately, we’re desperate enough to drag Era into it.”
Rooks didn’t know much about Era, except that she was one of a handful of Soffigen arcanes. Most of which the Soffigen didn’t want, and those feelings intensified as the Soffigen people watched the Volanter come for the Scaldin.
It was too late. The Volanter believed that everyone they’d touched remained as one with them. Any interbreeding of species constituted a genetic contract, and the Soffigen entered it willingly, if unknowingly. As far as Rooks was concerned, the Soffigen should help. Their arrival into the battle could change everything. Instead, they wanted to deny every arcane Soffigen, as if they could erase the evidence.
Rooks crossed her legs and rested her chin in her hands. She watched Alban.
He scribbled on his tablet. “Do you want to move to a bigger ship? Ivo will welcome you. You might do more good in the thick of it.”
Rooks slowly shook her head. “No. I’ll stay here. I think I can do more good out of the battle. I can see everything. I think I understand a little of how Sotir feels.”
Alban nodded. “Hmmm.” He didn’t look up. “So, you’re just staying on the Ischyros?”
“Yes? Something wrong with that?”
“No. I’m just impressed you haven’t jumped ship yet.”
A bit of a smile curled Rooks’ mouth. She asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I would swear you just like spending time with me.” Alban kept his eyes on his work and his expression downward facing.
Rooks shifted in the seat and tried to think of her retort. “Maybe, I just like watching battles. Maybe, it’s like being a performer at a show that she doesn’t have to perform in.”
Alban finally glanced up. “Maybe. I have a different idea.” Alban gestured around his office. “Take this moment, for example. You could go rest in the guest quarters I gave you. Yet, here you are.” Alban looked back down at his tablet. “Basking in what I can only guess is my manly presence.”
Rooks laughed. “Manly?”
Alban jerked his head up. “Yes. Manly. I can always change into my civilian clothing, if you don’t believe me.”
Rooks held up a hand. “No. It’s alright. I can see just fine.” She didn’t want Alban to get changed and take their conversation just over the edge into awkward. She would wait for the celebration ceremony or Alban’s soonest leave to see his civilian clothing.
Besides, she had a good idea of what he’d wear, based on what Gavain and Sotir wore on a day-to-day basis. The men of Scaldigir employed more fabric in their fashion than the women, but they still sported deep cut necklines, often down to the waist.
The ship lit up, with red flashes of light. An alarm beeped. The sequence lasted a few moments, and then, it all stopped. A message came through the ship’s intercom. “All ships. Prepare for Volanter invasion. Wave three.”
Rooks recognized the voice as Ivo’s, the very man she could join if she wanted more excitement.
Rooks hopped to her feet. “How can I help?”
Alban didn’t answer. He ran out of his office, with Rooks on his heels. “We’re hiding in the corner again, so I’m afraid not much.”
“That’s alright…”
“If you say so,” Alban scoffed. “You missed your chance to move, in any case. You’re the leader of the Iruedian navy. I can’t let you out on a small ship now.”
They crossed the threshold into the bridge, and Alban walked the central path to the dais. Rooks walked right along with him.
As she gazed out the window, she took in the third wave. The Volanter had brought fifty ships against the Scaldin’s meager offerings. A handful of Scaldin ships still needed repairs. It left the Scaldin with thirty-one active vessels – bad odds.
Rooks’ hand came to rest at her neck, as she resisted the urge to cover her mouth.
“Pan needs to send out her dragon,” Alban said.
“I know!” Sotir called from the front walkway. “It’s alright with me. Just understand she won’t be able to leave the ship, and she won’t have good stamina.”
Alban called for Pan to participate, wherever she was.
Rooks watched the two fleets open fire upon each other. They started with guns. The Scaldin, or more specifically the Iruedians, were the first to bring out the magic. The spells drew themselves over space in looping runes and straight-lined stars, all bundled together in rings. Summons floated out of those circles. None of them died from exposure to space. All had been adapted. Some started slow for the enemy ships; others burst from their circles and zipped for the Volanter.
Rooks watched as the Volanter released their fighters, which happened to be warriors, riding their familiars. The Scaldin released fighters as well, setting them out in a swarm. Each fighter held a Scaldin pilot, and an Iruedian mage, their answer to the familiar riders.
The larger ships held back and let the tiny fighters bridge the gap.
The Scaldin worked their vessels into a defensive line. Some vessels moved further away, while others moved forward. The largest and best shielded Scaldin turned flank-side out, exposing more guns and creating a kind of wall. The shields rippled against Volanter spell fire, aided by blazing Iruedian shields and the Scaldin arcane equivalent. The smaller ships gathered above and below the wall of bigger vessels, and the entire fleet morphed into a strong line, stacked in three layers. They weren’t enough.
The Volanter vessels copied the maneuver, turning entire ships’ flanks to the enemy as well. Great shields activated and offered a thin layer of protection from the Scaldin guns and Iruedian magic.
Rooks studied the wall of Volanter vessels. She could see that those ships were not exactly war vessels. They looked more like barges. Barges covered in magic sigils. The Volanter formation stacked five ships deep, with the warships hiding behind the big shield vessels. It did mean the very top and bottom got weaker shielding. Still, it showed the Scaldin how outmatched they were, and those barges, if lost, wouldn’t be all that devastating to the Volanter.
Rooks put a hand to her forehead. The Scaldin would have a tough time landing any hits on that arrangement.
“You need help.” Rooks pulled a com from her belt. “Inez?”
Alban glared at Rooks.
The com crackled. “Yes?”
“I want you to sneak around the Volanter ships. Use wormholes. Go back through the real wormhole and get our entire fleet here. We’re going to sneak up on the back of their lines,” Rooks said.
“I’m on it.” The com went silent.
“If you want, I’m not going to say no. Just let me call it in. That way the Scaldin ships guarding the wormhole won’t rush in without the backup.” Alban walked to his chair. He didn’t sit, but he did send his message.
Rooks returned to her watch. She didn’t know if the Scaldin ships could hold out that long. She wondered why the Volanter never brought so much force against the Iruedians. It was probably a mixture of things. The system’s setup, with the wormhole set so close to the planet, allowed less space for everyone to operate. The Volanter were also spread out and still recovering from the Halfmoon’s little act of terrorism. Finally, the Volanter were cocky. They thought they could win, without much risk. Now, they knew they couldn’t, and the Scaldin would pay the price, unless Rooks did something.
Pan found a couple of doctors to be her keepers. She found them in a random hall on her way to the infirmary. The infirmary had no windows, so she grabbed the doctors and took them to a nice observation post.
Pan placed her hands on the sill and looked out. A gasp escaped her, and she turned to the doctors.
“I bet you wish you had a nice quiet practice on Scaldigir.” Pan didn’t wait for an answer. She conjured her dragon.
The circle flashed and puffed into smoke. The dragon coiled in the room and waited for smoke to dissipate from around its body.
Pan pointed to the fight outside. “Go out there and kill everything you can get your claws on. I can’t come, but you have fun. Do you understand me?”
The dragon grinned.
“Good.” Pan conjured the portal circle.
The dragon surged through.
Pan watched it fade into the ink of space. Then, she turned and faced the doctors. “This is where you come in. I’m going to keep an eye on things through my familiar’s eyes. You keep an eye on me. Because I am home to a delicate, little creature.” Pan gestured to her person.
“I’m going for some monitoring equipment,” the woman doctor said to the man. “You stay and watch her. I’ll be right back.”
Pan walked to a chair and took a seat. “Do you hate reapers by any chance?”
The man brushed his fingers through his white hair. “I think I might be related to one actually.”
“Good. Not that it means anything.”
Brynn had been related to reapers, and she still thought killing little reapers was her life’s calling.
“Thing’s should be pretty quiet while I do this. Just keep an eye on me.” Pan closed her eyes. She felt she had to force them shut. For once, her body didn’t want rest. But, as she thought of her familiar, her eyes seemed more willing to assume the relaxed position.
Pan’s dragon flew fast, but it was still a distance from the battle. Pan watched through its eyes and saw an explosion of magic. The Volanter circle rotated and had six effects to give. The Iruedian circle finished in one, but the effect was strong. It countered the six spells, but it wasn’t strong enough to injure the shield barge.
I wonder…
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Pan concentrated on a new rotating circle. She could feel it at the tip of her influence. Pan snatched it and sent it against the shield barge. Three effects, something like fireworks, arced toward the barge. The dragon’s muscles tensed. It just held back a grin. The first firecracker punched a hole in the shield. The second two sailed through. Three eruptions of red smoke broke through the shield barge’s hull.
The dragon laughed, and Pan wanted to join in. She could reach the ships when she viewed the world with her dragon. It served as her go-between. What fun. But, she could do more if they inched a little closer.
Pan, eyes still closed, said, “Tell Alban to get closer to the fight, just a little.” She hoped the doctor would comply.
Sotir’s information was important, but he’d had his look. Now, Pan could have a turn to make a mess of the battlefield. They could alternate their roles by bringing the Ischyros back and forward.
With eyes still closed, Pan watched the Scaldin vessels concentrate fire into the hole left by the shield barge. Another barge rushed to fill the space, but not before the Scaldin and Iruedians hit three ships behind it. Nothing sunk, so to speak, but they were hit.
And, then, Pan’s dragon was in the thick of it.
It grabbed the back of someone’s familiar and bit the tail clean off. It then latched on to the hindquarters with both mouth and forward claws. It brought its back claws up to rake the familiar’s belly.
Pan didn’t get a good look at the furred creature. She saw more clearly a mess of its blood and skin.
The dragon sprang out of range of a circle and dived for another familiar rider. This Volanter arcane communed with a lizard.
Pan worked to keep her view of space, and she worked equally hard to keep her consciousness separate.
Sotir’s warning rang through her memory. You can look out the dragon’s eyes, but don’t let yourself fall into it. I’m not going to lose you to that thing.
It was duly noted. Sotir had tried his best to get her out of the fighting, convinced she would die in a rage or survive as something he didn’t want her to be. Or worst of all, the Scaldin would match her off to someone else.
Pan felt more Volanter magic tingle over her body.
Then, a touch rested on her arm. “He wants to know if you’re close enough?”
Pan smiled but did not open her eyes. “I think so. I’ll be sparing about it. I’ll just aim for the shield barges. Everyone else can do the rest.”
Pan’s dragon flew just above the battle and served as her eyes. It showed her a series of circles, all for the taking.
Pan snatched one and tossed it against a shield barge. The circle had five effects to unleash. All of them got through the barge’s shields. Three crashed into the barge’s top, and the shield winked out. The other two drifted over the barge and hit one of the ship’s hiding behind it.
Fire erupted, and one ship seemed downed.
Pan’s dragon rolled, and she lost the view. Instead, she got an eyeful of another pair of hindquarters. The beast thrashed and wiggled its furry rear. Blood spurted from thighs, flanks, and of course, that furry butt.
Go for the neck next time.
The dragon seemed to send her a laugh. It dived away from a series of circles. A rayed circle narrowly missed the dragon’s head, and a rotating circle forced the dragon to fly straight down and out of the fight, taking refuge against the darkness of space.
Leave them. Go for the ships.
The dragon took Pan’s advice. It streamed through space and headed for the nearest shield ship.
Pan saw three Volanter circles but decided not to take them. She would like a better view and a slower moving dragon, or at least a dragon that wasn’t rushing from one point of space to another.
She saw a body to the dragon’s side, and the dragon paused. It froze, and the figure froze. Pan beheld…
Era!
Era scowled at the dark dragon, and the dragon stared back, with its mouth wide open. Era smiled slow. She pointed at the shield ship. Then, she dodged a circle. The dragon wiggled its length and dodged the same effect.
Follow her.
The dragon needed no prompting. It flew after Era, and Era flew slow enough for it to keep up. She skated over a Volanter shield and dipped behind the edge. The dragon followed, cresting the edge a moment later. Both dived down, into the Volanter’s safe space.
Era and dragon landed on the shield ship. Era crouched low, and the dragon grabbed hold of the ship’s corner. They hid just beneath the view of the Volanter, manning the bridges of the nearest ships.
What is she doing here? I guess she got her parole. Work with her. See if she can help you destroy something. Oh, and look at the battlefield now and then, so I can look for circles to reap.
The dragon seemed to answer with its grin. It crept low but fast over the shield barge, snaking between sensors and shield emitters. Era followed.
The dragon headed to the top of the ship. All the while, it kept its view on the battlefield
Pan stole one circle, with only two effects left. She sent it against a different shield and a different ship, somewhere behind her dragon. The familiar’s quick glance back showed her a short fire explode from that ship. Immediate gunfire followed, along with an Iruedian spell. Pan didn’t think she’d destroyed the ship. She’d just put in a new dent, but the others might finish it off.
Pan’s dragon popped an emitter free and skittered on, until Era grabbed hold of its tail.
The dragon whipped around and crouched before the Soffigen arcane.
Era put a finger to her lips, and Pan made the dragon roll its eyes. Sound was not a concern. Era pointed at a painted window below their feet. She pressed her palm to the window, and it popped in.
Air rushed out, making no sound, and Era slipped inside. Pan’s dragon followed. So much for stealing circles. Era had a tour planned first.
Era led the dragon down a dim hall. The ship repressurized, sealed by some Volanter, against the damage they’d done.
Era didn’t get far before five Volanter arcanes stood in her path. Era conjured an illusion. She masked herself and the dragon as leaves caught in a breeze. Pan ceased to see Era, but she thought she kept her eyes on the Era swirl of leaves.
In the meantime, Pan focused on her dragon and its contribution to the fight. The dragon streamed forward, leaping from floor to ceiling to wall. Most circles missed their mark. Those that found the dragon set off a moment too late.
Light filled the hall, and hidden from the glow, the dragon sank its teeth into Volanter neck. Pan heard the snap and a gurgle. She winced and almost lost contact.
What is going on with me?
Pan held the contact and caught a glimpse of swirling leaves over another Volanter. That pile had to be Era. Pan’s dragon turned away. It killed two more Volanter, earning a singed muzzle and nothing worse. Era killed the other two, and all five laid dead.
Try to find Engineering. Probably too close for Era to track, but you’ll do more damage there.
As much as it wanted to stay and have a meal, the dragon ran forward. The illusion of leaves dissipated, and Era appeared at its side.
“I guess we’re going to Engineering or some explosives storage? That’s your style. Isn’t it?”
Pan urged the dragon to nod. It gave a short, single bob of its head.
“Great. So happy to be able to replace you, by the way. It’s unfortunate timing really. You and your baby fogged brain.”
Pan’s dragon pushed Era. Era bumped the wall and laughed.
“No, I totally get it. They want more people like you, and this is how they make them. We’re all going to have so much fun in twenty years when we rule our corner of the galaxy.” Era trotted at the dragon’s side. She sped her feet with whatever power allowed her to fly through space.
Pan didn’t know who ‘we’ entailed, but if someone had to rule their corner of the galaxy might as well be the Scaldin and Iruedim by proxy.
Pan still couldn’t read Volanter, which wasn’t a problem most of the time. However, she needed to find Engineering on the shield barge, and the shield barge possessed a different layout. She could speak Volanter, but no Volanter offered them directions.
The shield barges possessed a strange flattened shape, with round bottoms. Pan thought those round bottoms might be the ideal place to tuck engineering, away from all the rest.
Pan’s dragon punched open a vent and streamed inside and down. Era followed. Pan knew it by the sound of Era’s echoing voice.
“You really know your way around these ships. Come on, let’s get it done.”
The dragon’s nostrils flared, and Pan smelt the warm electric currents that came from wires. The dragon snaked through a vent, moving horizontal. It peered out some slats and beheld, below in a great bowl-shaped room, engineering.
Era squeezed up next to the dragon’s head. “Found it,” she whispered, with a smile.
The dragon punched open the vent and streamed out. It greeted the Volanter with a roar. They greeted it with a series of spells. Three shields flowed over the column, and six more shields protected workers and consoles.
Era popped out next. She led with an illusion.
The entire room became a small arboretum, and Pan watched Era melt into the canopy. The dragon grasped the ceiling and skittered across, also hidden in the false leaves. Too bad; Pan and Era didn’t have a clear view of the column. That hid in a stand of trees. Consoles disappeared beneath underbrush, and the edges of the room faded. The space seemed to go on forever.
The illusion lived a short life. A rotating circle dispelled it piece by piece. First, the ceiling came back into view, along with Era and the dragon. Then, the consoles showed on the edges of the room, and finally, the column returned, just as the dragon took a punch of fire to its gut.
The dragon banged against the wall and fell on the heads of Volanter below. They scrambled to the side and wriggled their tentacles in a frenzy to escape.
The dragon lay over the consoles. Its weight pressed some buttons, especially as it shifted. The dragon lifted its head and shook out its fur. Then, it hopped off the console. It swiped its claws through a Volanter man and ended his spell.
Era hit the wall above the dragon and landed on the console the dragon just vacated.
Another spell effect headed their way. The dragon threw its wing up and caught the spell. Pan felt the wing burn, but her dragon didn’t complain. As soon as it pulled its wing down, Era raised her hands and telekinetically tugged on the column.
Era always had some of the strongest versions of circles. Her telekinesis circle did not disappoint, and better yet, no one knew she used it.
The column’s center shattered, and the rest fell free. A shower of glass and colored gas wafted towards the dragon and Era. The dragon grabbed Era in one great paw and tossed her back into the vent.
It slithered after, and one very nauseating series of twists and turns later, Pan saw the view of space around her.
Era, unable to speak, raised her hands and cheered in silence.
Below, the shield barge drifted. Fires and smoke trailed from its base, and the power of the explosions pushed the whole ship towards those that hid behind its once grand protection. The first of the shield barges became a true ruin.
Pan smiled.
She searched for a new circle. She found a rayed arrangement and sent it to an undamaged shield barge, right ahead of the destroyed vessel. The new, undamaged vessel seemed ages away, as the shield barges were long enough for three or four large vessels to hide behind. To add to the illusion of distance, the destroyed barge fell away, leaving a great chasm of space beneath them.
A single rayed circle would not do the trick, so Pan grabbed two more Volanter creations and dropped them behind the Volanter shields. The circles didn’t want to go, but Pan forced them through the shield. They sizzled and made it intact. One rotated and let off three rounds before its creator cut it short. The other was an overlayed circle, with a big effect.
Light filled Pan’s view. The corner of the new shield barge exploded. The explosion rocked the dragon and Era as they floated in space. Era punched the air.
Shield emitters sailed free, and that barge’s shield also went down.
The dragon flew up and avoided a circle and some gunfire. Era weaved after.
Iruedian spells and Scaldin weaponry tore into the ship ahead and the ruin below. When Pan looked down again, she saw it all in flames, which whimpered and died as they met the vacuum of space. Pan glanced back and watched the shield ship, behind the ruin, meet the same fate, through the efforts of some daring Iruedian mages.
As a collective fleet, they had taken out three shield ships in a row. Pan had to admit, she was beginning to tire. She felt tempted to let the view go and rest on her laurels, but she didn’t.
A final explosion sent a cloud of colored gas up. Her dragon just made it through. Heat coursed around its fur, and Pan saw only smoke and fiery gas. But, her dragon and Era burst free, riding the shockwave to a point above the battle.
Era gave Pan a thumbs up and flew off.
Again, Pan felt that urge to rest, but the dragon seemed to say, No stay with me. Look what we can do.
Rooks loved the view. A gaping hole opened up in the center of the Volanter fleet.
Alban smiled at the report on his tablet. “One. Two. Three shield ships out. Eight of their warships gone. Thirty-nine ships left…we think. And, a lot of vessels on the edges seem damaged. Sotir?” Alban called across the bridge.
“They’re going to change formation and try to come around behind our ships. The far side will move first. They’re the strongest. If you want to sneak up behind them, you’ll have to do it soon.” Sotir’s voice sounded hazy. He held his staff and gazed, with glazed eyes, out the window. “Also, move back a bit. Pan needs a break. Temper her assistance.”
Alban nodded at the helm, and the Ischyros drifted back, taking some of the better views from Rooks.
Alban looked at her. “Well?”
“Inez got through the wormhole. It should only be a matter of time.” Rooks held her com close, but it just wouldn’t crackle.
“They don’t plan to call,” Sotir said.
Rooks’ attention snapped up to him.
He smiled, still with that same glazed expression. “About seven minutes away. Then, you should get a show.”
“Is it soon enough?” Alban asked.
Sotir made a thoughtful sound. “Not quite, but it won’t be devastating for us.”
“I’ve called it in,” Alban said. “We’ve shifted fire to that area. Maybe, we can get things a little better than not devastating.”
Rooks checked the battlefield. The Volanter vessels scooted over and around, but the Scaldin and Iruedian attacks landed heavily on those who were supposed to lead the charge. The charge halted. Some ships even started to head back. Another Volanter ship went down on the far edge, engulfed in fire.
A slim Ul’thetos populated the battlespace. It floated and searched for an opening.
“To think I’d see that thing and feel good about it,” Rooks said.
“What?” Alban searched the window. “Oh, you mean the copies of the beast that wanted to devour your planet.”
“That’s the one. Leave it to Meladee to come up with the weirdest summons.” Rooks gestured out the view. “Of course, that one isn’t hers.”
Alban watched too. He crossed his arms. “Too bad they outfitted their ships against crushing power. Now, the things just glom on. Still, one of the scariest monsters I’ve ever seen. But, the Volanter probably find it beautiful. It’s so like them after all.”
Seven minutes later, Pan was reported out of the fight and had been for a good five minutes. Inez and the Iruedian fleet reported in.
“They just damaged the rears of a good ten ships,” Alban said, with a smile. He showed Rooks the report on his chair’s display.
She couldn’t read the Scaldin language, but she could understand the imagery.
“They’ll leave,” Sotir said dreamily. He blinked and leaned upon his staff. A moment later, he started around the upper walk, slow and a bit shaky. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to check on my wife.”
“Go ahead.” Alban patted his shoulder as he staggered by. “You look like shit by the way, so don’t come back till you sleep.”
“That’s my plan.” Sotir regained some of his stamina and walked back, to the exit. His staff made thumping sounds, with a hint metallic ring.
Alban’s eyes moved again to the window. “And, there they go. Just as predicted.”
Rooks watched. The Volanter ships retreated, having lost nearly half of their number. “And, how many did the Scaldin lose?”
“Can’t say. The full report hasn’t circulated yet, and I just let Sotir walk out.” Alban nodded at his crew on the lower level. “We’re estimating five, maybe seven. In case you’re wondering, we’re almost down to half our fleet. We might be able to get more of the damaged vessels back in.”
“I’ll have my ships stay.”
“It’s not my place to accept that,” Alban said.
So, Rooks would offer it to the leader of the Scaldin navy instead, or to Alban’s old captain, Ivo. The man knew how to accept a gift, and he had the authority.