Chapter 16: Interlude 2 – Thomas
Location: Estriduros Republic; Stalnier System; Star Force Station 79; ERS Zeloris
Thomas is sound asleep in his cabin on the Zeloris when a ship-wide announcement wakes him up. “Crew of the Zeloris, this is Lieutenant Commander Groji speaking. We just received new orders and are to rendezvous with Admiral Trilduro’s task force in the Olovis System. Get ready for a jump in two hours, Groji out.”
Ugh, who cares, just let me sleep! They won’t need me anyway – just more maneuver training near the frontline.
Thomas is annoyed with his situation. As an A&D Mage in Star Force, he had high hopes that he would see lots of action and become a strong Mage in the process. But reality is different. Having only learned defensive spells in the academy, he is just a glorified shield battery on the Zeloris. The Destroyer is the third ship he is on and it just doesn’t see much action. Thomas suffers from boredom because of it.
God damn it, now I can’t sleep anymore. Why did he wake us two hours before the jump? On the Kelvin, we had a 15-minute jump warning… That was way better!
Those thoughts take him on a trip down memory lane…
Thomas will never forget Sara’s expression of shock when he was tested as a Mage. He believes his own wasn’t that different before he was knocked out. When he awoke he wore a simple shipsuit and was ushered out of the starship. Welcome to Mage Academy Station they said. It was a weird feeling… He made his first trip through space and missed every single second of it. Later came another surprise at his power testing: Thomas Nelson, Senior Mage, a prodigy as they call it.
The attendant then showed him his future job options, well his only future option, not that he had a choice in that matter. The military, Star Force, him becoming an A&D Mage.
The next two years were normal school life with some benefits. Being a prodigy paid off! Then came graduation and his transfer to a Star Force training facility. He must have missed Sara by days…
Training was gruesome, a year of endless drills and the learning of proper procedures, but he endured. Thomas was burning for some action!
Action came, but only twice. His first assignment was on the Cruiser ERS Kelvin as assistant A&D Mage. Practically another year of learning. It was boring and he only got to use his magic once, when they saved a small space station from pirates. His glorious job was to shield the side of the Kelvin that was averted from the pirates’ ships.
The good thing was that the Kelvin visited every system of the Estriduros Republic – even the remote Acordus System. Thomas was elated. He could meet Sara again! He asked his superiors if he could join the landing party as this was his home planet. Surprisingly they smiled at him and agreed.
He joined the small party of five that went to talk to the planet's governor and was even allowed to visit the orphanage during their talks. He rushed there and his good mood was erased in an instant.
Sara is a Mage too?!
He was devastated when he returned to the Kelvin and only realized a few hours later how close they came to seeing each other at the academy. The remainder of his trip on the Cruiser wasn’t noteworthy and when they returned to the Estriduros System, he was glad that there was another assignment waiting for him.
It’s been another year, which means Sara has already graduated. So it wasn’t worth it for him to ask if he could visit the academy again. He tried searching for her in the military database, but while he found two other Sara Nelsons, they were both way too old. He concluded that she probably joined another company.
His second assignment found him on the Frigate ERS Huldria in the Estriduros System. They had the fabulous job of providing security inside the central system of the republic… Who thought that this would be an exciting time?
Against all odds, Thomas had to take action once. A group of extremely clever pirates thought it was a good idea to try to raid a freighter right in the heart of the republic. They didn’t even surrender, so Thomas kept the Huldria’s shields powered and their guns blasted the pirates to oblivion.
And so went almost two years of Thomas’s life. Boredom on a Frigate in the center of the republic. Finally, he got a message that told him of his new assignment. He was going to be transferred to the Destroyer ERS Zeloris as the leading A&D Mage aboard. The orders told him that he’ll get another A&D Mage under his command once the next training cycle ends. He was happy about the promotion and hoped they’d travel to the frontlines to finally get some action.
He couldn’t have been more wrong. His life now on the Zeloris consists of constant training maneuvers without any kind of engagement.
Maybe this assignment is a real one and not more training? It’s even in the frontline system… Hah, as if… why do I even get my hopes up?
Location: Estriduros Republic; Olovis System; ERS Zeloris
A loud beep and an angry voice on the cabin’s speaker shakes him out of his thoughts. “Mage Nelson, why the fuck aren’t you at your station on the bridge?” The angry tactical officer – his boss – shouts through the intercom.
Shit, shit, shit, was I right and this IS real?? He sounds really angry, I better hurry up.
He jumps out of bed and hastily puts on his uniform, then he rushes out of his cabin and runs towards the bridge. Panting he arrives at his station and apologizes to his superior. “I’m… I’m sorry Lieutenant Gwynn. I uhm thought this was another training mission where I’m not needed.”
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Lieutenant Gwynn shakes his head. “You’re not here to think.” He points at the Mage station next to the tactical console – a glorified name for a grav chair and a holodesk. “Now sit down, we are about to meet up with the task force, and then we’ll receive our orders.”
Thomas quickly complied and a short while later they meet up with the other ships.
Huh, that are quite a lot of ships.
Including the Zeloris the task force counts ten ships of various sizes. The biggest is the Battleship ERS Emeralda.
This must be the Admiral’s ship. This task force is no joke if they even pull out a Battleship…
The communications officer speaks up. “Captain, we have an incoming transmission. It’s the Admiral. She’s broadcasting to all ships of the task force.”
The Captain, a short blonde woman nods before replying. “Thank you Lieutenant Ajiv, put her on the main screen.”
The holographic projection of the outside dims and a hologram of an older woman appears before it. “Greetings fellow Captains and crew. For those who don’t know me, my name is Admiral Ramona Trilduro and today our task force has one main objective.” Her expression turns angry.
“We are to stop a filthy thief who thought stealing new groundbreaking technologies from one of our research stations and destroying the station in the process was a good idea. Our job is to lock down the enhanced wormhole, connecting us to the Duvondin System, as command figured this would be the most likely route for the culprit to take. Keep an eye on the normal wormhole next to it but our information says the thief is alone and not a Space Mage. I’ll send you your flight paths in a minute. Good hunt, Trilduro out.”
Holy shit, this is real! Action is coming. Finally!
Excitement spreads on the faces of the bridge crew, Thomas isn’t the only one who is bored. “Alright, you heard the Admiral, get ready for engagement. Let’s capture us some thieves!” The voice of the Captain rings through the bridge and the crew springs into action.
As their Space Mage is still recovering, the Zeloris cruises with a full burn toward the enhanced wormhole leading to the Duvondin System and a few hours later they arrive. Other ships were able to jump there earlier and so the Zeloris joins the already established blockade to make it more secure and to check more incoming ships at the same time.
It's a task for the Space Ranger teams aboard the starships. They take a shuttle and fly over to the incoming ships to check them out after they have powered down their drives. Once they are cleared of suspicions, they are allowed to continue on their journeys. A few hours later Lieutenant Ajiv announces another incoming call from the Admiral. This time the Captain decides to talk to her in private and her face gets grimmer by the minute. Thomas starts to worry.
Did something happen? Did we mess up? But we didn’t do anything besides blocking the wormhole… So why is she calling and why is the Captain getting angry?
“Listen up everyone, we just got special orders. There is a pirate vessel at the other end of the system raiding a freighter that is carrying supplies for the frontline. As we have a recovered Space Mage, we are to jump over and show them a proper response. Lieutenant Ajiv, please announce a combat jump in 5 minutes and sound general quarters.” The Captain turns to Thomas. “Mage Nelson, be ready to shield us as soon as we complete the jump. There is no point in leaving our resources unused and I know you’re burning for something to do.” She winks at him and Thomas lets out a nervous laugh.
“Yes madam, you can count on me.”
Five minutes later, a slight shudder goes through the ship and the Zeloris emerges at a different location. Before them is a heavy freighter under attack by an abomination of a pirate ship.
What is this thing? Is that a jury-rigged freighter?
Thomas wastes no time and concentrates to bring up his strongest one-way shield spell as their own weapons must be available. A blue layer forms around the Zeloris before quickly going transparent. “We are all set Captain,” he tells the woman standing next to his station. “One-way shields are holding steady.”
The Captain gives him a short nod before addressing Lieutenant Ajiv again. “Please open a channel, let’s give them a chance to surrender.”
That contact does not go as planned. As soon as the Captain has given the pirates their ultimatum, they stop attacking the freighter and the crew including Thomas starts to cheer. But then the pirate ship turns and starts attacking the Zeloris. The Captain just shakes her head and orders the vessel’s destruction. Lieutenant Gwynn shares a silent look with Thomas who nods, confirming the status of the shields again. Then his fingers fly over his console and the Destroyer’s weapon systems come alive.
The jury-rigged lasers and railguns on the pirate vessel are of course no match for a modern Destroyer of the Republic’s Star Force and Thomas’s strong shields don’t even start to flicker. Six high-energy lasers hammer away, targeting the connection on the repurposed freighter’s spine – a clear weak point.
The lasers are followed by fast-moving railgun slugs that pulverize the welded armor plates on the ship. To finish things, Lieutenant Gwynn fires a single fusion missile together with some decoys. Everyone knows this is overkill, but he wants to make a point. The Captain grins in satisfaction and Thomas watches his first real space battle with rapt interest.
The pirates clearly detect the missile, but their point defense lasers have already been destroyed by Lieutenant Gwynn’s railgun slugs. They begin to panic and try to run. This is too much for the freighter and the vessel breaks in two along the already weakened spine.
The fusion missile comes closer and closer. The pirates' fate is inevitable. The ship begins spewing escape pods and a few seconds later a gigantic explosion swallows the ship whole. Small shuttles full of Space Rangers are dispatched to collect the survivors for questioning.
The Captain sits back down with a smirk. “And that’s why you don’t fuck with Star Force! Congratulations everyone for a successful takedown. Let’s finish up and then return to our assignment.”
Thomas lets out a sigh of relief and cancels his shield spell. While it wasn’t a problem to stop some lasers and railgun slugs, he is still out of training and therefore quite exhausted. The stupid collar doesn’t allow him to train in his free time! He slumps down in his chair and gives a thumbs-up to Lieutenant Gwynn. He gets the sign that Thomas’s spell is inactive and presses a button to reactivate the collar. Procedures have to be followed!
Closing his eyes to relax, Thomas starts when he feels a hand on his shoulder a short while later.
Huh, the Captain. Why is she with me and not questioning the prisoners?
The question must show on his face because she laughs and tells him that Commander Groji is dealing with the pirates. She asks him to follow her to her office and of course, Thomas complies. They sit down at a desk and the Captain comes straight to the point. “Your potential is wasted here on a Destroyer.”
What?
“I saw you fling out that shield spell like nothing. All the other mages I had before started sweating profoundly just from throwing out the spell and every impact almost knocked them out.” She shakes her head. “I knew you were a Senior Mage, but the difference is just like night and day… you didn’t even flinch.”
Well, what she says is true, but I didn’t think that other Mages were so much worse. Wow.
“Uhm, thank you Captain… I’m just doing my job.” He lets out a nervous chuckle.
Where does this conversation lead to?
“Hah, of course you are, of course.” She laughs. “But humor aside, I meant what I said. You are wasted here. So I have a proposal. I’m going to recommend you for a position on one of our frontline space stations here in the sector. They are way bigger than this little Destroyer and I assume you’ll see much more action. Just don’t forget about little old me in the future.” With that, she gets up with a grin and Thomas is sitting there stunned.
Holy shit! YES! That’s exactly what I want. Oh my god, I wish Sara was here.
He notices that his silence gets awkward and quickly stammers. “Th… thank you, Captain, you don’t know what this means to me. Truly, thank you.” He gets up with a massive grin on his face. “Now let us catch some thieves!”