Chapter 35: VS Stargazer
Location: Solar System; above Earth; Small Yacht
I finish watching and reading the reports Conor left for us, and all I can say is wow. The scale of everything… And all that magic. There is so much I don’t know. Why did I grow up in the Estriduros Republic? It feels like those two years at the academy were completely wasted. I mean what did we even learn there?
You’re a Mage, a piece of trash, here’s a spell, deal with it. And now I see a recording from 11,000 years back, and they fling around countless spells so casually. I was right all along! Magic is so much bigger than what I’ve learned back then. It’s even bigger than I could have imagined.
And Conor together with his wife… They are so cool and so brave. Standing against a whole fleet with a single ship and winning! Also, that’s two new Mage ranks I’ve never heard about. Grandmaster and Archmage. That must be the pinnacle of Magic. And seeing how strong they are, I can understand why a Mage-hating nation like the Estriduros Republic doesn’t want us to know about those ranks.
Speaking of Mage hating. Is there a connection between Utopia and the republic? Or did the ideology simply survive over all those years? I hope it’s the latter… Those Utopian guys were assholes.
I mean who would even try to attack Earth? Everyone originates from there, it’s like deleting your history. And then the Worldender Ship… That thing was a menace. I can only agree with Conor. Let’s hope something like that will never reappear. Hmm, the galaxy is big, and I grew up right at the edge… I wonder if it made an appearance in other places over the years. Another thing to ask when I find a way back to civilization.
Speaking of a way back. Maja and I are currently on our way back to the place where we appeared after the collapsed wormhole. Why? Because Conor placed a ship there. The VS Stargazer. We both hope that the enhanced sensors of that ship can find us a way out. I gave up on finding a wormhole after Conor closed his reports with the news that they completely quarantined Earth after Project Exodus, which means that they destroyed every wormhole leading here. I think that’s also the reason why everyone believes that Earth was destroyed.
But hey, I’m a weird Mage, having the Master ability Space Sense at the rank of Novice. And almost everything the Estriduros Republic told us about magic was false anyway. So why shouldn’t I be able to jump without a wormhole when I try hard enough?
Ugh, I’m going insane from all that thinking about what I just watched. Luckily, I have someone to talk to. “So Maja, what do you think about the information Conor included about the war?”
Maja, sitting ceremonial at the helm, even if she doesn’t need to, turns around and faces me. “Can’t say that I’m too excited… Way too many people died. But even if I can’t use it, the scale of the magic was way grander than what you have shown me so far. So I guess, we have more to explore. Also, the reports got a bit thin toward the end. Just the Worldender Ship appearing and everyone leaving. I would have liked a few more details. But at least we can paint a picture with what we heard about that ship before. Let’s just hope this thing never crosses our path and that Conor’s observation can be confirmed.” She shrugs. “What about you?”
Umm yeah, I should have expected that… why would she be hyped about all that magic if she can’t use it? “Well, for me it was mostly the magic. I mean there are even two ranks above Master that I have never heard about. And core merging for a power-up. Man that does sound awesome. I hope that one day I can get there. But yeah, you are right. War is never pretty, I hope we never have to participate in one. But with power comes responsibility and I DO want to become powerful.”
“About that,” Maja starts while standing up. “Did you notice the distinction Conor made between capitalized Artifacts and Ferdinand’s artificial artifacts?”
We both walk back to the living room while I think about what she just said. She’s right, Conor did make a difference in his wording there.
“Yeah, you mentioning it just reminded me. So I guess I do have an artificial Utility core now. Meaning I’m stuck there, as they can’t advance.” My mood drops. Did I make a mistake by implanting that core? My body had a negative reaction too…
Wait! Maja said it was like my Space core looked like it wanted to devour the Utility core. Is that the merging of cores? But that can’t happen at Novice rank? What is wrong with me?
Maja must have noticed my dropping mood as she puts her arm around me and gives me a side hug. “Hey, what’s wrong? Conor did mention that Ferdinand was looking for a way to advance cores. It’s been 11,000 years. Surely, they found a way. Those Artifacts, whatever they are, do sound pretty rare. And I’m sure there are still Archmages or Grandmasters today, probably in The Empire. If those things are that rare, there must be another way, or those ranks wouldn’t exist anymore.”
“You’re right, thank you,” I smile. “They called it power-enhancing Artifacts back at the academy. But what if those are the artificial variants Ferdinand invented? They should work on artificial cores as well, coming from the same inventor and so…” I decide to keep my thoughts about the core merging for myself. No need to worry Maja about something she can’t do anything about.
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Location: Solar System; System Edge; Small Yacht
It takes us another two weeks while conserving fuel to arrive back at the point where we appeared in the system. Luckily, they were completely uneventful, and I was finally able to relax a bit. Well, the first week was nice, then I got bored again. It’s strange… once I have a moment of silence, I want the action back. I guess the next few days will be pretty eventful at least.
Let’s just hope the ship is still where Conor said. We have to go by touch, meaning Maja or I have to do a spacewalk once we reach the provided coordinates and try to find the ship. It uses a combination of Magitech and real magical cloaks to completely disappear.
“Sara, we’ve arrived. Do you want to go out or should I?”
I kinda want to go, but I know I shouldn’t. The spacewalker suit is gone and while I can survive out there with just my shipsuit, it’s very dangerous. “It’s your turn, Maja. I’m going to sit this one out.”
“Okay, wish me luck. I’m going to discover an 11,000-year-old starship.” With that, Maja walks back toward the airlock and enters it. She waves, then the door closes and seconds later she is outside, only connected to the yacht with a harness around her hips and a tether.
“Check one, two, can you hear me, Maja?” I do a comms check.
“Loud and clear!” I hear her voice through the AI chip behind my ear. I wonder why… Ah, right, there’s no air outside for sound to travel. Okay, everything’s working, now I just have to wait… again.
Five minutes pass and I can watch Maja floating around through the front-facing window. She’s using a small booster on her back to move around. I wave her now and then, but she’s too concentrated to notice. It’s funny seeing her out there without any protection. Who else could do something like that? Hmm, maybe an A&D Mage with a translucent shield around themselves?
I know I’m impatient, but Maja must have found something now, right? I mean the ship can't be smaller than what we have here. “Have you found anything yet?” I ask through the microphone of my tablet.
“No, nothing… I’m starting to think, it’s not there anymo…” Just when she is talking to me, she suddenly connects with something. It came completely unexpected, and she’s now pressed against it like one of those comic figures when they run against a glass panel. The only thing that’s missing is her sliding down slowly. I can’t help it and break down in full-blown laughter.
“That’s not funny!” Maja shouts in my ear, but she also does sound relieved. ”But I found our ship.”
I snort. “Oh, it sure is funny. You should’ve seen what you looked like. But yeah, good job. Can you make it drop the cloak?”
“Let me try,” Maja huffs. “No, I can’t. It requires another proof of your identity.”
Huh, how can I prove my identity in outer space? I can’t expose my hand out there… Man, Conor probably said the future Valterions should send one of their powerful people. Just have them throw up an airtight shield around the ship and they are good to go. But now there’s me, probably one of the weakest Mages in existence. Well, not anymore. I guess, I’m now one of a few Mages in the whole Estriduros Republic who has access to two classes of magic. Not that it helps me here, but it’s still a good feeling.
“Got any idea how to do that? I can’t go out there and press my hand against the ship.”
Maja starts moving along the body of the ship, using her hands to orientate herself. “Yeah, I’m looking for a hatch or an airlock. Once I find one, we can connect both ships there. Then you can stay inside while confirming your identity.”
Brilliant, I don’t know what I would do if I still only had S-57 with me. “Great idea, Maja. Let me know when you find something!”
It takes another two long hours till I hear from Maja again. Meanwhile, I’ve returned to the living room and made something to eat. The Stargazer must be bigger than we expected. “Okay Sara, I got it. Meet me in the airlock.”
The airlock? Why can’t she come in on her own? I shrug, it’s not important, I can ask her when we’re face to face again. So, I stand up and walk the short distance to our airlock. Through the window, I can see Maja already waiting inside and the outer door is wide open. Beyond that is nothing? “Okay, I’m here… Now what? You have to close the outer door if you want to come in.”
Maja winks at me. “Come on, open it. The Stargazer is waiting.”
“Huh, we’re already connected?”
“Of course, you silly. I didn’t need you while docking, so I just left you with your food. Now come on.”
Well, there’s no reason not to trust her, so I just go ahead. I activate the shipsuit’s helmet, just to be sure, and then press the button to open the airlock. Of course, nothing happens. The room beyond is already pressurized. It still looks weird. I can only see the stars beyond but it’s clear that we are connected to the Stargazer. “Okay, now I just go ahead?” Maja nods and I do just that. My hand connects with something solid – the ship. Wow, I can’t wait to get inside. As I don’t want to strip off half my clothes, I decide to use the old and trusted method.
Taking a deep breath, I deactivate the helmet and hold my head against the outer hull of the Stargazer. It’s cold, but nothing happens. Then I can hear Maja laughing. I turn around scowling. “What?”
She takes a while to compose herself. Annoying! “There’s a panel to interact with. It’s a bit to the right and a good bit lower than the spot you smacked your head against,” she points her finger in the direction, she said. “Right here.”
I grumble a bit but repeat the process. This time something is happening: A computer-generated voice starts speaking. “Identity confirmed, welcome to the VS Stargazer Miss Valterion. Do you wish to dispel the cloak or only open the door?”
Yes! Finally. “I, uh… dispel the stealth first please, then open the door.”
“As you wish.”
Just as I hear the words, the view of the stars suddenly disappears. It’s replaced by a smooth silver-grey hull with black and purple accents. Beautiful. I can’t see much as our connector tube blocks most of the sight, but hey there’s purple!
“Can you send out a drone, Maja? I want to see the whole ship.”
“Sure, but we should go back to the bridge, there’s a bigger screen.”
“True, thank you. Lead the way.”
When we arrive at the bridge, Maja’s drone is already out there, and she even surpassed my expectations. Floating in the middle of the bridge is now a holographic projection of a sleek starship. According to the scale, it’s 120 meters long and the silver-grey color of the tristanium hull dominates. But just like at the airlock there are accents of black and purple around the whole ship, which make it look really nice.
The front is blazing with guns and besides the mundane railguns and lasers which are also located at key spots around the whole ship, there are also a few of the things I recognize as magical guns from the war reports. So much for that ship being just a scout. Looks like Conor didn’t want to leave it here unprotected.
I can’t help it, but I’m already in love with the Stargazer. It’s perfect. And I’m definitely going to keep her. I haven’t thought about it for a long time, but now it comes back. My friends are going to make the perfect crew for a ship this size!
“Okay Maja, let’s head inside!”