Chapter 55: Getting Thomas

Location: Estriduros Republic; Border Region near the Blueridge Alliance; Hugurd

Station; VS Stargazer

Half an hour or so later, we are all back on the Stargazer, and Maja and Alex take care of our departure. I flip through a few pages on my interface till I find what I'm looking for. The freighter, Maja talked about earlier, left some ten minutes ago, and Maja left some breadcrumbs behind, which tell that Lucy is aboard that ship.

From the looks of it, they are quite hidden, but if Star Force looks closely, they’ll find them. Which means everything should work out. Just this moment a slight rumble goes through the Stargazer. We’re free from the docking arms and the ship slowly flies backward before turning and heading out. Perfect timing!

Now we just have to jump outta here and we should be good. Then we can finally head back to the Olovis System to grab Thomas. I chuckle softly. Funny how I end up in that System all the time…

That said, I tap Lucy’s arm and she moves her gaze away from the front-facing window to look at me. “Wanna do a quick tour through the ship?”

She smiles and agrees, so the two of us leave the bridge and I show her everything. Meanwhile, I tell her most of the other things I left out before.

In the end, we’re standing before the magic battery on deck 04 and I've just finished showing her my Utility magic. This time I used the Communication spell I've finally finished to learn from Jack.

Lucy gasps. “So not only was everything we were told bullshit, but you’re also telling me that you’re pretty much a Noble? Oh, and I can’t wrap my head around the fact that Maja is your AI! I mean she’s walking and talking and everything… And I asked her if she was a hacker… That’s so embarrassing.”

I laugh and grab her in a tight hug. Then one particular sentence registers in my mind. I’m part of some Noble line! I wonder if it’s something like the Knights of those old movies or something… I guess I’ll find out soon. “Don’t worry, Lucy. I guess Maja found it quite amusing… But after everything I told you, you sure that you are still with me?”

Lucy struggles out of my hug, grabs my shoulders, and holds me at arm's length. She looks me directly in her eyes, hers sparkle quite beautifully. “Sara, I’ve already made my decision. I’m with you. I want to explore new things… maybe just as much as you. Remember our promise back at the academy?”

Oh, yes! We wanted to find out if there’s more to magic than we were told…

She must have seen it in my eyes because she starts to chuckle. “I guess we were right about that… But it looks like you’re quite a bit ahead in magical broadness. Can’t have you running ahead, can I?”

I start chuckling as well, then we both laugh out loud. Finally, I wipe off a tear and can speak again. “Okay, sorry for asking… I just wanted to be sure. Welcome to the crew again then! Oh, and there are two more things, but we can’t use both of them right now.”

That gets her attention and I ask her if she’s got a tablet with her. She nods.

“Yeah, got it right here. Maja even looked it over already and deleted Star Force’s spy programs.”

“Perfect, here watch this.” I send her one of the video files from the War of Earth, one showing Conor and Sam throwing out attack spell after attack spell.

Lucy watches the video with an open mouth, then suddenly she exclaims. “I knew it! Hah, I just knew it. A&D isn’t only about shields and weak attack spells! Do you have them with you?” She looks at me expectantly.

“No, sorry,” I shake my head. “They only left a few spells behind that were essential for the ship… But the second thing is almost as good. We just can’t use it till we’re out of the republic.”

This time I send her a schematic of the Stargazer and highlight our two big magical guns at the bow of the ship. “Those are the Magitech answer to attack spells. Magical guns! They draw power from the battery right here but require an A&D Mage to activate them.”

Lucy grins widely and looks at the schematic with love in her eyes. “Oh, you two… We’re going to become good friends,” she whispers.

Oh my, what have I awakened here?

Location: Estriduros Republic; Olovis System; Border Station 07; VS Stargazer

Everything worked out as planned. The Topal noticed that Lucy was missing an hour before we did our first jump, but instead of following us, they did a non-wormhole jump and forced the freighter to stop. Before they noticed Maja’s fake trail, we were long gone. For the next few days, we flew full speed to the closest wormhole available and just jumped, then finally Maja and Alex deemed it safe, and we started heading for the Olovis System.

And here we are, two weeks after we managed to recruit Lucy, we’re now docking with Border Station 07. We’re quite lucky that Thomas is on this one and not on one of the others, as BS 07 is the only one here, that is a combination of a military and a civilian station. I guess Thomas is here because he is quite strong, and they only want the strongest to shield civilians? That’s at least a plus point for the republic…

But due to the half-military nature of the station, there are going to be heavy restrictions. We aren’t allowed to bring any weapons and there are strict rules to follow, otherwise, you’ll end up in prison quickly. The thing that has me worried a bit is that our IDs are going to be put to the test!

That’s the last thing that makes BS 07 special and also the main reason why there is a civilian sector on a military station: Everyone who wants to leave the republic toward the Dakarti Federation, be it freighters for trade, or whoever else has to go through customs here on the station. Otherwise, their ships will be simply shot down when they attempt to access the wormhole.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

But if our IDs work out, this makes our plan to get Thomas pretty simple. We just have to enter the station, go through the customs process, and Maja can hack the hell out of the station to send a message to Thomas so that we can meet up. It’s also the last time that hacking is going to be so easy for Maja, as this is probably the last Estriduros Republic computer system we will see. After that, the code won’t be familiar to her anymore, but I’m still confident. I mean, she could hack things on Earth, even if it took her a bit longer.

We gather near the airlock on deck 00 and I look around. It’s starting to get cozy in the hallway… Hell, we’re already nine people and are about to get another one for our crew. “Everyone ready?” I ask and I get nods or yesses from everyone.

“Alright, open up Maja, let’s hope Don Fernando didn’t screw us over!”

The door starts to open when Maja replies. “He didn’t. I checked them, they’ll work, don’t worry.”

We exit the ship and I take point and walk right down the docking arm. Bright green arrows on the floor point the way to the customs office. Not that they were needed as we can’t walk anywhere else. The way is framed by a big metal fence that reaches the roof on one side and the outer wall of the docking arm blocks the other side. Behind the fence are three Space Rangers patrolling the docking arm with heavy weapons in their hands.

I keep looking ahead and set a brisk pace. The docking arm terminates into another hallway, that is slightly bent. We can either walk left or right, but the arrow pointing left, and the scowling Ranger not far away make the decision very easy, and I turn to the left. The others follow me, and we walk down the new hallway. The floor is meshed metal and makes a rather annoying sound with each step. It feels like I’m walking right into a prison…

We continue walking and from time to time the wall opens up on the left and I can see other docking arms, similar to the one we entered through. Then finally, after almost ten minutes of walking, another green arrow points to the right and we exit the hallway into a much bigger room. There are twenty armored cubicles next to each other with big, reinforced glass panels at the front. Only five of them are occupied though. Must be a quiet time right now.

“Alright,” a gruff voice barks from the right. I turn and see another ranger with a big bushy beard under his helmet. “Split up and prepare those IDs. You’re nine, so two to each cubicle, and one goes alone. Chop, chop. You’ve got a crew of fifty coming behind you!”

We split up in a hurry, just like he said. I’m the one who ends up alone, so I walk toward the rightmost cubicle. A middle-aged, brown-haired woman with grey streaks and a friendly face greets me. “Hello, please hand me your ID.”

She smiles when I lay the small card down on the sliding tray. She activates the mechanism, and my ID slides into the cubicle. She picks it up. “Alright, Miss Sara Valtron, you plan to visit the Dakarti Federation? May I ask for your reason?”

I nod nervously. So far everything works out. “Yeah, my company, MARA Deliveries managed to secure a contract to deliver a shipment of the federation’s prized marble to Delon Shipwrights in the Bon Delaaz System for their new luxury liners.”

“That’s good to hear. You picked the right moment to cross. The warfront has been quiet for the past week. Can you show me the contract?”

“Sure, got it on my interface. Do you have an open connection to send it to? Oh, and don’t you find it strange, that pretty much all trade continues even if we’re at war with them?”

That gets a laugh out of her. “Oh, if I’d get money for every time someone asks this, I could retire right now. The short answer is, that while both nations fight against each other for every meter of space along the border, both are still dependent on trade between each other. I guess if they weren’t so liberate with that dangerous magic, everything would be fine.”

I have to suppress a grimace, looks like I found the first person who shares the anti-Mage beliefs of the government.

The woman taps something in the air. “There, you can send the contract to me now.”

I do as she asks, and a short while later, she winks me through. I did it! I’ve successfully checked out of the republic and am free to go to the Dakarti Federation. A place where Mages are welcome, at least from what I’ve heard. Some of the others are already waiting for me and from the looks of it, Greg, Simon, and Lucy are just finishing up. They join us five minutes later, and we walk further into the station under the disguise of buying a few more supplies. Maja is already hard at work breaching the station’s network. Once she’s in, it should be a cakewalk.

We find a nice-looking restaurant and order something to eat. I lean over to Maja. “How does it look?”

She grins. “I’m in! There’s something quite interesting,” she whispers. “He’s got contact with a smuggler, who gets him stuff from time to time. I can use that to have him come to the civilian sector. Then you can catch him and ask if he wants to join.”

“Good, tell me when he’s close. I think, I’ll take Shay with me, but you others better return to the Stargazer sooner or later. I should be able to handle the collar.” I pat the small bag I’ve got with me. It contains a tablet, the old trusted modified UC-cable, and a prepared ID card for Thomas.

We finish eating and I turn to the others and speak loudly. “Alright, you guys ready the ship for departure, I’ll go grab the last things we need. Shay, you’re with me.”

The others smile and nod, clearly catching my double meaning, then they leave toward the ship. Shay joins me and I follow Maja’s directions on my interface. It leads us to a less busy part of the station. On the way, Shay remembers that we should get some civilian clothes for Thomas, and we do a quick detour into a store. Now equipped with everything we need we reach our destination. To the left is a secure-looking door, that says military personnel only, and to the right are restrooms. Perfect!

According to Maja’s message on my interface, Thomas is currently inside the male restrooms waiting for his smuggler contact, so I take a deep breath and step inside. There he stands. I stop walking because I immediately recognize him, even if it’s been more than six years since I saw him last. He’s still tall as ever and his hair is cut short in military style. He must have heard the door as he starts to speak without turning. “What’s so urgent Stan? Why did you message me so panicky?”

Next to me, there is a silent gasp. Shay whispers. “Thomas, he’s really here…”

I put an arm around her shoulder and smile. “Yes,” I whisper back. “Let’s see how he reacts.”

I clear my throat and he turns. He takes a quick look at us and frowns. “That’s the male restr… Holy Shit! Sara?? … And, and Shay?” His expression quickly changes from annoyance to pure happiness, and he rushes over to hug us.

Ooof. He acquired quite the bulk over the years. “What are you guys doing here?”

“I can’t breathe,” I wheeze out, and he quickly releases us from the hug, looking quite embarrassed.

“Sorry, but seriously, what are you doing here?” He looks at my neck in confusion. “And I thought you were a Mage as well?”

I grin. “Oh, I am a Mage and Shay is one too now, but I lost my collar and she never had one.” I wink. “That’s also why we are here… I can’t tell you much right now, but we’re leaving the republic. I’ve got a ship and I’d love to have you as part of my crew. So what do you say? Leaving the republic and all the collar and control stuff behind?”

His eyes grow wider with every word that I say. “For real?” Shay nods while I remain grinning, and he continues. “I… uh sure I want to join… But how? The collar restricts me to the station.”

I take out the tablet and cable while Shay hands him the new clothes. “We’ve thought of that of course. Now hold still.” I plug in the cable and let Maja’s program do the rest. A bit later, the collar snaps open and I throw it into the trash. “Now put on your clothes and here, memorize your new name.” I hand him the ID and Shay and I turn around so that he can change.

A minute later, he’s ready and we all head out. Everything goes smoothly and we just have to scan our IDs at a terminal right before entering the docking arm that leads to the Stargazer. Even Thomas’s new ID works perfectly. I guess Maja messed with the system and made it look like he entered the station with us.

That said, we still hurry down the docking arm and once we’re back at the ship, I let out a long sigh of relief. We’ve finally done it. The crew is complete.

Bye Estriduros Republic! Hopefully forever!