Chapter 70: Homeward… Sort of
Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Axtul System; VS Sulfira
As most of our stuff is still on the Stargazer, everyone is only carrying a few things – mostly our normal clothes. Mom shows us a few rooms where we can change inside and then returns to the bridge to set a course for the location where they put the Stargazer. We’re flying normally this time, Mom said she has already pushed her luck with her aggressive non-wormhole jumps to arrive here. As we're under no time constraints anymore, I just shrugged and told her to take her time.
I think I have to talk to the others a bit more anyway. So, once we have all changed back into normal clothes, Miranda is so kind and leads us into something resembling a living room. It’s not even that big, but everything inside projects such a cozy feeling. I jump into the plushy red couch and land right in the middle. The others either sit next to me or grab a few of the floating grav armchairs.
“Sooo, I haven’t thought about asking before, but is everyone alright?”
“Am I alright?” Lydia almost shouts. “Of course I am! Woman, do you even know what you just made possible for us?”
I shrug. “Not really, no… I get that Mom is powerful and all, but well, the galaxy is big. Sure, my parents are probably rich as hell, and we don’t have to worry about getting magical help…”
“Dude, haven’t you listened to everything I told you during our trip? The five families are like the absolute power here and on top are the Dukes and Duchesses. I’m speaking of owning multiple star systems and you are their daughter. Unbelievable! I knew it was the right idea to trust my gut feeling and join you.”
Huh, I completely forgot about that in all my excitement. But she’s right, I don’t think I even have to show them my findings from Earth to get everything I’ve ever wanted. Not that I plan not to show them, this is way too important.
I must have made a funny face, as Thomas puts an arm around my shoulder and laughs softly. “Sari don’t worry about us, we’re all fine, your mother healed us. And now everything is better than we could have ever imagined. I feel like there’s a bright future ahead of us.”
I flash a broad grin at him. “Thanks, Tommy! Now, I’m going to look for the bridge. The Stargazer awaits our return. Who wants to join me?”
“I’m coming,” Maja says, but the others all look very comfortable in their armchairs and on the couch. Jack looks like he’s about to fall asleep any moment now and the others don’t seem to be much more awake.
“Uhh, you also can just stay here, I’ll get you when we arrive.” Was it the Healing spell that made them so tired? But why am I still awake? Guess that’s another question for Mom.
“You know where to go, Maja?”
“Sure, Miranda already sent me the whole schematic of the Sulfira. It’s really very similar to our ship, just much bigger and way more modern. It’s also refreshing to talk to her… Finally, an AI on my level.”
“She is?” I ask, quite surprised. I thought Maja was pretty much unique.
“Yeah, at least I think so. I’m not so rude and ask if she’s sapient and all, but I’m pretty sure though.”
“Oh, I am! But now I kinda want my own body too.”
Oops, she was listening in! Maja even blushes a bit and looks embarrassed at one of the corners in the hallway. There must be a hidden camera or something.
“Sorry about that Miranda…”
“All good, now hurry up. Jasmine is about to rip the scrapyard manager a new one.”
Scrapyard?! They wouldn’t, right? I dash forward in a mad sprint, Maja right behind me. She provides the directions on my interface and a minute later, we almost burst through the bridge door which was conveniently already open. Thanks, Miranda!
Mom is indeed in the middle of the process of ripping someone a new one. “… I don’t care what orders you might have! I want that ship back and you are going to give it to me, or I swear to God, I jump it out myself, taking half the scrapyard with me.”
A timid voice returns through the speaker. It’s only audio this time. “I’m sorry for causing such an inconvenience, Lady Duchess, but my hands are bound. If I don’t provide proof of the job done, I might lose my job. I can’t do that. I’ve got a family to care for…”
So much for absolute power… Bureaucracy trumps everything, even here.
Looks like Mom comes to the same conclusion and sighs. “Fine, what do you need?”
“Either the cancelation of the scrapping order from Lieutenant Larsson…”
“Yeah, not going to happen… He’s… otherwise occupied for now…” Mom interrupts him. That’s a nice way to tell the man that Larsson is now the one in prison. I feel a grin forming on my face.
“Or you bring me the actual owner of the ship… But they are in prison as far as I heard…”
Mom looks at me and grins broadly. Why does that grin feel dangerous? “Oh, that won’t be a problem. Wait a second, your owner is coming right at you.” She cuts the call before he can reply.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I suddenly feel Space magic enveloping me and it isn’t my doing. I clamp down hard with Space Sense and resist. She looks at me in confusion. “What the hell?”
“Uhh, what are you doing?” I cross my hands before my chest.
Suddenly, Mom hugs me. “Hah, you really have Space Sense! I didn’t quite believe you earlier, but this is proof. Now sorry about that, I thought it fun to just drop you in front of the scrapyard guy and say here’s your owner…”
I facepalm. “Really…?”
“Yeah, not my best joke… I get it now.”
Unbelievable, to think this woman is more than ten times my age… Somehow this makes me laugh. “Hah, just send me the coordinates. I can jump myself, I’m a big girl, you know?” I wink at her and Miranda snorts through the speakers.
“Gotta say, Jasmine, that’s a point for your daughter.”
Now everyone laughs and I get a ping on my interface – the coordinates. S-57 locks them in, and I concentrate and disappear shortly after.
I reappear in a grav chair behind a desk, opposite me sits a round man with short brown hair. He jumps out of his seat at my appearance and almost falls over. I hold back a laugh and wave. “Hi there, Sara Valterion at your service. I’m the owner you’re looking for.”
“Ahh, for fuck’s sake!” He almost screams. “Is this a joke?”
“No, not at all,” I reply. “I really want my ship back… The faster, the better.”
The man sighs and starts pacing. “Fine… Do you have proof of ownership?”
“Uhh, is my DNA in the ship’s computers enough?”
He grumbles something under his breath but waves an arm and leaves the room. “Follow me… For just this time it’s enough. I don’t want any more stress than I have now. Better you all are just gone.”
Oh, yeah, that’s what I plan anyway… I just need my ship, so hurry up man. I’d really like to punch Lieutenant Larsson right now. Why did he even send the ship to the scrapyard?
Anyway, our walk continues past various docking arms until the man finally enters one. The airlock at the end opens and I see a familiar hallway. The Stargazer! Our walk continues till the bridge where I show him that I am indeed Sara Valterion and therefore the owner of the ship. In the end, I have to sign something on his tablet, but then the ship is back in my care. Finally! I offer him a teleport back to his office, but he just huffs loudly and leaves. Well, his loss…
Now how do I get the ship out of here? I’m not the best pilot. With a shrug, I sit down in my usual chair and fire up the screen. It’s a scrapyard anyway what are a few scratches on the other ships? Everything works out and I only hit one other ship on my way out of the tightly packed scrapyard station. I imagine the scrapyard man shaking his fist in anger, but then I’m out and head directly for the Sulfira.
When it’s time to connect the two ships airlock to airlock, I chicken out and call Maja to do it remotely. We’re so close that there isn’t any delay anymore. Maja does so expertly, and I decide to switch ships on foot this time.
Before I can leave the bridge though, there is a purple flash beside me, and Mom appears. “Hi there!” She says with a wink, then takes a look around. “Wow, this is ancient, but a VHI ship for sure. Are you sure that you can’t tell me your story early?” She asks with pleading eyes.
I shake my head. “No, you have to wait. Especially after your stunt with the scrapyard guy.”
“Fine… Are you ready to leave then? I’ve already done the secrecy stuff with him as well.”
“Yes, but how will this work with two ships?”
Instead of an immediate answer, I sense a massive space bubble forming around both ships. “Like so,” Mom winks and triggers a spell. I feel us enter hyperspace briefly, then there is a flash, and we are somewhere else. When the window clears again, I see a wormhole pretty close to us. Then I realize something. This was a direct jump! Without a wormhole. This is amazing! I want to do that too. Let’s hope what Mom said about my magic is true. Can’t wait to arrive home and find a fix.
“So, where are we? And didn’t you say you’ve already pushed the limits with in-system jumping?”
Mom blushes a bit. “I have, but what is one more time? We’re close to the Silvani System. I have to go there real quick… I might have caused a bit of a scene when I got the news of your arrival.”
Well, if this was anything close to her arrival next to the prison, a bit of a scene could be something quite big. Good thing she’s the Duchess, right? “Sounds cool, do you mind if I join? The others are probably still asleep anyway. Oh, by the way, why am I not so tired after the healing?”
“Not at all, but it’s definitely not cool. This is going to be expensive as hell. As for the healing, I used two different spells. The one for you only targets a single person but is fueled by additional magic power from me, the other is multi-target but uses most of its fuel from the people it is cast on, that’s why they are so tired.”
“Cool, you probably have to repeat that for Ronja sometime, she’s very interested in magical medicine.”
“Will do. Miranda, can you tell Maja that we’re back in about two hours or something? Not that the others wake up and we are gone.”
“Done, and I’ve got your coordinates for the jump room at VHI.”
“Thanks,” she offers me her hand again. “Let’s go.” I grab on and magic envelopes us. I wonder if this jump room is like the one on the DFS Tilda – a safe room to arrive after teleportation.
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Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Silvani System; Lombar; New Sildan; VHI Store
It is. We arrive in an empty room and Miranda immediately opens the door for us. We step out into the hallway and the door closes again. Mom leads the way and I follow. The hallway soon terminates at another sliding door, that is already in the process of opening for us. “Uh, Mom, where are we now?”
“We’re in New Sildan on planet Lombar. It’s the capital here as far as capitals go… The whole star system is practically one shopping paradise. Everything you might need, you can find here. Mostly on space stations though. Down here on the planet, it’s just a sign of prestige, the biggest companies have their stores here. We’re currently in the VHI store, that’s Valterion Heavy Industries in case you didn’t know.”
While she is talking, we step through the door and straight into a very luxurious-looking store. Different starships scaled down and made out of hard light or normal holograms are everywhere in the store. A few customers watch them closely and various clerks are ready to answer questions. The VHI logo hangs proudly on the back wall, and the clerks all wear clothes with purple accents.
To my right, there is something that makes me look twice: A part of the shop floor is separated from the rest, and various projectors are currently recreating a cabin on a starship. Inside this virtual cabin is a clerk together with two customers. The man says something to the clerk, and she taps in the air, then the projection changes and now shows a different bed. The man nods, satisfied.
They are customizing their ship before ordering! This is amazing. While Mom ignores everyone, they don’t ignore her. The moment we step through the door into the store, everyone stops and stares at Mom. Suddenly, one of the clerks starts bowing, and everyone else quickly joins in. Mom just waves in greeting. “Don’t mind us, we’re just passing through.”
This makes no difference and we’re almost immediately swarmed. I feel like a celebrity, I have to say… Mom puts on a pleasant smile, shakes a few hands, and even writes two autographs. This is a completely new experience for me, and I awkwardly stand next to Mom while she does her thing. In the end, we stay for about fifteen minutes in the store. Mom even gives a few recommendations to customers and compliments the cabin design of the man and woman in the secluded projection area.
When we exit the store, Mom nudged me and grins. “This is going to be part of your life soon as well. You better keep that in mind.”
“Oh my, I don’t know if I’m ready for that much attention! I’d rather go shopping with you once you’re done with whatever you must do here.”
“Sure thing, but just a little bit, though. We can’t let your friends wait all day,” she winks, and we continue walking.