Chapter 83: Starship Jump

Location: Neutral Space, Close to The Empire; VS Maxima

When we had all the information out of Mary Baker, the remainder of our trip back was relatively boring. Adrian and Kira did all of the jumps, as we stayed out of inhabited star systems for the most time, meaning all jumps were without the help of a wormhole which stopped me from doing any jumps myself.

So, I spent most of my time down in my cabin trying to get that stupid spell to work. It’s been so frustrating, as it always slipped away when I felt that I’ve finally done it. Adrian wasn’t much of a help either, as he’s more of a do-or-die kind of guy. He firmly believes that I have to train on my own to get the best results. Frustrating!

I tried asking Kira for help as well, but every time we met, we ended up gossiping about Adrian. If it wasn’t clear before, now it is. They are definitively together and happily in love with each other. As I said, worst kept secret on the whole ship. I literally knew it within one hour on the ship.

Everything changed though when I felt the spell lock in for the first time yesterday evening! This is why Adrian called for a halt, and we’re now somewhere in space close to The Empire. Frustratingly, he insisted on waiting until the next morning before I could try it out.

Said morning is right now! I wake up extremely early, like 0500 in military time and immediately get up and shower. After that, I put on my clothes and exit my cabin. A few turns later, I enter the officer’s mess hall and grab something to eat. There aren’t that many people right now and most importantly, there is no Adrian!

So, after eating, I walk toward the bridge and knock on the door right next to the bridge entrance. No reaction… I turn left and enter the bridge. While the security officer gives me a warning look when I enter, he doesn’t say anything as I stop at the entrance. Right, I’m not allowed on the bridge without Adrian… Military protocol and all.

“Have you seen Adrian?” I ask him and he shakes his head.

“No, Admiral Valterion hasn’t been here since last evening.” Then his face softens, and he smiles. “It’s your big day, right?”

Yeah, the big bad security officer has a soft spot for me when I’m not going against his security protocols. “It is! I’m finally ready to do the Jump spell.” I lift my hand for a high five, but he just shakes his head while smiling. Okay, that was too much…

“Congratulations, have you already tried his cabin?”

“Yeah, I knocked, but he didn’t answer.”

The officer shrugs. “Hmm, then you just have to wait a bit more… Or maybe he’s with Lieutenant Lopes? Anyway, see you later.”

Yep, that’s a dismissal. I turn around and leave the bridge. Maybe he’s right and Adrian is with Kira?

“You know that you could just have asked me, right?” Clara’s voice sounds in my ear and I face-palm. Of course, it’s that simple…

“Sorry, Clara, I forgot in my excitement. So where is he?”

“He’s in hangar bay 3, waiting for you,” she replies with a chuckle.

Oh. Does that mean I’m not jumping the Maxima? That’s probably it… Now that I think of it, it’s probably not the best idea to start with the biggest ship available, even with my power.

“Can you get me there?”

“Sure thing, here you go.”

A set of coordinates settles in, and I trigger the Teleportation spell. That’s the other thing I managed to learn during the trip: The real Teleportation spell! I can cast it now without Clara’s support, and it’s just so much better than Personal Teleportation. Way more efficient, and I think with a bit more practice, I can teleport things without teleporting myself.

I arrive in hangar bay 3 right next to Adrian. He just looks at me and smiles. “Hey there, sleepyhead. Are you ready to go?” He points at a small shuttle to our right. “That’s going to be our ride today, Kir… Lieutenant Lopes will jump the Maxima ahead of us. We’ll meet them in the Valterion System once you master jumping a starship.”

I chuckle. “You can call her Kira, you know… Everyone on the ship knows.”

Adrian looks at me wide-eyed. His mouth opens and closes a few times. A crewmate next to us groans. “Dammit, why did you have to tell him now? A month longer and I would have won my bet…” He continues to grumble but continues to make the shuttle ready for flight.

My brother finally finds his words. “You’re serious? But… But we always met in secret.”

I burst out laughing – first the grumbling crewmate, now my clueless brother. “Dude, I knew after being on the ship for less than an hour… Do you really think your crew is that incompetent? We all have eyes, you know?”

He blushes furiously, grabs my shoulders, and pushes me inside the shuttle. “Shut up, you have a few jumps to do!” I can still hear the smile in his voice and don’t resist his push.

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The shuttle closes up after we enter, and Clara or Reggie take over the controls and we fly out of the hangar bay a few minutes later. “You really could have waited a few more days,” Reggie’s voice sounds through the speakers. “I also had quite the sum bet on two more weeks…”

Adrian just groans loudly and drops into a grav chair. “Really, you as well? You’re supposed to help me, not bet behind my back!”

“Oh, but it was too funny, I even have the script ready for a reality TV show based on you and Kira… You want to read it?”

“NOOO!”

I sit down on the chair next to Adrian and giggle. Looks like Reggie also has a good sense of humor. Clara silently snickers in my ear as well.

After we are a few hundred kilometers away from the Maxima, the starship disappears. Then we are alone in this empty sector of space. It’s peaceful. I can see distant stars all around us through the windows.

Adrian clears his throat. “So, all this aside… Are you ready to do your first Starship Jump?”

I jump up in excitement. “Oh yes, absolutely!”

“Good, then follow me to the bridge. For the first few jumps, it’s easier from there.”

It’s not far anyway, the shuttle is very small, smaller than my yacht. We just have to walk through one door and the small bridge is before us. It’s just two seats behind a big window and a holographic console. Adrian sits down on the right chair, and I take the left.

“Okay, for your first jump, we’re just aiming for a few thousand kilometers ahead of us. Clara already has the coordinates. Go for it when you’re ready. You’ve got this!”

As he said, Clara locks in a set of coordinates, and I close my eyes. Then I concentrate on the Starship Jump spell. Now that I have the hang of it, I notice that it’s quite similar to the Teleportation spell. It does make sense though, I mean I’m basically doing the same thing, just on a much larger scale. There is just one more difference and that’s the good old space bubble from the Wormhole Navigation spell. The combination of those two things is what made the spell so hard for me to learn.

But I’m ready now! The space bubble forms and envelops the ship. I grimace at the inefficient shape, as it’s enveloping a lot of space around the shuttle as well, but that’s the best I can do for now. Next, I combine the teleporting part of the spell with Clara’s coordinates and hold it together. If I were to trigger it right now, I’d just jump myself and maybe Adrian to our destination.

Beads of sweat form on my forehead while I’m concentrating. Now I can finally do the last part: Weave it all together! I mentally grab hold of the space bubble and bring it closer to the teleporting part of the spell. Then I shove them into each other and both parts stabilize now as a single one. I did it! Now I just have to feed the spell with power. And boy does this take a lot! If I still was a Novice, I’d been dry of power in seconds. Now though, while it takes a lot, I’m still good. Archmage cheat code!

When the spell is filled up, I open my eyes and glance at Adrian. He gives me a short nod and I trigger it. Space Sense activates immediately, and I feel us entering hyperspace for a brief moment. The space bubble protects us, and we just move. It’s weird to describe, as I know that all this happens in an instant. Then lights flash outside, and we are somewhere else. A look at the holographic map in front of me confirms it. I jumped us a few thousand kilometers ahead, just where we intended to be.

I jump up in jubilation. “I did it!”

Adrian hugs me. “Congratulations! That was completely smooth. The first one is always the hardest but looks like you’re a natural. Ready for the next one?”

“Thanks, same distance or further?”

“Further, a bit more than a light year. Those short jumps are well and good, but still line of sight, what makes them easier,” he chuckles. “I know you had your eyes closed, and you already relied on Clara’s coordinates, but let’s just do one more before we do the long-distance jump back home.”

I nod at his reasoning. While I had my eyes closed, I still saw the destination beforehand. Let’s see how I perform when jumping into the unknown. “Let’s do this. I think I have another jump in me, but then I need a break.”

“I figured, take your time and jump when you’re ready.”

I take a few deep breaths and close my eyes again. Clara, always knowing what to do supplies me with another set of coordinates. I somehow know that those are much further away. It doesn’t matter, I can do this!

I repeat the process of forming the space bubble and connecting it with the teleporting part of the Starship Jump spell. Then I feed it with power again. It takes a bit more, but way less than I expected. I guess it’s a high starting cost but doesn’t scale too much with additional distance. Anyway, the spell is filled up, and with another short glance at Adrian, I trigger it.

The same sensations repeat themselves, and the shuttle just blinks out of space to reappear somewhere else. This time it’s Adrian who jumps up first. “You did it again! That was 1.5 light years just now, congratulations!”

I’m pretty exhausted now though, and only manage to give him a thumbs-up. Then I float my grav chair out of the bridge and activate the recliner function as soon as I’ve got the space. Damn inefficiencies! Took a lot out of me. I think I’m going to sleep for a while…

I awake a bit later to hear snippets of Clara scolding my brother. “… should have known better… no back-to-back jumps… first thing you learn… take turns for a reason… Oh, she’s awake. Welcome back, Sara. Take it easy.”

“How long was I out?” I ask and have my chair cancel the recliner function.

“Just a few minutes,” Adrian replies, “and I’m sorry for pushing you too hard. You normally never do back-to-back jumps because of that very reason. We at the Peacekeepers obviously train it for emergencies, but only when we are very efficient with the spell. I guess, I got blinded by your Archmage nature… Sorry again.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I think I needed to experience that first-hand or I wouldn’t have believed you… I felt completely fine after the first jump and even during the second one, I thought everything was fine. Only after I finished, the exhaustion hit me like a truck.”

Adrian nods slowly. “That’s better than most would have fared… Must be your Archmage nature. Lucky us. But let’s call It a day and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, you can jump us home.”

“Sounds good, but I need something to eat before I go to sleep.”

A few minutes later, we eat some warmed-up rations and talk about random things. Adrian tells me a bit more about his time at college, but as he was at RMA, I don’t listen too closely and drift off to sleep pretty fast.

The next morning comes quickly, and I feel much better. My magic is back to full, and after a nice breakfast, we’re back on the bridge. “Alright, as you probably know, teleporting a starship directly into the Valterion System is prohibited. We’re special though, as Dad won’t throw us into prison if we do it, but it’s still frowned upon. So better not to push our luck. Therefore, you’re going to jump us close to one of the wormholes leading to the system, and I’m going to bring us through the wormhole after. Sounds good?”

“Yeah, let’s do it. Clara, you’ve got the coordinates?”

I do, here you go. Good luck!”

Without further ado, I focus on the spell, and after everything is ready, I trigger it. Magic surges, we enter hyperspace, and my power flickers shortly, but Clara is there to smooth it out. Then we reappear, and I see a giant wormhole ring a few thousand kilometers before us. This time I jump up again and cheer.

Adrian chuckles. “You just left more than 80 percent of all Space Mages in the dust.”

What? Why? He seems to read the confusion on my face. “That jump just now was 347 light years.”

Oh! Ooooh! Seniors range a maximum of 100 light years, and I just jumped more than three times the distance!

Being an Archmage really is a cheat code!