Sara turned to Boon and Baxter, and opened a comm channel through their armor. “Get back on the shuttle, and get Grimms on the line. He needs to know what’s happening. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Boon gave a nod, and she and Baxter jogged back up the ramp. Sara had Alister form a bubble shield around her, and she lifted them off the ground and glided to the top of the embassy’s wall. As she suspected, the place was surrounded by UHF troops.
As soon as she crested the wall, they all took aim at her, but held their fire. She scanned the ranks until she found an officer, then floated over to her as nonthreateningly as she could. She settled the bubble down in front of the colonel, and gave a salute.
The befuddled colonel returned the gesture. “Captain, you mind telling me what the hell is going on? I have orders to arrest you. Unfortunately, I know who you are, and what you’re capable of, so I don't know that I can actually take you in without a lot of people getting hurt. And if it’s all the same to you, I would not like to see anyone in the infirmary later.”
“My sentiments exactly, Colonel,” Sara said with a smile that she realized couldn't be seen through her black faceplate. “I need you to do something for me,” she said, unstrapping her hip pouch and handing it to the woman. “There is a core in this bag that I need you to get to the admirals. On it is a program that will help them tremendously; it will also answer a lot of questions that they have. Be sure you don't touch it, though, ‘cause it’ll knock you out with a zap that your mother will feel. The admirals will know how to handle it. Lastly, I need you to tell them, ‘Cora was right; the Teifen are on their way’.”
The colonel’s eyes went wide. “The Teifen know where Earth is?”
Sara nodded. “I’m afraid it’s going to be a rough afternoon.”
She turned, and the colonel cleared her throat. Sara turned back, and the woman said, “I’ll just let them know that you were unavailable for questioning, then?”
Sara smiled and rolled her eyes, then remembered the damn helmet. She felt amusement coming from Alister. “Sounds good to me, Colonel,” she said, before lifting off in the shield bubble to return to the shuttle.
The colonel watched her go. Why did that cat look like it was snickering?
Chapter 34
Sara had Baxter fly them back to the Raven, while she sat in the copilot’s seat, on the comm with the UHFC. The arguments became circular before they had even exited the atmosphere.
Command argued that Sara had broken the law, and needed to turn herself in; she argued that if she hadn’t gone in and confronted the Elif, the Teifen would have arrived and decimated the system before they could have mounted a defense. The UHFC agreed that the warning was what was going to save them, but nonetheless determined that she had broken the law, and they could not let that slide. She then argued that they could not win this battle without the Raven, and the Raven was not a warship unless she was on it.
This went round and round until a compromise was reached: Sara would return to the Raven, but turn herself in after the day had been saved. She agreed mostly to shut them up and get on with the preparations. Whether she would actually do it, she didn't know.
They entered the Raven’s docking bay while the ship was still attached to the station, being resupplied. Baxter settled the small shuttle into an auxiliary bay beside the three much larger dropships, and shut the engines down.
“You’re going to try and rescue the emperor, aren’t you?” Baxter said, turning in the pilot’s chair to face Sara.
She nodded. “I have to. We can't let that boy take over, if we want to win this war.”
“And how exactly do you plan on doing that? If you didn't hear Grimms’ description, the emperor is being held on a dreadnought. You remember what those are like, right? We just spent a few hours on one, if you’re foggy,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
She gave him a disapproving face. “I remember. But in case you forgot, we have two War Mages to throw at it,” she said, sticking out her thumb and pinky, and rocking them between herself and Boon, who had just stuck her head in the cockpit’s open door.
“Actually, only one that can go on a rescue mission,” Baxter corrected. “You have to stay on the ship. We’re going to be in a naval battle; you can't leave in the middle of it,” he argued.
She had to concede his point, but he wasn’t done yet. “And Boon isn’t exactly able to handle the amount of Aether you are. She doesn't have anyone to share the burden with; if the exercises on the Exitium are any indication, she would be in trouble pretty quickly.”
Boon gave a cheerful wave. “You know I’m right here, don't you?”
Silva chittered her agreement from around the girl’s neck.
Sara ignored them, biting her lip in thought. “You’re right. She needs a guard. Do you think Gonders would be willing?”
Boon’s face turned red, and she began waving her hands back and forth. “Oh, no. We don't have to go there. I’ll be fine. I wouldn't want to freak her out or anything.”
“She would do it if you asked, Captain. After that mission on Colony 788, she would do anything for you. She won’t shut up about it,” Baxter said, ignoring the blonde woman’s objections.
Sara nodded and smiled. “That was a pretty good trick, blowing up the dome from underneath. Okay, so we get Boon on board the dreadnought, with you, Gonders, and the Marines. The Raven will keep the dreadnought busy from the outside, while you find the prison and break the emperor out.”
“Hello? Don't I have a say in this?” Boon whined to deaf ears.
“If that ship is as big as the one we were on, it could take forever to find him. Not to mention there will be thousands of Teifen aboard,” Baxter said.
“True, but they will mostly be busy with the battle. There can only be so many troops in one area; if we hit them hard and fast, you should be able to get in and get out before you’re overwhelmed.”
Baxter gave a short, barking laugh. “Easy for you to say. You won’t be in the trenches.”
Sara raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying that you and your special forces won’t be able to handle it? You’ll have Boon to back you up—she’s an army all on her own.”
“I guess were invading a dreadnought, Silva,” Boon said, leaning hard against the doorframe.
“We can do it, but it’s going to be tough. Our biggest problem is that we don't know the layout of the ship,” Baxter said, scratching his chin.
“Maybe the Elif spy network has the plans for it? We can ask this Sir Reitus, and Ambassador Foss.”
Baxter nodded. “It’s a start. Let’s get out there, it’s starting to smell like animals in here,” he said. He held up a hand in surrender toward the glaring eyes of Silva and Alister. “No offense.”
Sara gave a laugh, and opened a comm channel. “Gonders, come meet us in the docking bay.”
“I’m already here, ma’am. The commander wanted me to get you up to speed on the fleet’s plans,” she replied.
“Good, we’ll be right out.”
Baxter slid out of the pilot’s seat and, with a smile, squeezed past Boon, who stood and turned to follow.
Sara reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her back. “Boon, I know you want to take your time with Gonders, but we don't have that luxury. She is a good woman and, arguably, a better mage than anyone else aboard besides you and me. Baxter’s told me on several occasions that she would beat him in a straight up duel. You need someone to cover your back, and she really is the best choice.
“But I’m not going to ask her to be your bonded guard if it’s going to make you so uncomfortable that you can't perform,” she said, giving the blushing woman a warm smile. “Will you be able to do this? I need to know now. Honestly, putting all your personal feelings to the side, she is the best option.”
Boon looked to the back of the shuttle to make sure Baxter was out of earshot. He was lowering the ramp, not paying them any mind.
“I would love for her to be
my guard, and I couldn't ask for better backup. It’s just that…” She bit her lip and turned a little redder. “The bonding lets you feel the emotions of one another. She’s going to know I like her, and not in the ‘let’s be best friends’ kind of way. What if she’s not okay with that? Or worse, what if she hates me for it? Plus, I know she strives to be the best mage in the fleet; what if she hates me for skipping past her?”
Sara stood and put a hand on her shoulder. “Love is a weird thing, Alicia. It can show itself in many ways, and not all of them obvious,” she admitted, looking past Boon’s shoulder to watch Baxter as he walked down the ramp to the waiting Gonders. “Sometimes it starts as admiration, or respect of someone’s abilities, and sometimes it starts as a rivalry or jealousy. But it never starts at all if neither one of you starts the conversation. We have a little time before you and Gonders are going to be needed for this assault—I suggest you two have a nice, long conversation about what the bond does, and what each of you expects. I think you’ll find she’s amenable to your particular orientation. The world has moved on from when your parents and their cult tried to stop time.” On impulse, she leaned down and kissed Boon’s forehead. “You’re a good soul, Alicia. Anyone would be lucky to have your affections.”
Silva affectionately rubbed her cheek on Sara’s hand, still resting on Boon’s shoulder. That made her smile.
“Thank you, Captain,” Boon said, and wrapped her arms around Sara, squeezing her in a tight embrace.
They walked down the ramp together toward where Gonders was waiting, standing at attention in her black battlesuit.
Sara gave her a salute in greeting. “Where did Baxter go?”
Gonders returned the salute and said, “He is returning his armor to the storage locker, ma’am.” She looked over at Boon, and her mouth dropped open at the sight of Silva draped around her neck. “You have a familiar? How?”
Boon smiled shyly. “It sort of happened when we were on leave,” she said, then mentally kicked herself for such an obvious and vague answer. She tried again. “Captain Sara taught me the spell on the way back from Colony 788. I practiced it for days before I finally got it right. This is Silva. Silva, this is Isabella.” Boon turned bright red before amending, “I mean, Specialist Gonders.”
Gonders, in a completely un-Gonders way, gave a laugh and a bright smile.
Damn, she really is beautiful. Good eye, Boon, Sara thought with a smile of her own.
Sara slipped an arm around Gonders’ compactly muscled shoulders. “Walk with us, Gonders, we have something to ask you,” she began.
She led them toward the locker dispensers, where Baxter was just shutting the door on his armor. He turned and headed for the door before they were halfway there.
“Let’s talk, just us girls for a minute…” Sara said, watching Baxter’s retreating backside a little longer than was appropriate. Alister gave her cheek a lick, snapping her back to the present. “Right, just us girls.”
“Um, okay. What can I do for you… ladies?” Gonders asked, trying to play along, but feeling somewhat lost.
“Are you dating anyone, Isabella?” Sara asked, and there was a strangled choke from Boon, who was trailing behind the two women.
“Oh, you really meant a ‘just us girls’ kind of talk. Okay. Uh, no, I haven’t found the right… person yet. I’m usually too busy with training to get close with anyone,” she said, then threw a quick look back at Boon. “I like my morning runs, though.”
Sara caught the look, and raised an eyebrow. “Boon, you run in the mornings, don't you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she squeaked.
“It’s ‘Sara’. We’re just some girls, having a conversation. I’m not ‘ma’am’ right now, got it?”
“Yes, ma’am… er, Sara,” she said, hanging her head in mortification.
“Isabella, how would you feel about being attached to Alicia in a long-term sort of way?” Sara asked, and Boon choked again.
“I’m sorry, uh, Sara, but what is this all about?” Gonders asked, taking a step back and looking at them both in confusion.
Sara pressed her thumb to the locker door, and it popped open. She turned and stepped into the armor cradle, opened her armor up, and stepped back out. “Alicia is a twin, but her sister died when they were very young,” she explained, closing the armor and then the locker door, and turning back to Gonders.
“Okay, I’m sorry about that, but what does it have to do with me?”
Boon opened another locker and began the process of storing her armor, while Sara continued. “When someone becomes a War Mage, they need to be careful, or their power will overwhelm them. Almost all War Mages in the past were twins, and as twins, they shared the burden—but Alicia doesn’t have anyone. There is a way she can do this, but it means bonding with another mage. That mage would then become her guard and, as a side benefit, they would become more powerful, as well.”
Gonders knitted her eyebrows in thought. “Okay, but what does that have to do with me dating anyone?”
Boon stepped up, having finished with her armor, and spoke before Sara could continue. “Because the guard and the War Mage are not only attached in name, but they are also intimately linked through the Aether. As far as we know, it’s a permanent arrangement.”
Sara was impressed with Boon’s courage. She was still flaming red, but pushing on despite her fear.
“I assume you want me to bond with you?” Gonders said, putting a hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow at Boon.
The girl nodded quickly. “But you should know that we would share emotions, along with knowing the other’s general location and condition.”
That surprised Gonders. “We could read each other’s minds?”
Boon shook her head stiffly, still exuding nervousness. “Not so much read each other’s exact thoughts, as more… general feelings. Would you say that’s right?” This last she asked of Sara.
Sara nodded. “I only get the occasional emotions form Baxter, usually because he wants me to feel them, or because it’s so strong.”
“You and the Sergeant Major are bonded?” Gonders asked in surprise. “But I thought you had Captain Cora.”
“It’s a long story, but yes. Baxter and I are bonded,” Sara said.
Gonders was quiet for a minute, chewing on her lip as she considered their words.
Finally, she smiled and looked at Boon. “I would be honored to be your guard.”
Boon smiled so hard, Sara thought she was going to tear her cheeks open. Then her face dropped, and she said, “Before you agree, you should know something…” Boon bit her lip, her anxiety a mirror image of the specialist’s. “I may have feelings that you won’t like,” she said guardedly, her head down.
Gonders smiled. “I doubt that,” she said, stepping up and lifting Boon’s chin with a finger so they were looking each other in the eye. “Why do you think I run in the gym every morning?”
Boon blinked a few times. “To stay in shape?” she guessed quietly.
Gonders laughed. “That, but there’s also a certain ensign I like to see, who comes like clockwork.”
Boon blinked again. “Who?”
“Oh, for crying out loud, Boon. She means you, you dummy. She likes you. Now, you two get out of here. Go to my quarters. You can perform the bonding there, and have a little time to talk, or whatever,” Sara said, gently pushing the two toward the door.
They thanked her and began walking side by side. Silva slipped from Boon’s neck and hopped onto Gonders’ shoulder, where she began rubbing her face on the woman affectionately.
Watching the two walk away, Sara was hit by the realization that they were nearly opposite in appearance. Gonders had light brown skin, and black hair with brown eyes, showing off her Spanish heritage, where Boon was pale white, with blonde hair and blue eyes, as if she had just walked out of the pages of a Nordic fairytale.
Same with me and Baxter. That’s just got to be coincidence, right? She shrugged, and headed
after the two women, keeping some distance to give them a little privacy. Fuck. I forgot to get the update that Gonders was supposed to deliver, she realized. Oh, well. What’s the point of having an all-seeing sister if not to ask for information?
“Hey, Cora. What’s happening?” she said into her comm, as if she were greeting a drinking buddy.
“So, Boon’s a War Mage too, huh?” Cora greeted dryly.
Sara grimaced. “Oh, right. So, I have some good news; Boon finished the spell.”
Cora sighed. “You don't say.”
Chapter 35
Two hundred and fifty-six ships waited in formation close to Earth, ready to warp into battle at the first sign of the Teifen’s arrival. The complete first fleet made up the bulk of the ships at two hundred vessels, and the remaining fifty-six ships were all that had been completed of the second fleet. They sat in fighting formations of ten ships per group, each ship able to cover their companions in the heat of battle.
Admiral Deitrik Johansen was in overall command of the fleet, and had given his orders and speech an hour before. The speech was rousing, but ultimately uninspired. ‘We shall not fall; fight on and with pride,’ etc. The orders, however, had Sara seeing spots, she was so angry.
“How can he not see what an asset we are to this fight?” she raged to Grimms and Cora, while pacing the small ready room.
“Captain, I think the problem is that he does see what an asset we are, and is afraid to lose it. He is working under the assumption that the governor’s fleet is damaged and in need of resupply. Their numbers are close to our own—we even have the advantage there by a slight margin. He is making the call that best suits the situation,” Grimms said in an entirely too reasonable a tone for Sara.
“If the battle is going badly, then we step in. We’re support, just like the rest of the second fleet. That is not the reason I am upset,” Cora said, her voice becoming hard. “The fact that he does not want us to even attempt a rescue of the emperor is beyond foolish, if you ask me.”
War Mage Chronicles- Part One Page 44
