Magnitude: A Space Opera Adventure (Blackstar Command Book 2)

by A. C. Hadfield

“You look like you’ve gone ten rounds with a Tai-Pao boxer,” Senaya said. She handed him a coffee and sat on the end of his cot. He joined her and took a deep gulp of the hot liquid. It burned all the way down and made his stomach cramp pleasingly. He followed it up with another deep draw before exhaling.

  “That tastes like crap,” he said. “But by all the holies, do I need it.”

  “You and me both. It’s been a crazy day or so. My sleeping rhythms are completely out of sync. I don’t even know how long we’ve been out here.”

  “Five days, thereabouts.”

  “Feels like fifty.”

  “I know what you mean. I fear we’ve got a long while ahead of us yet.”

  While Senaya sipped her coffee and looked up at him with expectations, he transferred the journals to her terminal.

  “These the famed journal entries?” Senaya asked, placing the coffee on the floor and browsing her terminal.

  “The very same. They tell quite the story. I’ll give you the quick notes version and then I want you to tell me what you think. Okay?”

  “Sure, shoot.”

  Kai spent the next fifteen minutes telling her the story Marella had told him of how she and his father had met and all the details up to the point where they’d found her on Parsephus. Following that, he went through chronologically what he had read in the journals.

  “So apparently,” Kai concluded, “my father met the queen on some glorified moon in an uncharted system on the edge of Coalition and Veil space. My father was on the trail for the Blackstar after having found the artifact on a trading ship. He doesn’t explain how, but it was finding that which led him to this particular moon. He talks of ancient structures and cave systems, much like the ones we experienced on Oberus. Only he didn’t find the Blackstar there. He found the queen: alone, injured, and dying.”

  “Why was she there?” Senaya asked.

  “Apparently, according to my father, the moon was once a staging post for incursions into our side of the Veil by a few of the Navigators. Over millennia ago, a number of them would make the pilgrimage across the galaxy to ensure the Veil was working as intended and keeping this Darkarahn entity at bay—among the other threats, like the Koldax.”

  “Okay, so your dad meets a queen and…”

  Kai shrugged. “There’s little else to say other than they got it on and made a baby. The only thing that my father says is that he felt it was his duty and that if he didn’t bring me into the world, the queen would have died and the power and knowledge she carried would have died. Supposedly, that’s a bad thing. But I’m not sure how much good their union has done in the scheme of things, as I can barely understand a damn thing that comes into my head and I can’t access this supposed wealth of important knowledge. I make a terrible Navigator.”

  “Yeah, you do, kinda, but remember, you also sucked ass when you first started racing ships. But you got better.” She grinned up at him and her snarky nature brought a smile to his face for the first time in a long while.

  “I knew I could trust you to bring some levity to things. But what do you think about all this? Is it nonsense? Are we being fed a pack of lies? It feels like my entire family conspired to hide the truth from me, and now that I have the truth, it doesn’t seem as if that matters at all. I mean, other than flying this ship, what can I do that anyone else can’t?”

  “I guess time will tell. I wouldn’t be so hard on yourself, though. You didn’t ask for this. Clearly, the Navigators are more ancient and cleverer than us walking meat-bags, so perhaps you just need to have a little faith that they knew what they were doing and the answers will reveal themselves when needed?”

  Kai thought about this for a moment. He stood up and paced the room, draining the last dregs of the coffee. Senaya did have a point. He had done his part. He had strived and sought to understand. He had followed all the hints and leads given to him. So what if he couldn’t access the information in his head yet? So what if he didn’t understand what Eesoh was or why it was on the ship?

  None of that was his fault. None of it was through any lack of effort on his part.

  If anything, he’d put in too much effort.

  He was tired of thinking about it all and wanted to get back to some kind of forward movement. The thought conjured the image of the tentacled Sumahn and he filled in Senaya on the information his father had written about them and their apparent potential to be great allies.

  “So, Sen, what do you think? Am I crazy for suggesting that we try to make some allies out of these tentacled creatures once we’ve found my father? If the Navigators are endangered and potentially facing destruction at the hands of the Koldax, we could really use some help from another ally who knows the sector of the galaxy and its threats.”

  “I think it’s a fine idea,” Senaya said. “From what I’ve just read here, your father is suggesting that they can manipulate fields of energy similar to the Navigators. We just need to find a way to communicate with them. But that doesn’t seem too difficult, right? It beats sitting around here trying to decide our next move while a swarm of Koldax come and pick us apart.”

  “Yeah, that’s not an appealing alternative option. There’s also this whole Marella thing. I know I ought to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I just can’t. There’s just something about her. Maybe I’m paranoid?”

  “I think I may have a solution—at least for now.”

  Kai folded his arms and cocked his head. “I’m listening…”

  “I was running some calculations through Eesoh earlier now that Wiggs has helped bring the gravity drive up to full power. Dragging the Rapier attached to us means we won’t be utilizing that power to its fullest. There’s too much mass and its throwing off the thrust calculations.”

  Kai considered what she had just said. If they weren’t carrying the Rapier, then it would have to fly solo in close formation. Which meant it ideally needed its own crew. “Ah, so we split up?”

  “Yep. That way, we can get out of each other’s pockets for a while and also let the ship’s AIs take up some of the slack. There’s very little need for a full crew on these ships when the systems do pretty much everything themselves.”

  “But can we trust Eesoh given you’ve already said it’s not an AI?”

  Senaya’s eyes narrowed for a moment as she thought about it. A short nod from her that Kai had become so familiar with over the years told him that she thought Eesoh was trustworthy, and he placed more trust in Senaya than any other living or nonliving being he’d ever met.

  “Okay, but after we’ve had some proper rest, and while we’re on the way to Azelia, I’d like you to dig around Eesoh’s workings, figure out just what it is and what it can do. I’d like to be prepared for any potential surprises.”

  Senaya stood up from the cot and placed both hands on Kai’s shoulders. “Don’t you worry, I got this.”

  “No, we’ve got this.”

  She grinned and left the cabin, leaving the decision of how to split the crew to Kai, but in truth he already knew, he just had to tell them.

  Chapter 21

  KAI ENTERED the bridge to concerned expressions from his brother, mother, and Marella. He hadn’t told them what he wanted to see them about, preferring to tell them in person. He expected an argument, and this way he could better explain his thought process.

  “First of all,” Kai said, “I wanted to let you know that the ship is now fully operational, including the gravity drive, meaning we can now travel faster through the wormholes.”

  Bandar gave a nod of acknowledgment as he rolled a cigar between his fingers. “I knew Senaya’s skills with that Koldax machine would come to use. So, the question we’ve all been asking ourselves is where next? You wanna go get Kendal?”

  “Absolutely,” Kai said. “The quicker we find him and deal with the Navigators, the quicker we can all get home. But there’s a catch of sorts. I’ve already programmed the navigation computers, and it’ll take a couple of days even with fully
functioning gravity tech. We’ll use this time to get some much-needed rest and to prepare for whatever is waiting on the other side of the wormhole. But to do that we need to alter our arrangements here on the Blackstar…”

  “Go on,” his mother said, leaning forward on the crash couch.

  “We can’t travel at full velocity with the Rapier attached. We’re going to have to split the crew.”

  His mother was about to speak when he held up a palm to cut her off. “Listen, I’m in no mood to argue about this. Mother, I want you, Bandar, and Marella to fly the Rapier. Senaya, Wiggs, Eesoh, and I will run things here.”

  “You’re throwing me off the ship?” Marella said, glaring at Kai with disbelief.

  Bandar shrugged his shoulders and shared an expression of ‘why not’ with Brenna.

  “I’m not throwing anyone off the ship,” Kai added. “I work best with Senaya. Mother, you know the Rapier better than anyone, and Bandar, your skills on the weapons will be better served there. Eesoh clearly has a handle on things here on the Blackstar.”

  “But… but my research!” Marella said, waving her arms for emphasis. “I need access to the systems and the data. I need—”

  “To follow my orders,” Kai barked back. “This isn’t a damned research project. This is a survival mission. If and when we’re safe, then you can have all the access you want, but right now, we’re focusing on two things: find my father and find our way home. If you don’t like that, you’re free to find a ship somewhere and make your own way.”

  Marella opened her mouth to protest, but Kai’s mother gripped her arm and whispered something that seemed to calm her down.

  Then to Kai, she said, “I think it’s a logical decision. We’ll remain within comm reach at all times and have the AI’s liaise if necessary. You’re right, Kai, this is your ship and your mission. I’ll happily support you from the Rapier.”

  “Thanks, Mother.”

  “What about the micro-hauler?” Bandar asked.

  “That’s fine in the hold. It doesn’t affect the mass calculations too much.”

  “But I could fly it solo; makes sense to have three ships in formation, right?” Bandar continued to roll the cigar in his fingers as he avoided eye contact and appeared far too casual.

  “I’ve run the calculations,” Kai said. “The micro-hauler will only slow us down. Besides, as I’ve said, your skills on weapons will be greatly useful given the Rapier’s armaments, and you’ll free up Mother to focus on piloting.”

  Bandar cricked his neck with an audible click, glanced at their mother, and then back at Kai. “Okay then, Captain. I better get my gear together and get settled on the Rapier. I hope you’re making the right decision.”

  The more time Kai spent with his family and Marella, the more Kai felt the decision was correct. He worked better with just Senaya and felt less pressured. This way, he could lead without the burden of all this family stuff.

  He engaged in some final pleasantries with his mother as she escorted Marella and Bandar off the Blackstar.

  Half a standard hour later when all the checks were completed, Kai engaged the gravity drives and led his crew through the wormhole on the way to Azelia, the home of the Navigators—the home of his origin.

  Deep down he knew he had made the right decision. He had eased a pressure that was only noticeable due to its absence; much like how, back in his workshop, he’d only notice a generator had been running after it had stopped. Perhaps now, with some space and fewer people in his mind, he could focus on getting home.

  Chapter 22

  AFTER NEARLY TWELVE standard hours of uninterrupted sleep, Brenna rose from her bunk on the Rapier, entered the small washroom and splashed her face with recycled water. It tasted of iron on her lips. Her reflection in the mirror above the basin was of someone a decade older than she had expected.

  “No surprise, given the stress of the last few weeks and months.”

  She thought back to where it had all started on Haleedez. The day she had lost her apprentice, Jannis Fo, to a shrain assassin. The image of those Host destroyers breaching the planet’s atmosphere… the destruction… the panic. And eventually, the war. And in between all of that, her abduction by the shrain and the cruel trick they had played on her, using a convincing hologram of Kendal.

  Her guts twisted as she thought back to how happy she had been to see him and then the crushing disappointment as reality asserted itself and the illusion was exposed. Just thinking about seeing him within the next few days twisted her guts once more.

  Only this time, she tried not to hold on to it. For all she knew, this could all be a mistake, another trick of their enemies past and present.

  Or maybe they’d find Kendal, but not in the way they expected.

  Who knew what was really happening on Azelia? There was still so much mystery surrounding the Navigators, and given how weird things were here beyond the Veil, Brenna couldn’t even begin to imagine what might or might not have happened to her husband.

  Brenna closed her eyes for a moment and resisted a wave of nausea and dizziness.

  She gripped the edge of the basin and pulled in a couple of long breaths as the sensation abated. It was then she realized that the sensation in her guts wasn’t just anxiety regarding Kendal, but hunger. She hadn’t eaten anything properly for well over a full standard day.

  “Come on, get a grip,” she said to herself, lifting her chin and standing straight. “You’re a damned spy master. Pull your shit together.”

  Her reflection took on a harder edge as she channeled her professional self, overriding her emotions and bringing herself into a state of being more appropriate for someone with her experience and skills.

  “Flick,” she called out, activating the AI, “how’s the journey to the Azelia system going? Are we still near the Blackstar?”

  “Calculating, one moment… The ETA is currently twenty-three and two-quarter standard hours. The Blackstar is updating our nav computers every few minutes. We’re within two point six klicks and maintaining a steady pace through the wormhole. I trust you rested well?”

  “Time will tell, Flick. What’s the status of our two new crew members?”

  “The woman was trying to access my databanks a few hours ago after rising from her sleep, and your son has been sleeping soundly after he briefly read my weapons protocols fifteen hours ago.”

  “The woman’s name is Marella,” Brenna said. “What specifically was she looking for?”

  “I cannot tell, as she doesn’t have the appropriate credentials. Would you like to update her access privileges?”

  “No, if anything, I want them even more restricted. I don’t know what her deal is, but whatever it is, I don’t want her gaining access to Coalition military secrets. As far as I’m concerned, we’re still on a war footing and I want to maintain standard protocols.”

  “I can’t restrict her further,” Flick said, “unless you’re suggesting I restrict her oxygen access.”

  “What? No! Flick, don’t do anything like that. Why would you suggest such a thing?” Brenna said with shock as she left the washroom and got dressed in a fresh Coalition-issue uniform of dark blue and orange accents.

  “It’s best to blame my programmers,” Flick said.

  Brenna shook her head and found herself smiling for the first time in a long time. There was something quirky about the Rapier’s AI that she was growing to like, even if it was just a programmer injecting some of his or her own personality into the code. It certainly made for a more amenable and entertaining AI.

  “Just to confirm,” Brenna added as she activated the door control and stepped out into the narrow corridor, “I don’t want any restrictions on oxygen levels anywhere on the ship. The same goes for water and food and temperature. I’m giving you full permission to keep us alive at all times, Flick. You understand?”

  “Keep organics alive. I believe that is well within my code parameters, Agent Locke.”

  “Good. Glad w
e’re on the same page. Us organics are just a few centimeters away from the cold, uncaring vacuum of space. We’re reliant on you, Flick.”

  “You poor, fragile creatures.”

  Again, that humor. It made Brenna smile as she headed to the tiny area at the back of the ship that she had set up as a makeshift galley.

  The Rapier, being more of a combat ship, didn’t have a lot of room for such luxuries, but given the distances she’d had to travel as part of her varied missions, she greatly desired a place to relax and become appropriately caffeinated, so she’d had an engineer friend convert one of the small boxlike storage areas when she had first taken possession of the ship.

  Although against Coalition regulations, the small kitchen area was designed in such a fashion that the folding table could easily be stored against the wall and the coffee and food making facilities lifted up beyond the ceiling into a maintenance crawl space, thus restoring the storage area.

  As Brenna activated the door and slipped inside, she set the coffee machine whirring away and took a seat. A few moments later the familiar, bitter smell filled the room. The dark liquid poured out of the machine in a bulb-shaped drinking vessel.

  Brenna took it, along with a packaged pastry, and sat down at the table.

  For a few minutes, she forgot about the chaos of her current situation. She forgot about the Patari, the Sumahn, and the Koldax. All that mattered right now was enjoying the sensation of her belly accepting the delicious food and the hot beverage.

  Slowly, she was starting to feel herself again.

  Before she had too much time to relax, the heavy thud of a limping individual caught her attention outside in the hall. The door slid back, and Bandar entered, his attention on his wrist terminal. His face was pinched into an expression of concentration.

  “Hey,” Brenna said, “what are you watching?”

  Bandar looked up with surprise and nearly fell into Brenna.

  She leaned back, carrying her precious bulb of coffee out of the way.