“Outside?” he asked. “We are traveling through deep space.” Then he paused for a moment and continued, “Oh: you mean, to teach her how to be a butterfly?”
I had to chuckle at that. Saraphym really liked the idea of our native form and constantly talked about becoming a ‘butterfly’. She made it sound like much more than it was, so that even I started to get excited about it. “Yes. I need to teach her how to read space, attach to spacecraft and survive. I can’t do that in here.”
“We are traveling under cloak. Once you get into space, how will you find us?” he asked.
“I know our route. We can just meet up at the next jump point. You have to break cloak to jump, so we will see you there easily enough,” I said.
“As long as you’re sure you can meet up with us there, then I don’t see a problem. Go ahead,” he said.
“Thank you, Master,” I said and went to tell Saraphym of my plans.
“Wow! Really? I finally get to be a butterfly?” she exclaimed.
“Yes, my dear. That is, if you want to. I would nev- ” I started to say, but she ran off toward the airlock and paid no attention at all to my teasing.
“Come on, hurry,” she said as she opened the interior door of the airlock.
I just chuckled and joined her inside. Before we closed the door, Master Spectra came over and said, “Hey, when you’re out there and have a moment, please contact me. I would like to see space through your eyes, if you don’t mind.”
“I am not sure what you mean, Master,” I said.
“You can use your telepathic connection to share what you see. I will teach you while we are out there,” said Saraphym.
“Sure, we can do that,” I said, but I had my doubts. These people were free and easy with telepathic sharing, something that I had rarely done with anyone at all before meeting them.
I turned to Saraphym and said, “Now, there isn’t enough room in here for both of us to change. Normally I just leap out as a human and relax into my native form as I exit the airlock. But this time we will both exit and transform while we are out there.”
“Okay, so what do we do first?” she asked.
“Let the air out and open the door,” I said. Then as she reached for her helmet, I stopped her hand and said, “No, put that in your pack and forget it.”
“But …” she started and looked into my eyes. “Are you sure?”
I reached over and started the airlock cycle. “Yes. You did this once already.”
She turned and looked at the airlock door without letting go of my hand. I could feel her trembling a little as the pressure decreased in the room. She turned back and fixed her gaze directly into my eyes, and I got the impression she was steeling herself for something to happen.
I wanted to console her and coach her through it, but the airlock cycle was too short for that. “You can relax now,” I sent as we were standing in hard vacuum. With my free hand I pressed the release for the outer door and then gently turned her toward it.
I felt her gasp as she walked toward the exit and looked outside. “Will I ever get used to this?”
“Do you ever get used to going home? Or is there always some joy and anticipation?” I asked.
“I hope not,” she sent and then leaped into space.
I followed her out and looked back. With my bipedal eyes the cloak around the Nemesis was perfect. All I could see was the open airlock, which quickly cycled shut and was gone.
It took some time to coax her into relaxing enough to revert to her natural form. The only other time she had done it was in a moment of primal panic when she had been thrown from the space station. I knew that once she got it it would become second nature, because it was part of what we were.
Her native form was beautiful beyond words to me. I had seen female Shadow People before and some of them were pretty, but they were all animals. Saraphym was no animal, and that made her mystique so much greater. Her bright colors flowed across her perfect body in an almost hypnotic way.
“The colors are so beautiful,” she sent. “But there are so many of them! How can you begin to make sense of it?”
“In your bipedal form your eye easily sees millions, if not tens of millions, of colors all the time, and you make sense of that. There are not nearly so many colors here,” I sent.
“That seems different, somehow,” she sent. “This is as if a child had poured out lots of different colors into a tank of water and then swirled them around so that there are random rivers of color throughout the tank.”
“That is only because you have grown used to seeing and understanding through inferior bipedal vision,” I sent. “I think if I am going to teach you to see that we should bring Master Spectra in at the same time.”
“That makes sense. But how far have they traveled away from us?” she asked.
“Well, they are cloaked but I can still follow them. We are drifting in their gravity wake and are not far behind them,” I sent to her. Then I sent, “Master Spectra? Are you ready?”
Saraphym helped me to share what I was seeing with Master Spectra, and then I explained how the different colors were different kinds of energy, each with its own traits and functions. “We live out here in the ether, and all this energy flows through the ether and connects everything; so to get anywhere or find anything we merely ride the waves. Gravity waves are the most useful for finding and following spacecraft, but other waves will take you to all kinds of interesting sites and places.” I showed them how to spot the Nemesis, even though it was cloaked. “It is disturbing the ether the same way a swimmer disturbs the water. Whether you can see the swimmer or not, you can follow his wake. The same is true for anything moving in the ether.”
“How fast can we fly?” asked Saraphym.
“Fast. Even if you just glide you can travel as fast as the current of energy you are on, which is faster than most spaceships can travel in normal space,” I sent.
“What about jump space? Can you get there, or are you limited to normal space?” asked Spectra.
“We can’t go there directly, just as we can’t really move outside of surfing energy waves, but it is a simple thing to attach on to the exterior of a spacecraft and make the jump with them,” I sent.
“Oh, can we do that next jump?” asked Saraphym.
“I had hoped you would want to. It is so much better than being stuck inside, and there is no hangover,” I sent. “Admittedly, I do not know what it is like for a magus to travel through jump space, but for us it is a real treat.”
“Magi move in and out of jump space at will. It is how we gate and travel between realms. Some magi, such as Grandmaster Vydor, can even live there if they so choose,” sent Master Spectra.
As interesting as this conversation was, I wanted some time alone out here with Saraphym. “Master Spectra, if you don’t mind, I am going to show Saraphym around out here. We will meet up with you at the jump point.”
I could feel her smile over the telepathic connection. “Sure. Have fun. We will see you in a few hours.”
We spent the rest of the day out there, racing and enjoying our time together alone amongst the stars. I ensured that we stayed within a reasonable distance of Nemesis in case anything happened, but for the most part we ignored its existence.
Saraphym was quickly remembering how to move and live in space. It might have been a lifetime ago for her, but it was still what she was born to do.
“I can’t believe I ever gave this up,” she sent.
“If you like, when this mission is over perhaps we can find out what happened back then,” I sent.
“Oh, but I don’t want to hurt my parents. I don’t want them to think I don’t love them anymore,” she sent.
“They know you’re adopted, and they must know your heart,” I sent. “I believe it will be fine, but enjoy your freedom now because soon Nemesis will be ready to jump.”
“Already?” she sent.
�
�Yes, but I think you will love your next lesson,” I sent. “Let’s meet them at the jump point.”
“Race you!” she called out and dropped into a fast-moving energy stream.
It was not much of a race because I had not yet taught her to absorb energy and then release it as a form of locomotion, allowing me to fly past her with ease.
“You’re cheating somehow, I just know it!” she sent.
“Don’t worry, I will teach you all in good time,” I sent back with a chuckle.
“I knew it! You’re cheating!” she sent.
I lazily did a loop around her, cutting across the currents that she was riding and sending an energy wake her way. “Steer with the waves and feel the power,” I sent. “Let it wash through you, and taste it.”
She dove headlong into the wake and, as she was about to turn with it to ride back to me, she gasped, “I can taste it!”
I did another loop around her and sent another wave of energy toward her. “Yes, this is food to us.”
“It’s odd, but tasty. I am not sure what to make of it, but now that I have tasted it, I’m hungry.”
“Swim back and forth across the power streams and eat. Nemesis will be along soon.”
I relaxed and watched her body move and flow with the waves of energy and enjoyed the feel of her voice as she discovered all the flavors of power. Eventually Nemesis caught up with us and I reached out. “Master Dusty?”
“Yes, we are almost ready to jump. Shall we open the airlock?” he sent back.
“No, Master. If you don’t mind, I am going to use this jump to teach Saraphym how to ride a spacecraft through jump space,” I sent.
“Okay. Do we need to do anything?” he asked.
“No. Just let Nemesis know there will be a slight power drain, which is normal,” I sent.
“Okay. Let us know when you are ready,” he sent.
I spent several minutes guiding Saraphym through the attachment process and teaching her how to sip on the power from a spacecraft. The power produced by Nemesis was exceptionally rich, and it was easy to gorge oneself on it as the Shadow People would.
Once she was attached, I latched on next to her and made sure part of my wings overlapped hers. “Now, when we get into jump space you will be tempted to let go and explore, but don’t. If you do, we may never find our way back to the Nemesis.”
“Okay, just look around, but don’t let go. Got it,” she sent. There was a strong feeling of excitement emanating from her.
“Master Dusty, we are ready,” I sent.
“Okay, hold on tight,” he sent back and then jump space washed around us.
“Oh …” was all Saraphym managed to get out. I could feel her grip weakening as she was distracted by the pure beauty and luxury that was jump space.
“Focus,” I sent to gently remind her to hold on.
“Oh, sorry. It’s just so … so … well, look at it!” she sent as she tightened her hold on Nemesis.
“Yeah, I know, but don’t let go.” Jump space was like a taste of paradise. There was no place like it anywhere in all of the universe. The temptation to detach and stay there was almost overpowering even for me, but soon Nemesis dropped back into normal space.
In my native form, there was no hangover from traveling though jump space, just longing for a paradise lost. “Saraphym?” I sent.
“That was lovely,” she sent back.
“Greymere, are you going to be all right out there?” asked Master Dusty.
I took my eyes off Saraphym and noticed that we’d jumped right into an ambush. There were all manner of fast attack cruisers and drones sweeping the area, looking for Nemesis.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Yes, for now we are safe. What is our plan, Master?” I asked.
“We would risk detection if we opened the airlock, so as long as you two can hang tight, we’re going to coast around this trap and move on,” he sent.
“Are we safe?” asked Saraphym.
“Nemesis is cloaking us, and it is the best cloak I have ever seen. I doubt if anyone out here could spot us,” I sent.
“But what if they do? What if they start shooting?” she sent.
“Then we detach ourselves from the ship and I teach you how to hide. We have nothing to fear from energy-based weapons, and physical projectiles are easy to dodge as long as we pay attention. We will be fine. Just relax and enjoy the ride,” I sent.
Master Dusty was obviously quite experienced with black ops, as he made none of the rookie mistakes that I so often saw made by those with covert operations craft. He kept his acceleration curve shallow and steered wide of the search pattern. I suspected that even with inferior stealth technology he could get around this trap undetected.
“How did they know to set this trap?” asked Saraphym across our telepathic network. “Aren’t we off the beaten track here?”
“That is a very good question. This is not a major route; not entirely unknown, but not one that is used enough to warrant pirates watching it,” I sent.
“It is impossible that anyone could be following us, unless they already knew where we were going,” sent Master Dusty.
I studied the energy signature of Nemesis and had to agree. We should have been completely invisible. This was confirmed by the apparent inability of the fleet to see us. “Master Dusty, I could slip aboard one of their ships and see what I can find out.”
“What about Saraphym?” he sent privately.
“If I go alone, it will be much safer,” I sent.
“Greymere, we are primarily a black ops group,” he sent back privately. “She will never learn if you don’t include her.”
“You’re right,” I replied.
“If things go badly, we will gate you out and leave,” he sent privately, and across the general network he sent, “Okay, you two, go find out what you can. We will meet you on the other side of the fleet.”
“Yes, Master,” I sent. “Saraphym, follow me and stay alert. We don’t want to crash into any of their drones.”
“Okay,” she sent nervously. “What are those large sweeps of lower power?”
“Active sensor sweeps. You can ignore them. They are designed to filter us out and only lock onto spacecraft,” I sent.
“That is mighty convenient,” she sent.
“Remember, to most people out here we are dumb creatures to be ignored. This allows us great freedom in our movements; we can go places not open to humans and other races,” I sent.
As we drifted through the fleet I looked around, trying to decide on the best target. I wanted to avoid the command ship, as it would be difficult to move around unnoticed there; however, I needed to find a ship well enough connected to the fleet to have good information for us.
“How about that medical ship?” sent Saraphym.
“What?” I asked.
“You are trying to pick a target, right? The medical ship is a good choice because security will be low, and people tend to be looser in their conversations when sick or drugged up with medications,” she sent.
I had to remind myself she had been a spy of sorts in a former career. “Good thinking. Let’s try it.”
“How do we get on?” she asked.
“Same way as stations. There is always an exhaust port, maintenance hatch, or something of that nature. People can’t survive in them, so they never bother to secure them,” I sent.
“Perhaps we should redesign that aspect of the Wizard Kingdom properties, then,” she mused.
“Perhaps,” I sent back.
It took longer than I would have expected, but we eventually found a way in and slipped on board. I began to teach her how to hide from sensors by absorbing and reflecting just the right amounts of energy, but she sent, “I am a magus, remember?”
“Oh, sorry,” I sent. I forgot that they have their own way to completely disappear from sensors. I didn’t know how they did it, but all of them could. “Let�
��s see if we can find a secluded terminal someplace.”
Being careful not to be seen, we searched the outer section of the ship and finally found a maintenance closet containing what looked like a long-forgotten terminal. I wished I’d had the foresight to bring more tools with me, but we had only been expecting a fun afternoon in space, so I’d left my pack back on the Nemesis.
Thankfully, Saraphym was wearing her full armor and had some tools with her. Between the two of us, I was able to build an interface connecting a datapad to the terminal to download everything it could find. We could search the data later; the important thing now was to acquire a copy.
“Stand watch while I work. This could take a while,” I sent. The interface was not great, and it was going a lot slower than I would have liked, but we had very few options at that time. After what seemed like years, the datapad indicated its memory was full. “Okay, let’s move,” I sent.
We slipped out into the hallway and she suggested, “If we stop by one of the sick bays and just listen for a while, we might find something out.”
“That’s very risky,” I demurred. I had hoped to get her off the ship while luck was still on our side.
“I know. I am not exactly a novice here: I am a member of the Dragon Guard,” she sent.
I sighed and sent, “Even a Dragon Guard should be careful of risking too much, but we’ll try it. Let’s stay as close as we can to an outside wall.”
After some searching we found an occupied medical bay and hid nearby to listen and watch. After about an hour of watching the nurses fend off the advances of their male patients, I was thinking of giving up when someone walked in and said, “Commander.”
“Report,” responded the commander, who was apparently there visiting patients.
“We can’t find the cruiser. It must be a stealth cruiser and if so, by now it’s long gone,” he said.
Spectra's Gambit Page 16
