Spectra's Gambit

by Vincent Trigili

  The pub was more like a restaurant and perfect for a low-life like myself. They did not have a huge menu but they did have real, organic meat, which was hard to find anywhere. Almost everywhere that served ‘meat’ produced a synthetically-grown, chemical mash that most species could not tell apart from meat; Zalionians could, however. This made the pub a local favorite of Zalionians and a fairly rough place to dine. My large size and filthy clothes marked me as someone whom it would be foolish to tackle, so I never had a problem, but I had seen many a smaller Zalionian run out of the joint. Humans and other small races wisely steered clear of the place.

  I took a seat at the bar and the waitress brought me my regular meal without needing to be asked. She gave me the same smile every time, a smile that said, “You’re too good for this place; do something with your life.” Some nights she would sit and talk for a while, but tonight it was too busy. The smile would be all I got that night. She was becoming a good friend, or at least a great tablemate.

  I was ripping into my meat, savoring the juices and blood, when I overhead some men rudely evaluating a female’s suitability as a mate and making obscene comments about her appearance. I wondered who might be the object of their attentions, and when I looked I was shocked to see Kymberly, the white dwarf Zalionian who traveled with Dusty. She looked more beautiful than her picture, and even smaller than I had guessed. I could see how she had drawn attention. Except for her small stature and the color of her scales, she had the look of a model; she even had the perfect walk, down to the sweeping tail.

  She seemed to be completely ignoring the men and took a seat at a small table. I watched as covertly as I could while she ordered a meal and began to eat. She continued to be completely oblivious to the young Zalionians who were harassing her. This indifference seemed to spur them on, and one of them got up to approach her.

  I had seen enough and walked over to intercept him. “It’s time you sat down and shut that foul mouth of yours.”

  “Oh, yeah? Who is going to – ” he jeered, but my right hook across his jaw shut him up and he fell to the floor.

  I looked at his friends who stood there, shocked. “Pick up this garbage, and be gone.”

  The rest of the crowd had gone quiet around me, and the two young male Zalionians grabbed their buddy and dragged him out. Kymberly walked over to me and said, “Hey, thanks for that.”

  I felt my facial scales lift a little in embarrassment as she looked up at me. “Ah, it was nothing; just some kids out to prove themselves.”

  “Yeah. It’s not the first time I have been ogled,” she said. “Join me for a drink?”

  “Sure, that’d be great,” I said. I could not believe my luck; she had made contact with me. For the second time on this mission I had done something right. It was a virtual streak of success.

  I gathered up what was left of my meal and joined her. She was much smaller than I was, but you would not have known that by the amount of food she was putting away. Her close-fitting body armor was of a far better quality than anything I could ever afford. It fit so well that it must have been custom-molded to her form.

  She was a white-scaled dwarf, and therefore I would not normally have spoken to her. Her kind was not well liked, and most Zalionians would have ignored her. Sadly, she would probably have been completely invisible to me had I not been looking for her specifically as part of my mission. I sat there in silence, not sure what to say to her.

  “So, tell me about yourself,” she said, breaking the ice.

  “Not much to tell,” I said.

  “Sure there is. Let’s start easy. Do you have a job?” she asked.

  “Of course. I work down in the bays as a mechanic,” I said.

  “I thought so, because of your uniform.” She had a nice smile, filled with razor-sharp teeth that ripped through the flesh of her meal. I watched her long, forked tongue slowly clean some meat juice from her teeth, and then she said. “Have you got a family?”

  “Nah, I’m more of a drifter,” I said.

  She delicately ran her tongue around her mouth and said, “Too bad. You seem like a nice guy.”

  We talked for a while, which consisted mostly of her asking questions about me, while I enjoyed the view and the company. I don’t know how long we sat there, as I was lost in her eyes, but eventually the bar started to close around us.

  “Well, I guess we should go,” I said.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I’ll have to find a hatch to jump out.”

  “Funny. I’ll walk you home. Which way?” I asked.

  “Oh, I was serious,” she said, sounding a bit hurt. “My ship is stuck in a parking orbit because we can’t get permission to dock.”

  “Ah,” I said. “Then what are you going to do?”

  “I was supposed to come on board and see if I could find a way to expedite the process, but I slipped in here to grab some real meat for a change and then we got so caught up in talking that I forgot about it,” she said. “Now I don’t know what I’m going to do!”

  I smiled. She was in luck; I could help her with this! “Come on,” I said as I took her arm. “I bet Jerry is just going on shift. Let’s see what we can do about this.”

  She allowed me to pull her close while we walked. It didn’t take long to get to the command center for the docking operations. Once there I found Jerry and said, “Hey, man, got a minute?”

  “Sure, what’s up?” he asked.

  “Well, this young lady’s ship is stuck in a parking orbit waiting to dock. Can you see what’s causing the delay?” I asked.

  He looked at her, then smiled and winked at me. “For you, sure. Which ship?”

  “Oh, it’s the Nemesis,” she said and then rattled off the official designation.

  “Ah, yes, here it is,” he said. “It is classified as unidentified, and background checks have turned up empty, so command will probably reject its request to dock.”

  “Oh, but we are ambassadors from across the galaxy,” started Kymberly.

  He chuckled and started to say something but she cut him off.

  “No, seriously we are. I am Seventh Rank Battle Wizard Kymberly of the Wizard Kingdom, and on board that craft is Second Rank Battle Wizard Dusty and Second Rank Battle Wizard Spectra. I would not make them angry, if I were you.” Her sweet, innocent-sounding voice was gone and she was now speaking with force and authority. I knew what she said was true as I had studied her file, but the sudden switch in tone and demeanor caught me just as much off-guard as it did Jerry.

  Jerry hesitated. “You’re serious?”

  “Completely,” she said and pulled out her ID. “Scan it against the Imperial database.”

  He took the ID and stuck it in the reader and then swallowed hard. “I am sorry, ma’am, for the confusion and delay. I will clear a port immediately.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  While he did that, I asked, “If you had that ID, why didn’t you identify yourself on approach to the station?”

  “Stupid bureaucracy! We couldn’t reach anyone to show it to,” she said. She looked over at Jerry and said, “Master Spectra was ready to get a bit more forceful, but I convinced them to let me try first.”

  “Why do I get the feeling that if a Second Rank Battle Wizard decides to get more forceful, things would go badly for this station?” I said, following her lead and making sure Jerry could hear us.

  “You can’t possibly imagine what Master Spectra could do,” she said. I was sure she was not bluffing when she said that.

  A look of dread washed over Jerry’s face. “Well, uh, I am very sorry you had this delay. I will give you the communications codes so that you can bypass the bureaucracy in future,” he said.

  “Relax,” I said to Jerry, fearing that he was going to have a heart attack. Sweat was beading up across his brow and he kept running his hands down the sides of his pants. “I am sure we all understand this was just a minor misunderstanding.” I was
hoping I was right. Based on what I’d read of their powers, it would be a nightmare to have them upset with us.

  “Of course,” said Kymberly. “I’m just glad I was able to find some people to actually talk to here. Those communication codes will be very handy.”

  “Okay, I have given them top priority in the queue and logged your ship’s designation correctly in our local database. They will be docking soon in LIB-71. Again, please express my deepest and most sincere apologies to your superiors,” said Jerry. He handed back her ID and a datapad with the proper communication codes and procedures on it.

  “I will, thanks,” said Kymberly.

  “Come on,” I said. “I’ll take you there.”

  “Thank you,” said Kymberly, who slipped back under my arm and returned to her earlier sweet demeanor.

  I looked back at Jerry as we walked out, and he was taking a deep drink from a flask which I was sure he was not supposed to have with him at work. I wondered how he would handle reporting this one to his superiors, since he had come very close to having a major incident on his shift. I thought if he spun it right, he would look like a hero.

  “It will take some time to get there. It’s up in the fancier section of the station,” I said. “I don’t get up there much, since those that dock there usually have their own crew to do repairs.”

  “Oh, actually we didn’t bring a mechanic,” she said.

  “Really? Why not?” I asked.

  “Our ship is … well … special,” she said.

  “Special? How so?” I asked.

  “It would be easier to show you, if you like,” she said.

  “Show me? Bring me on board?” I asked.

  “It is the least I can do after the great evening you showed me, and getting me to the right person to fix our docking issue,” she said.

  “Oh, that was nothing,” I said. “Besides, I am just an ordinary mechanic, nothing special.”

  She wrapped her arm around my waist and gave a little squeeze. “Tonight, you’re my knight in shining armor.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, but it sure felt good to hear. I was certainly not likely to turn down a tour of the ship when I’d been sent to find a way to join its crew. Everything seemed to be going perfectly, and I was happy with that. Kymberly was the nicest girl I had ever met, and she was taking me home with her.

  The walk took quite a while, especially since her shorter legs required me to walk slower than I normally would have. She seemed to be taking her time, in no rush to get back. I didn’t mind that at all, as I knew that once I had boarded her ship I would have an uphill battle to convince her superiors to allow me to stay. I still had no idea how to do that, but I didn’t care right then; I was just happy to walk.

  As we got closer to the dock where Nemesis was, she said, “Would you mind taking a look at the engines once we are aboard?”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “The ship is reporting a problem in one of them. If you can’t do it, that’s okay. We can call home for help,” she said.

  “Oh, no need for that,” I said. “I would love to look at them for you.”

  “Thanks,” she said sweetly. “It’s so nice to find a real man who cares.”

  I felt a million times bigger as we boarded her craft. She introduced me to the rest of the crew, and I did my best not to sound like a buffoon.

  “Chrimson, welcome aboard,” said Master Dusty. “Nemesis tells us that several of the ion injectors are clogged. I’m sure we could get them clean, but I’d much rather have a professional handle them.”

  “Oh, I can do that for you,” I said. I was relieved to hear it was something normal and easy to handle. Given that Nemesis was a war ship from far away, I was unsure what I was getting into.

  “Great. How long will you need?” he asked.

  “I’d have to see the engine room to be sure, but normally it takes a few days to a week to do the job properly.” I was stretching the truth a bit, but I was hoping to be on board and still working when they had to launch, whenever that would be.

  “We are only stopping over long enough to pick up supplies, half a day at most,” said Master Spectra.

  “Even if I worked as fast as I could, I could not do it that quickly,” I told them. It would probably take me that much time just to take the system apart and find the parts that needed cleaning.

  “Can we still fly while you’re working on them?” asked Master Spectra.

  “Probably. Most engines are designed to run with a few offline so that maintenance like this can be done while in service. But I would have to look to be sure,” I said.

  Kymberly looked up into my eyes and said, “Oh, would you mind staying on board for a bit and doing that, then?”

  Master Dusty chuckled a little and then said, “Yes, if you don’t mind, we would like you to stay on board and service the engine. However, you should be aware that we are a combat vessel and we’re on a military operation.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked. As soon as I’d said it, I wanted to kick myself. Here was my open door, and I was questioning it instead of just walking through.

  “We can tell you are a magus, and specifically a pyromancer and spiritualist,” said Master Spectra. “I did some checking while you and Kymberly were walking over, and I see you were one of the zillions of magi whose application was rejected by Alpha Academy.”

  I looked over at Kymberly, who smiled innocently, and then I looked back at Master Spectra and said, “Yes, that’s correct.”

  Then Master Dusty said, “I reviewed your application, and we want to give you a second chance to prove yourself. Come fly this mission with us, and if you do well, maybe there’ll be a place in the Navy for you.”

  It was then that it occurred to me that Kymberly had played me perfectly. Somehow she had sent word back to them about me and the long, slow walk that I had so enjoyed had given them time to research my background. I was so pleased by her attentions that I’d been jumping through hoops at her command all night without even thinking about it. I looked at her again, and she still had that sweet look about her. She winked and said, “Save this lass one more time.”

  I melted. “Sure. Let me send a message back to the station letting them know I won’t be working tomorrow, and I’ll get right to work.”

  “I’ll handle that for you,” said Master Dusty. “That way it won’t look as if you deserted your post on a whim.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Now, I assume the engine room is in the back?”

  “I guess it’s my turn to show you the way,” said Kymberly.

  I smiled as I followed her back to the engine room. If I was going to be manipulated, she was not a bad choice of puppeteer.

  Chapter Forty

  I was reviewing some personnel records on a datapad when Spectra came into my office and said, “Jade has found the trade liner that Chrimson suggested. We should be able to rendezvous with them several hours before they jump.”

  “Are you sure we are doing the right thing, taking on Chrimson?” I asked.

  “You can read his aura the same as I can. He is a spiritualist who needs help,” she said.

  Spectra gasped as I threw my datapad down on the table. I heard a sharp crack as the screen broke and it skidded off the table onto the floor. That just made me angrier. “Sometimes you’re plain impossible! You know that is not the whole story. He was rejected from Alpha Academy because of his lack of self-control!”

  “Yes, and for a brand-new, struggling school, that is a valid reason, but not any more!” she said. “We can help him now.”

  “Look, we know what happens to those magi the school decides not to accept. They disappear shortly after their rejection, just like he did, and then later we find them in the wild with some basic training. Just like we did with him! Do you think that he figured this out all on his own?” I demanded.

  “No. Henrick trained him,” she said quietly.

&
nbsp; “What?” She had neglected to mention that little fact before now.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Henrick scoops up the best of those rejected by the Academy. He has operatives that live on all of the transport and trade hubs that feed the jump lines to the Academy. They intercept the magi, promise to train them, and take them to his version of school.”

  “So Chrimson is a spy for the magus who tried to kill me and Shea?” I asked.

  “Yes, he is. It was not luck that put him in touch with Kymberly, but rather Henrick’s skill at arranging coincidences,” she said.

  I threw my hands up and stormed over to my fake window. There was too much armor plating on the hull to have a real one, so I had asked the engineers from home to build me a projection screen that looked like a window and attached a camera view from outside. They told me they get requests like that from most ships they work on. They had done a great job; had I not known it was fake, I probably would not have guessed. In it I could see the space station falling away behind us as Jade piloted toward the trade fleet that we planned to hitch a ride with. Chrimson’s access to the station’s records made it easy to find the hauler, and the captain of the hauler was used to small ships like us requesting rides; he even had a procedure and price list for it.

  “Dusty, we need to rethink our position with Henrick,” she said.

  “We? You’re the one who tried to kill him the last time we saw him!” I said.

  “Yes, and I would still like to, very much so, but I think Grandmaster Vydor is right on this one. We are going to have to accept the fact that Henrick is one of the ruling powers of magic in our realm.”

  “But why bring his spy on board?” I asked.

  “If we make Chrimson a seventh rank battle wizard, he will have very little access to sensitive information, nothing that Henrick does not already seem to know. That will allow us to keep a watch on him and train him.”

  “But Henrick has already trained him,” I objected.

  “Not really,” she replied. “Henrick doesn’t seem to work that way. Most of his magi only have the most basic training in the few spells they need for their task. We can really open up the world of magic to Chrimson.”