Mage Farm

by Clara Woods

  CLARA WOODS

  MAGE FARM

  LUNARA STATION BOOK TWO

  MAGE FARM

  Lunara Station, Book 2

  Copyright © 2019 by Clara Woods.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Edited by: Paula Lavattiata Lopez

  Proofed by: Miliana Chipaila

  For information contact :

  http://www.clarawoods.com

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  Prologue

  It awoke with all its memories intact and a new purpose.

  It could feel billions, possibly countless presences existing all around. In front of its inner eye, every single one was visible and—there—it could see one area that was the most corrupt. A faraway place, but distance did not matter.

  There was more. A second infection, one it had seen before. It took it all in, planning the next steps.

  Shifting its focus, it could see its own army, grown since the last time. They always grew. Incalculable mindless souls. This enemy had even more souls, but that was not a problem. It had never been a problem. Cassandral’s will would always prevail.

  It leapt down, off the pedestal where it had passed the eons of slumber, stretching its wings in the large stone chamber. Small swirls of a breeze from outside tingled all over its body. It wanted to go there, take off into the sky, its true home. But the low rumble and scratching of stone against stone from inside the building reminded the Cava Dara of its purpose.

  Its own section of Cassandral’s army was right here, and it had to attend to it. To lead the minions into the most corrupted area.

  It turned and walked through the tunnel toward where the army was awakening.

  1 UPL Station

  Giving a loud click, the clamps engaged on the Star Rambler, the fifty-year-old Galaxy Gate which Lenah Callo and her crew had been calling home for the past month. With that, the ship was tightly held in place on UPL station.

  Too late to turn around now, Lenah thought with a burst of worry. She wasn’t sure what exactly was causing that feeling. The United Planetary Legion were the good guys, the only entity with the power to command all corporate armies. Given the Cava Dara threat, they would do just that. However, Lenah couldn’t shake the queasiness in her stomach. Shouldn’t she be happy to get rid of the Mapstone and its terrible responsibility? Not to mention their hostage. Determined, Lenah got out of the pilot’s seat and made her way to the common room, where the rest of her crew was assembled around the dining table.

  Only, it wasn’t a dining table at all anymore. With the screens, computers, and screws lying around, it resembled more a mad scientist’s lab.

  The mad scientists themselves, Uz and Doctor Lund, crouched over a small drone, while Persia and Cassius each sat in an adjacent chair. Cassius was frowning at what they were doing, but Persia seemed to be hiding a smirk.

  “What’s going on?” Lenah asked as she entered. No one even acknowledged they had just landed.

  “They’ve gotten it to work,” Persia said, finally looking in Lenah’s direction.

  “That’s incredible,” she started. “But why don’t you look more excited?”

  Uz looked up. “Something is wrong with this thing.”

  “Wrong?”

  “Must be the translation. Some miscalibration maybe.”

  Lenah looked at the drone they had taken from the temple of the Syrr, an extinct race of small humanoids, only two weeks earlier.

  Her crew had unlocked the message of the Mapstone and learned that ancient beings called Cava Dara were about to attack humanity, triggered by the archaic belief that no race should ever augment themselves using magic. To the Cava Dara, the mage farm, a facility producing storage drives for magic, unnaturally enhanced humanity. The powerful UPL were their best bet to stop them. And the drone, a Syrr construction, was going to be full of useful information, or so Lenah hoped. It was made of stone, and, instead of cables, its inner workings were carved out of various gemstones. It was a show of miraculous craftmanship and it was equally astonishing, that Uz had been able to interface it with modern technology.

  Not only that, but Uz had used the language file they had found in Lunara Station’s Knowledge Center to translate the Syrr language into today’s G-Standard. Without that, the native Syrr tongue sounded just like a random series of hisses, which made communication impossible.

  Besides, the drone, after being very chatty when it had first approached them in the temple, had been very quiet during their journey ever since. If that was due to some technical malfunction or because they had taken it from its home against its will, they didn’t know.

  “Does it speak G-Standard at all?” Lenah asked Uz.

  “Sure, it does…” Persia softly spoke beside her.

  “We’ll show you,” Doctor Lund added, connecting the hard drive with the language overwrite to the drone and pressing a button with a grand gesture.

  The toddler-sized machine immediately opened its eyes, moving them around slowly and taking them all in. Gradually, it flapped its intricate wings and hovered up, stopping close to the ceiling, so high that everyone, even Uz, had to crane their necks upward.

  Its features looked distinctly male, albeit in a significantly reduced scale. A big nose and thin lips sat on an angular face that was carved into the dark gray material. The forehead was furrowed with tiny wrinkles, giving it the appearance of an old man.

  Lenah couldn’t help but think that it looked very serious. Did these old Syrr, a culture that had been obliterated six thousand years ago, have the capability to develop personalities for their drones? Maybe it was just the fact that its face was carved in such detail from stone.

  Uz reached out to where it was buzzing in the air on its small wings, beautifully crafted from hundreds of delicate stone joints. It evaded her and came to hover closer to Lenah.

  “Um, hello,” Lenah said.

  It didn’t answer.

  “Can you understand me?”

  The drone still didn’t speak, but its face got a sour expression as if deeply disapproving of what Lenah had said.

  She tried engaging again. “I’m Lenah. What’s your name?”

  “You are not that young as to not know your limitations toward the Elder,” a gnarled and at the same time high-pitched voice spoke back to her.

  “I —. Excuse me?” Lenah asked, dumbfounded.

  “If you are anything like Syrr, like most races, your younglings are born small. While you are smaller than most of your species I have seen, you still look old enough to understand the difference between elder wisdom and youthful indiscretion. If I excused you, it would mean to accept your misbehaviors. I shall not.”

  Lenah stared. Had she just been called tiny by an even tinier piece of stone?

  “Is this a joke?” Lenah looked at Uz and Doctor Lund to confirm if they were pranking her. Judging by their frustrated faces, that was not the case.

  “Are you angry that we took you?” Lenah said, turning back to the drone, who cocked its head but didn’t otherwise acknowledge. She watched as it stayed silent, noticing how it didn’t seem to breathe. Despite the detailed craftsmanship, this was only a machine.

  Lenah continued. “Now that we speak the same language, we can explain why we took you. I hope
you’ll understand once you see how important a role you can play in saving my species—humanity—from the same destiny as yours. Am I right that the Cava Dara destroyed your kind?”

  “At least you know of the superiority of age, even if your manners suggest otherwise,” the drone spoke back as if talking to a small child it was scolding. Lenah looked at Uz, who clenched her jaw, then pressed a button on the hard drive that still connected to the little machine. It closed its eyes and would have fallen, had Doctor Lund not been prepared and carefully caught it.

  “And that’s why it seems miscalibrated,” Uz said to Lenah. “It just won’t tell us anything but speak of Elders and respect.” She rolled her eyes in a very un-Cassidian expression. Uz might be the only Cassidian who didn’t like to speak of Elders or follow the traditional Cassidian Way. She preferred to tinker with computers or spaceships.

  Lenah hid her grin. Uz seemed genuinely frustrated, which was understandable, given how much time she’d spent getting the drone to speak their language. “Are you sure that it’s an issue with the translation software? Maybe it’s just a stupid drone.”

  “I get the distinct feeling that the drone would take offense to you calling it stupid,” Persia said with a smirk. “It could just be this stuffy.”

  “No one is this stuffy. Not even Lenah is, and she’s from the families.” Cassius offered his opinion for the first time. He had taken to making comments like that over the past two weeks. Lenah couldn’t say she minded. It was a big improvement over being addressed as ‘rich girl’ in a tone of disdain—like he had over the first couple of weeks of knowing her. She had decided to take it as a good sign, even though being reminded of where she came from, didn’t fill her with any pride these days.

  “We’ve landed. I’m surprised you’re here and not looking all cyborgy and standing armed at the hatch,” Lenah said instead, remembering the original reason she had come to talk to them.

  “Wow, that’s good flying. I didn’t even realize.” Persia patted Lenah on the arm. “I remember my first landing with you, and even though I was slightly intoxicated, I couldn’t miss the fact that we were violently banging all around other spaceships.”

  “It was trees. And you were wasted,” Lenah objected but grinned. Her flying had improved a great deal since her first time over a month ago.

  Doctor Lund took the lead getting up from the table. “Finally, we can get rid of her,” he murmured, clearly relieved to be handing their hostage, Corinna Cheung, over to UPL responsibility. Lenah wouldn’t disagree. Having another mind mage on board, one that was stronger than herself, hadn’t been fun.

  2 Constraints

  Being on UPL station, humanity’s center of power, made Lenah feel small and insignificant. She might be bringing the Mapstone and news of a threat to humanity, but she fully expected to stick out as a nobody from a backwater planet. As a last-minute thought, she made a quick stop to her cabin and adjusted her hair into a tight, low bun. It made her feel slightly better. Pulling her wavy, brown hair into buns had been a constant of her previous life as a family executive.

  When she joined the others in the cargo hold, Persia, Uz, and Doctor Lund were already in front of the closed hatch, having apparently decided to leave the drone be for now. Persia stepped from one foot to the other and was peering out the view window. She had a pistol barely hidden inside her sweater.

  “Expecting trouble so soon?” Lenah asked, but she couldn’t blame them. In fact, she had brought her own pistol. Just in case. “At least try not to clutch the handle of your weapon too tight when you greet the ambassadors.”

  The diplomacy part of this mission would be Lenah’s job, as she had spent years aiding her father and his corporation, Starwide Research, in acquiring the necessary funding to grow a prospering business of mage farms. She had sat across from self-important politicians many times and expected this meeting to be just like that.

  UPL space station was a giant, white sphere in low orbit of Arcadia, the planet where most corporations, at least the ones with enough power, kept embassies. The proximity served the many corporate representatives, who came up to UPL station all the time. If anyone could be singled out as humanity’s most powerful institution, it was the United Planetary Legion, and their station was certainly built to impress.

  Silver windowpanes were interlaced into the smooth, white paneling in intricate patterns, giving the station the look of an oversized piece of jewelry. The only indication that this was a working space station, and not an adornment, were the vents and knobs protruding from the underside of the otherwise smooth white-and-silver surface. Lenah, who had been to Arcadia many times and was used to fancy environments, still couldn’t help but be impressed. Her ragged crew was indeed out of place here. And, she reminded herself, that included her now.

  She wasn’t here as a member of the Callo family. Not that the Callos were ever invited to come here. Starwide Research was not a corporation recognized officially by UPL and, therefore, wasn’t allowed to have a corporate army, though Lenah’s father was pushing hard for it.

  Lenah smoothed the surface of her black jacket. The shoulder was torn open where a laser had grazed her a few weeks earlier, and the smuggler ship hadn’t come with any sewing equipment. All she had been able to do, was wash out most of the bloodstains. She had even cleaned her shoes. Nothing like a first impression.

  “You cleaned up nicely. Haven’t seen you look like this since the cyborg whisked us away on this adventure,” Persia remarked, turning away from the view window. Her own boyishly short haircut had been growing out, and her attempts to brush it back failed more and more every day. At least, the ex-gladiator hadn’t brought her hammer this time. It tended to call attention in public places, a fact that Persia seemed utterly oblivious to. Though Lenah had to admit that it had come in handy several times already.

  Lenah smoothed her hair and was about to answer when Cassius walked in. He had Corinna, their hostage of almost two weeks, thrown over his shoulder and easily held on to her with his cyborg arm. Only three weeks ago, it had been Lenah and Persia being his hostages, and now Lenah counted herself lucky that she’d never been carried upside down over his shoulder like a sack of rice. Corinna’s head hung limply next to his hip, bobbing sideways with each of his steps and coming perilously close to the wall of the Star Rambler’s corridor. She was still unconscious and should stay like that for a while longer; a necessary precaution. No one wanted an enemy mind mage influencing people on their ship. Without the drugs, Corinna could have influenced them to do her bidding, and Lenah wasn’t strong enough to counteract Corinna’s power easily. She’d only won with some luck back on Masis III.

  A man in a white politician’s caftan walked toward the ship, visible through the one small window in the hatch. Taking a deep breath, Lenah thumbed the hatch’s button, and the Star Rambler opened to UPL station’s landing bay. She stepped out first, followed by Doctor Lund.

  “Greetings, Lenah Callo,” the white-robed man said with a smile. “Welcome to UPL station. I hope you had a pleasant flight.”

  “Very good, thank you.” At least for the past ten days, that was true. “We come here to fulfill Run 118,” Lenah continued, referring to the codeword that had been specified in the posting for the Mapstone. Lenah felt its weight in her pocket and couldn’t wait to exchange it for the hefty sum of one million CGC.

  “Understood.” The man nodded. “We have been waiting for you.”

  That took Lenah aback. She hadn’t announced that she would be coming with the stone. Forcefully, the queasy feeling in her stomach was back. Wherever they went, it seemed that someone was already expecting them.

  The man’s focus suddenly shifted to somewhere behind Lenah, and she turned to see Cassius walk out with Corinna still draped over his shoulder. His c-nano arm glittered in the bright light of the landing bay, and, combined with his tall build, he was the walking image of cyborg strength in his prime.

  Let’s hope that intimidates them at
least a little bit, Lenah thought, glad he was there with them. She doubted they could quickly exchange the stone for one million CGC and leave again. There would be questions. But maybe there would be fewer questions with a cyborg looming by their side.

  Lenah also had her mind magic, an advantage she wouldn’t hesitate to use if it got them out of some difficult questioning.

  “We also bring you this woman.” She pointed toward Corinna. “She was in charge of an illegal plundering mission on Masis III. She wanted to keep the Mapstone for herself. Corinna Cheung of Cheung Corp.”

  Lenah had expected that to cause a reaction from the man. Unlike Starwide Research, Cheung Corp was a corporation recognized by UPL, and Corinna was a corporate leader known all over the galaxy. But the man’s face stayed expressionless.

  Cassius’s eyes met Lenah’s, and she could see her own worry reflected in his gaze.

  “Very well, let’s get you settled. Ambassador Dreistein wants to meet you.” The UPL man snapped his hand and turned around, quickly vanishing out of the hangar’s hatch. Lenah looked at Doctor Lund, who shrugged at her. She followed the man, grasping the stone in her pocket as the Star Rambler vanished out of sight.

  They walked through large, white hallways for several silent minutes. In the beginning, they met other groups of people who were either walking or driving on small hovering stands to their destinations, but after a while, they were alone.

  “Where are you taking us?” Lenah asked the man, suspicion once more rising within her. “You said we are going to meet the ambassador?”

  “Yes,” he said, sounding bored and not even turning around. “We’re almost there.”

  They continued like this for another thirty seconds, until the man finally stopped in the middle of the corridor. “Here we are.” He turned around, an expression of pity on his face. A second later, his image became blurry as dozens of laser beams stood between him and Lenah.