by Scott Baron
Given the magic he had saved by waiting on the little hunk of rock, he was confident it would.
Hozark nevertheless flew in the ship’s blind spot, sensing the protective spells shielding the craft from not only debris, but also sneak attacks. It was a common functionality on Council vessels, given the frequency of transporting high-value cargo. And for an emmik or visla to layer a few extra spells was a well-justified use of power in their minds if it meant no interruptions in their delivery schedule.
But Hozark knew his way around those, and without using any force to bypass them. Instead, he lowered his craft until he was just above the shielding, matching pace perfectly with the vessel below. Then he carefully cast a very specialized spell, parting the protective layer just enough for his much smaller ship to slip through. It was tough work, no doubt, and any mistake would alert them to his presence. But he was a professional, and he made the approach and insertion look like child’s play.
Hozark guided his cloaked ship down to the cargo craft’s hull and skimmed its surface until he found the section he was looking for, located right above what should be a small and typically unused storage compartment on this type of craft. He settled down and applied his locking spells, binding his invisible ship to the hull.
He took a moment to center himself, then cast the magical umbilical spell that would create a breathable conduit from his ship to theirs. He wasted no time crossing the space, sealing his ship behind him as he did. He then focused his attention on the Council vessel’s hull.
With great care, he cast a trio of boarding spells, splitting the ship’s skin while also momentarily applying pressure to it to prevent a rapid loss of air that would alert the crew to his presence. The third spell muted all sound within the chamber below, allowing him to drop to the deck silently and reseal the rent in the ship’s hull without worrying about being heard.
Inside, he paused and listened. Not a single sound of warning. The insertion was a success, and no one was any the wiser as to his presence aboard. The assassin activated his shimmer cloak and quietly slipped into the corridor, invisible to all. He had one task, and that was to question the captain and get what he needed by any means necessary.
The best place to do that would be the man’s personal quarters. Once inside, the crew would not bother him unless there was a real emergency. But before he moved, Hozark hugged the wall and stood perfectly still, listening. Getting a feel for the ship itself.
Something was wrong. Suddenly there were voices, and a fair amount of movement coming his way. He pressed as flat to the wall as he could, his camouflage rendering him unseen by the hurrying men.
That was more than a bit unusual. The additional weaponry he noted the crew carrying as they passed him, oblivious to the assassin’s proximity, was vexing. The ship seemed far too heavily guarded for a mere cargo run.
But if there was something else going on, he would pry that from the man as well. For now, he had to make it to his quarters, where he would then wait until he could have some quality time with the captain.
Suddenly, the ship lurched and shook, something that was not normal in any way, shape, or form. They were in flight, and with their protective spells, there should be absolutely no turbulence in space. Hozark’s sharp ears then picked up another sound far away in the ship’s corridors. The sound of shouts and fighting.
Oh hell, he thought as he realized what was going on. It was the worst possible timing. Almost comically so. But there was no mistaking what had just happened. He sighed and shook his head.
The ship was under attack.
And it was being boarded.
Chapter Forty-Two
The sounds of fighting were clear enough to determine the rough location of the incursion in the ship. Obviously, this was a skilled group making the attack or they would have been either taken out by the ship’s defenses or repelled by the magical shielding before ever reaching the hull.
As neither of those things had happened, that left but few options as to who might be boarding the ship, and none of them were conducive to Hozark’s plan. With the craft on not just a high alert, but now on a battle footing, there was simply no chance whatsoever the captain would return to his quarters at all.
On top of that, the command center would be locked down, and the already robustly armed crew would strike at anything remotely suspicious. There was simply no time for a carefully crafted disguise and infiltration into the heavily guarded chamber.
Hozark was racking his brain for the fastest, most viable solution to the problem when the fighting abruptly took a turn and flowed his direction at alarming speed. The defenders, it seemed, were being driven back by a rather ferocious onslaught.
But there was no magic being used, so that at least was a positive. And the attackers appeared to be well disciplined. Professionals would at least not accidentally get them all killed with an errant spell. But the battling men and women had now spilled into the corridor that led to the command center, effectively blocking the assassin’s path.
It wasn’t intentional, of course. It was just incredibly inconvenient. And camouflaged in his shimmer cloak, Hozark could very soon face the possibility of being accidentally injured by the wild attacks of combatants who could not see him.
A decision had to be made, and quickly by the look of it. Without further hesitation, Hozark shed his camouflage and drew his lesser weapons. The vespus blade would remain sheathed for now. The glowing blue sword would only draw more unwanted attention to him in the thick of battle, and in these confined spaces it would be far more difficult to avoid multiple attackers and fend off their blows.
But at least he would not be accidentally hit, so that was something. And if he was to be attacked, it would be far better it be intentionally. It was a funny thing about fighting, that. The attacks of trained fighters were far easier to predict and handle than those of neophytes who were fighting on instinct alone.
Patterns of attacks and defenses were so drilled into the heads of most forces that their movements could almost always be counted on and dealt with by those with a bit more expertise. And Hozark had quite a lot more than just a bit.
The first of the ship’s crew rounded the corner to where the Ghalian was standing.
“And so it begins.” He sighed, then lunged into the fray.
The Council forces only had a moment to register the new threat laying waste to their ranks before they shifted tactics, now dealing with attackers from both ends. The invading force was efficient in their progress, he had to give them that. That degree of skill was not often seen, and were he not actively slaying crewmembers left and right, he might have enjoyed stepping aside to watch them work.
Judging by the flashes of garb he was able to make out in the churning sea of blades and blood, it was a pirate crew that had attacked the Council ship. Cocky of them. Confident. He admired their pluck as much as their skill. But their actions had jeopardized his plan, and tracking down Visla Maktan was a high priority.
Not wishing to engage the pirates as well as the ship’s crew, Hozark began pushing his way through the carnage toward the command center. Men and women fell to his blades, their bodies at his feet slowing his progress more than their feeble defenses had. He was a terror at work, and the crew seemed to be realizing that the lone assailant coming from the wrong direction was far more of a threat than the boarding party.
They shifted a large portion of their forces to meet him, but Hozark drove forward, his arms and legs a blur of motion as he struck with blade and fist, with foot and pommel, until he had reached the intersecting corridor that would take him the final distance to the command center.
But the pirates were there as well, and they were quite active in their combat. Hozark disabled one who had spun and swung at the newcomer to their fight by sheer instinct. The assassin did not kill him, though. He merely rendered him unconscious for the moment. The Council forces, however, did not meet the same end.
He felt a presence lurch
toward him and spun, his blades ready to strike, then pulled back at the last instant as Bud’s familiar face grinned at him in the middle of this bloody battle.
“Hozark? What are you doing here?” the pirate asked.
He had smears of blood on his cheek and clothes, but it did not appear to be his own. There was also a look of joy in his eyes from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He hadn’t been a pirate for years, but it seemed he missed it more than he realized.
“I am here for the captain,” Hozark said, neatly disemboweling a man foolish enough to charge at the pair. “And you? I thought you were seeking Henni.”
Bud flinched at the name ever so slightly. “I am. But Lalaynia’s people said this ship was one of the special ones. The kind that resupply the Council’s dark sites, among other things.”
“I heard the same. You are with Lalaynia? That explains the skill of this boarding party.”
“Yeah, they’re good people. And it seems we’re here for a similar reason. Partly, anyway. To take the cargo, that’s their main goal. But mine is to find out where Henni has been taken.”
“Then let us find this captain together. I am certain the questioning will be most enlightening,” Hozark said, turning his full attention to the defenders before them. “Are you ready, Bud?”
“Let’s do this,” he replied. “This way! To command!” he cried out to his fellow pirates, then he and Hozark charged ahead, laying waste to those either brave or foolish enough to attempt to stop them.
The wave of pirates at their back made the crewmen standing just outside the command center door duck inside as their colleagues did their best against what was looking like an unbeatable foe.
Hozark and Bud had fought together many times, and the duo made quick work of the forces in their path. Limbs were severed, heads lopped from necks, and vital organs riddled with holes as the two tore through their ranks until they were right at the command center door.
Bud reached for it, but Hozark snatched his hand back.
“Wait,” he said. “There is something wrong.”
Hozark reached out with his power, sensing the door and surrounding portion of the ship’s hull. It wasn’t a booby trap or scuttling spell he had sensed, however. It was something else entirely. And rather surprising, he had to admit.
He cast a strong sealing spell over the door and turned the other way.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Bud asked. “We just fought through all of that mess to get here.”
“Inform Lalaynia the ship is hers,” Hozark replied. “The captain has given up the vessel.”
“How can you be so sure? We haven’t even seen him yet. It’s hard to surrender from hiding after all.”
“He is not hiding, Bud. Nor did he surrender. Not exactly,” Hozark said. “The captain has separated the command center and escaped the ship.”
It was something Bud had heard rumor of but had never actually seen. A configuration that allowed the forward most portion of a select group of ships to detach from the main craft as an escape vessel. He’d thought it was only something told to fake out would-be raiders, but apparently it was a real thing.
“Shit. They just bailed like that?”
“They did. But be glad, Bud. In their haste, they were unable to scuttle the ship. The craft is yours.”
“Yeah, great. But there’s no way Lalaynia can cut loose to pursue him. Not with everyone on board, and not if the command center itself is no longer part of the ship.”
Hozark grinned. “Do not worry, my friend. You forget, I have a ship as well, and it is under no such constraints. Now, time is of the essence. They will make for the surface, undoubtedly. We must catch up with them before they have time to disperse into the landscape.”
Bud followed Hozark as they ran back through the dwindling fight to where his shimmer ship was docked. Lalaynia was striding through the craft like a conquering Amazon, finishing those who dared raise a weapon toward her with bloody ease.
“Laynia, the command center is gone,” Bud called out.
“What?” she replied. “And, Master Hozark, what are you doing here?”
“I am afraid there is no time for a discussion. Suffice to say, Bud and I are going to take my ship in pursuit of the captain,” he said.
“How big is your craft?” she asked.
“Small. A Ghalian shimmer ship.”
She nodded. Lalaynia was a very sharp woman, and her tactical prowess was strong. Immediately she turned to Saramin, handing him an additional konus.
“You, go with Bud and Hozark. They’ll be outnumbered. Provide whatever help they need and keep us informed of your location. We’ll finish up here then meet you on the surface as soon as we’re able.”
Hozark was already in motion when Saramin pulled his sword from the chest of the man he’d just slain. “On it, Captain.”
“Great. This way, kid,” Bud said, then took off running, the young pirate in tow with his captain’s blessing.
It would be one hell of a pursuit, and success was in no way a certainty. But despite the odds, the young pirate felt a warm happiness in his chest as he followed his old friend and his new one. Really, he couldn’t ask for better people to be going with. Even if it might be to their end.
Chapter Forty-Three
It wasn’t exactly cramped in Hozark’s shimmer ship, but he generally flew solo when utilizing it. Having not one but two passengers as he pursued the escaping Council forces was a tiny bit uncomfortable in the command chamber.
He quickly put that from his mind and focused on the tiny speck far ahead of them. It was slower than they were by a substantial amount, and apparently it lacked jump capability, otherwise the captain would no doubt have left the system immediately.
When he separated from the main body of his craft, the connection with his Drooks was severed, and he had to rely on the small Drookonus powering the escape ship. That not only limited its range, but effectively neutered its jump capability. But they had a lead on their pursuers, and that was a problem.
“Shit, they’re entering the atmosphere,” Bud said as the dot ahead of them began to glow orange.
“We shall catch up with them,” Hozark said. “The size of their vessel will hinder them as they drop into the atmosphere and require a bit of attention in order to land. We, on the other hand, have no such restraints.”
“Can we shoot them while they’re still aloft?” Saramin asked, always looking for the fastest solution to a problem, even if it was the most violent. “Your ship is armed, I assume.”
“It is, but we do not wish to risk catastrophic damage to the craft. We require intelligence from their captain, and the risk of even minor strafing fire is simply too great.”
“Good idea, though,” Bud said. “Thinking on your feet. I like it.”
“I just hope we took out enough of their crew before they detached,” the young pirate said. “Because those guys were far better trained than we expected.”
“It is an elite force,” Hozark commented as they began to buck and shake from the first stage of atmospheric turbulence. “A group assigned to high-value operations.”
“So, that, along with the fact they actually have the escape ship we’d heard rumor of, all seems to point to this not just being an ordinary cargo ship for the top tier elite at all,” Bud noted. “Good. I’m looking forward to getting some answers from these bastards.”
“If we can take them alive,” Saramin said.
“Oh, we will, right, Hozark?”
The Ghalian said nothing, focusing all of his intensity on the ship ahead of them. It would land before them, but not by much. That was good. The crew would not have the time to scatter, as had been his main concern. Hunting down all of them to find the one he wanted would have been a trying experience to say the least.
The planet they were taking refuge on was inhospitable at best, but the atmosphere, while uncomfortable to breathe, would not cause any lasting damage in the short term. More than en
ough time for them to either capture their man or slay every last one of the Council goons. Possibly both.
The Council forces streamed out of their downed ship and raced toward the nearby rocks as soon as it hit the ground. They had landed in a rough bit of terrain. A dry landscape with craggy valleys and rocky outcroppings as well as fields of massive boulders, tumbled from above during rock slides in the past.
In short, there was a lot of cover for them, and a lot of places to hide. But, as Hozark and his associates learned as they came in to land, this lot was not one for hiding.
“Shit! Spells incoming!” Bud called out as the first wave of magical bombardments from the surface buffeted the shimmer ship’s defensive spell array.
“Those are strong,” Saramin noted. “They’re a bit too well armed for just a transport cargo ship, wouldn’t you say?”
“That they are,” Bud replied, then cocked his head slightly as the next wave of attacks bounced from their shielding.
“And this magic is off,” Saramin said. “It feels strange.”
Hozark and Uzabud both knew why the power that was trying to knock them from the sky felt like that. It was a new flavor of magic. Something novel. Something Saramin had never encountered before. But they had. They knew it the moment the first spell hit.
“That’s Henni’s power,” Bud said. “I’d bet my life on it.”
“Don’t say things like that,” Saramin said. “At least not until we’re on the ground.”
Hozark spun and dove quickly, avoiding a barrage of spells as he did, landing his ship behind a large group of boulders and engaging its shimmer cloak immediately. It would use a fair bit of power after what they’d just been through, but he didn’t want anyone targeting it while they were fighting on foot.
He leapt from his seat and made for the door. “Come. We must meet this opponent head-on.”
The others didn’t hesitate, quickly falling in behind the Ghalian as he raced from the camouflaged ship toward the waiting opponent. Freed from the confines of the ship above, the Council forces were unleashing the full force of their magical weaponry, and it was impressive.
