The Chosen Spacemage

by Dan Oakley

  Draylan nodded. “Do you know eight card tops,” he asked.

  I’d heard of the complicated game, but I’d never played it. Finn and I said we’d sit the game out, and Draylan and Toddo sat on the floor in front of an upturned crate they used as a makeshift card table.

  “Do you know what’s happening tomorrow?” I asked Toddo, wondering if his newfound friendliness would stretch to letting us know the plans for tomorrow.

  “It’s still in flux. Currently, it looks like we could attack the transfer ship before it stops at the next space station. They’ll stop to refuel at a secondary station. Security is lower on minor refueling stations and makes a good attack point. The trouble is, it doesn’t give as much time to prepare. I think the admiral will hold a vote on it tomorrow.”

  He dealt the cards.

  “She’ll have a vote on it?” I asked, surprised.

  “Can she not make up her own mind?” Draylan commented sharply.

  Toddo frowned and looked up at Draylan. “Why don’t you like her? You show her no respect. Is it because she’s a woman?”

  Draylan scowled. “No. Some of my best bosses have been female. I don’t like the snake hair thing she’s got going on.”

  Toddo nodded, conceding the point. “I can see how that’s a little off-putting.”

  “The admiral is not letting them have a vote, is she?” A voice carried from the other side of the room.

  I turned to see Gaio and Hillyard sitting together on the floor. Gaio was looking incensed at the idea we might have a say in their plans.

  “That’s up to the admiral, but I don’t see why not,” Toddo said, not bothering to look up from his cards.

  “I’ll tell you why not,” Gaio said, getting to his feet. “They are nothing to do with us. They’re no mages. Not proper ones.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?” Draylan said, putting his cards face down on top of the crate and getting to his feet to face off Gaio.

  I exchanged a look with Finn, and we both stood up. Whether we were going to need to protect Draylan or protect Gaio from Draylan, more likely, I didn’t know.

  Hillyard stood up too, egging on his friend. “They’ve been nothing but trouble since they integrated themselves into our cell. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were working for the other side.”

  “I should cut the tongue out of your head,” Draylan snarled.

  “I’d like to see you try,” Gaio taunted, generating a glowing red ball of energy in his right hand.

  With a sigh, Toddo stood up and put himself between Draylan and the two mages.

  “I’m too tired for this. They are working with us. And you either accept that or I can escort you down to the brig right now,” he said firmly, staring down Gaio and Hillyard.

  “How could you take their side over a fellow mage?” Gaio grumbled.

  “Because you’re the one in the wrong. They deserve a say in what we do next. They are invested in this too.”

  Both Finn and I moved up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Toddo, just in case Gaio or Hillyard felt like doing something stupid, or any of the other mages wanted to chip in.

  But Gaio and Hillyard backed off, stalking out of the room.

  Toddo smiled and sat back down in front of the crate, picking up his cards.

  After a moment, Draylan joined him. “You’re not so bad, you know that?”

  Toddo topped up their wine glasses and smiled. “Please, I can’t stand the flattery.”

  As Toddo and Draylan played their card game, I sipped my wine and felt the tiredness of the day seek its way into my arms and legs. I felt exhausted. The wine was good, relaxing and warming. Just what I needed.

  There was no sign of Valletta here, and I guessed he’d already gone to sleep. Thinking of the old man made me recall the story he’d told me about the chosen spacemage. Finn had grown up in a mage family, and I was interested in his opinion.

  “Have you heard the legend of the Mage Queen?” I asked Finn.

  He was staring down at the purple liquid in his wineglass. The thick, glass goblet almost overturned, when he faced me, surprised at my question. “Of course, every young mage has been told that story multiple times in their childhood.”

  “Do you think it’s based on fact?”

  Finn frowned and ran his hand through his hair before shaking his head. “I don’t think so. I think it’s just a fairy story. Something to build up morale in the mage community.”

  I took another sip of wine. “When I was working with Valletta, and he was helping me with my magic, he told me a story about a chosen spacemage.”

  “Oh yes, that’s a common enough story too. I’m surprised Valletta wanted to talk about it. He seems like an odd man. He doesn’t usually keep company; maybe it was his way of making conversation.”

  “Perhaps. He has a tendency to talk in riddles. What do you know of the story?”

  “Me? I keep forgetting, you won’t have heard the histories of mages, none of the poems or stories.” Finn exhaled a long breath. “I’m not much of a storyteller, so you’ll forgive me if I don’t embellish, but from what I remember, there are two mages. It’s an ancient story, and probably one made up to make children behave themselves.” He paused to smile and then continued. “Like most kids’ tales, there is good and evil. From what I remember, there is a battle to the death. The two mages are the chosen mage and the doomed mage. In some tales, he’s known as the deadly mage, but in most of the stories, he is called the doomed mage. They are both powerful and have to overcome many obstacles until they finally meet in the battle to end all battles.”

  “I think Valletta thinks I’m one of the mages in the story,” I said, feeling stupid for even mentioning it.

  Finn grinned. “I told you he was a little weird.”

  I nodded. Finn would get no argument from me there.

  “Maybe Valletta thinks I’m the doomed mage.”

  Finn was about to take a sip of wine but lowered his goblet. “No, you can’t be. The doomed mage is filled with bitterness and driven by the need for revenge.”

  At Finn’s words, I felt a shiver down my spine, remembering what Valletta had said.

  “Don’t look so worried. It’s a fable, a child’s bedtime story. That’s all.”

  But as Finn got up to pour us more wine, I couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling that Valletta believed I was the doomed mage in the story.

  Chapter 23

  The following morning, the vote was held, and the option to carry out the rescue mission that day won by a narrow margin. Gaio and Hillyard were not happy. They were even more put out by the admiral’s next announcement after the votes were counted.

  “Only a select team will be boarding the prison ship,” she said, looking around the room at the gathered mages. “There is a point, shortly after docking at the refueling station, before refueling is initiated, when the security system is reduced for thirty seconds for the connections to go ahead. It’s during those thirty seconds that we will jump on board. A small team will enable us to act quickly, locate, secure our comrades and jump back to the ship.”

  “How small is this team you’re planning to use?” Gaio asked suspiciously.

  “It will be me, Toddo, Tomas, and Bayliss.”

  A grumble ran around the room when she mentioned my name, followed by an audible gasp when she said Bayliss.

  I had to admit I was surprised too. Bayliss was a big man and a fierce fighter. He was someone I always wanted in my corner, but he was no jump mage and had no magical abilities at all. He was viewed by most of the mages here as an outsider.

  “I must protest,” Hillyard said, getting to his feet. “This is quite simply madness. We hardly know these people. What if they turn against you? You’ll have no backup.”

  Bayliss growled under his breath. I was tempted to say something, but the admiral had it covered.

  “We all want the same thing. We want our friends back. We need to work together, and that’s what we�
��re going to do.”

  “But this is a terrible plan. I say we take a vote—”

  The admiral turned towards Gaio and stared him down. A hush fell over the room, and Gaio gulped audibly.

  “My decision is final. Is that understood?”

  After a moment’s hesitation, Gaio nodded reluctantly and sat back down.

  “I am a fair leader,” the admiral said. “I always put the safety and security of the resistance behind all my decisions, but that does not mean you can second-guess me.”

  She wasn’t just speaking to Gaio and Hillyard now. She gazed sternly around the room until she had nods and murmurs of assent.

  “Good. We have a fellow resistance member working undercover on the prison ship. She will meet us at the entrance to the cell block. We have the code, but she will be there to help us in case there are any problems. There are seven resistance members to be freed. All are located in cellblock 197.” She checked the time on her wrist device. “We will spend the morning studying the schematics of the prison ship. The main staff area is completely separate from the prison block. We will jump to the center of the ship, not the jump drive, which is risky, but we’re going to use a service tunnel. We’ll have that scanned immediately before we attempt the jump.”

  “What if the intel is incorrect?” Draylan asked.

  The admiral nodded grimly. “We have to hope it isn’t.”

  As the admiral began to assign jobs and tasks to those who would be left aboard the Majestic Eagle, I started to think about her plan. I was worried about Bayliss coming with us. Was she going to use him as a sacrificial lamb?

  I looked around the room and saw many disgruntled faces, but none of them dared say anything to the admiral. She ruled the cell with an iron fist, and I was sure many of the men and women here remembered those snakes she could conjure on a whim.

  “Finn, I want you to be ready to jump the Majestic Eagle well clear as soon as we are all back on the ship. I will handle the jump onto and off the prison ship.”

  Finn nodded. “I’ll be ready.”

  “We should be well clear before the prison ship can respond. We don’t want to engage the prison ship in a firefight because we’d be sure to come off worse. But we should have a backup plan just in case. Draylan, are you familiar with grade 3 plasma blasters?”

  Draylan looked surprised to be asked but nodded. “I am. Very familiar.”

  “Good. You can handle the weapons with Dawlick and Hillyard if we need to engage before I return.”

  That generated a lot of mumbling around the room.

  Gaio said, “I wouldn’t trust him not to turn the weapons on us.”

  The admiral silenced him with a look.

  “Kira, I’m going to ask you to be responsible for determining everyone is back on board and then giving Finn clearance to jump. You can monitor our communications and follow schematics along with Gaio. If we need any help while we are on board, we’ll be able to communicate with you.”

  Kira nodded and looked quite pleased to be given a task.

  The admiral handed Bayliss and me a comms device, and then gave another to Toddo. “We are hooked up to a transmission sequence that’s synchronized. It will be cloaked and should provide us with a protected communication channel while we’re on board the prison ship.”

  Once she had finished assigning tasks, she turned to Valletta. “If for some reason, I don’t return, Valletta, you have control of the resistance cell and the Majestic Eagle.”

  Valletta nodded sadly.

  We spent the next several hours going over the schematic for the ship, making sure we all had the plan down. I was busy calculating an alternative escape route in case we weren’t able to retreat to the same jump position after we located the resistance fighters and freed them.

  So I wasn’t expecting Valletta to throw a transparent screen my way. It was large and heavy, and if it had connected, would have left an ugly bruise on my forehead.

  When I saw it from the corner of my eye, I only had a split second to react. Instead of ducking, I flung my arm outwards, using it as a wing to generate a shield. The aura flickered red. It wasn’t my best effort, but it deflected the heavy screen easily.

  I glared at the little man. “What did you do that for?”

  Valletta gave me a wry smile. “I’m glad you remember something from the training. Now take great care on this mission. You still have much to learn when you get back.”

  I watched him warily for the next ten minutes until we were called to take up positions on the jump deck.

  We stood in a circle: Bayliss, Toddo, the admiral, and me. My mouth was dry, and my pulse was racing. Using our right hands, we touched each other’s shoulders, so we were connected. The jump could be performed regardless, but the tighter the link between us, the easier it was to jump.

  Dizziness hit me quickly, as well as the whirling lights and the sense of weightlessness. But in the next instant, my feet connected with something solid.

  Chapter 24

  We were surrounded by darkness. I blinked, disorientated until the motion lights flickered on. Crates were stacked around us, and I was pleased to realize we had jumped to the planned corridor outside the storage room.

  “Everyone okay?” the admiral asked.

  We nodded in turn.

  “Good. Let’s go.” She moved to the door at the end of the corridor and quickly bypassed the security. The door slid open, and she paused, looking left and right before entering the next walkway.

  We were in the staff area of the prison ship. There was carpet beneath our feet and smooth walls decorated with wall art praising the Kingdoms.

  In silence, we followed the admiral as she led us towards the end of the staff area and the junction that separated the main part of the ship with the prison block.

  The two parts of the ship were linked by multiple corridors. We’d arrived at the center one. The admiral had been told this was the one the guards would race down if there were a prison breach.

  When she turned, I thought she was going to say Bayliss would stay here to raise the alarm if he saw guards rushing our way. But she surprised me.

  “I’ll stay here with Bayliss. You and Toddo go onto the prison block to free the prisoners. We meet back at the central point to perform the jump.”

  I felt a grudging respect for her. We were all in danger here, but Toddo and I would have a chance to escape far easier than they would. They’d be in the line of fire as soon as the alarm sounded, the first line of defense.

  I turned to Bayliss. “I’ll see you later.”

  He nodded. “Good luck. Bring her home, Tomas.”

  With a brisk nod, Toddo and I turned and headed through the hatch into the prison zone. The difference in the environment was dramatic. The air was colder, exposed cables ran along the walls, and our feet hit metal gridwork as we walked. There was no sleek design or carpets here; everything was practical and functional.

  I followed Toddo as he wound his way through the channels until we found the main entrance to Block 197. I tried to block out the noise, but it was impossible. We could hear wailing and screams echoing through this part of the ship.

  “Are you okay?” Toddo asked.

  I realized I was sweating. I ran my hands through my hair. “Yes, I’m just a bit worried I’m going to mess it up. Have you been on missions like this before?”

  Toddo shrugged. “A few. Don’t worry, Tomas. We’ll get her back.”

  Just as we were about to approach the entrance to block 197, we heard footsteps clanging against the metal gridwork.

  Toddo shot me a worried look but he needn’t have bothered. I was already racing back into the corridor. We pushed ourselves against the wall and hoped that whoever was approaching would walk on past. Silently we waited.

  Two men wearing Kingdom uniforms crossed along the front of the cellblock. Luckily for us, they kept looking straight ahead.

  When we were sure they couldn’t hear us and were far enough aw
ay, Toddo turned to me. “I don’t like that.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Those guards were not supposed to be here right now. They’re on a schedule, but something’s changed. The timing isn’t right.”

  A cold ball of dread sat heavily in my stomach. Had we been betrayed, or had something else happened out of the ordinary? For all we knew, something could have happened to the admiral and Bayliss.

  “What do you think that means? There’s no sign of the woman who was supposed to help us.”

  “She may have been compromised.”

  “We have to push on,” I said. “We can’t back out now.”

  Toddo hesitated but then nodded. “All right.”

  “We could wait by the entrance to the cell block? Maybe she’s just been delayed.”

  Toddo licked his lips nervously. “We could, but we’re very exposed there. She should be here by now. I don’t know what’s gone wrong.”

  “So you don’t think we should wait?”

  Toddo glanced at his wrist device. “No, we are already a few seconds behind schedule. Let’s get over to the entrance and then I’ll call the admiral. She can have the final say on whether we push on or wait for our helper.”

  I nodded, checked the coast was clear, and then jogged along to the entrance of block 197.

  At the entrance, there was a keypad beside the door with raised buttons. I was surprised there wasn’t a retinal scanner, or at least a fingerprint scanner.

  I waited while Toddo put in a call to the admiral. From what I could gather, she told him to push on because he nodded and told me to enter the code.

  I took a deep breath. Then I punched in the code I’d memorized: 459672. To my chagrin, the keypad flashed red, and the door didn’t open.

  I looked across at Toddo.

  “Did you use the right code?” he asked, frowning.

  I nodded. “I’m sure I did.”

  Toddo repeated the code to me, and I tried again. The same red flashing light appeared, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

  I hoped our incorrect attempts didn’t trigger an alarm.