It had been over a year since our first meeting with the Emperor and we had just finished refitting the new Raven to be our mobile headquarters. I was on board for one last visit to what had been our home. Today we would officially move into the Raven. I had decided to call it the “Nevermore” after an ancient poem. It seemed fitting, as I would never again see the universe and the Empire in the same way.
I looked around the Dark Talon knowing that this would be the last time I stood on her bridge. I would miss this little ship. “We should repair all the recording systems we disabled,” I said.
“Aye, we can work on that during the flight back to the Dragon Claw. It should not take long,” replied Luke.
I sighed. Even though we had all been living on the Nevermore for some time now, something about the fact that we would be launching the next day seemed to finalize the transition from the Dark Talon to the Nevermore. Over the last year so much had changed. When we came to this station we were all still Imperial soldiers at heart, doing the best we could to be the best Imperial soldiers we could be, and now we were leaving as the ruling council of a new nation. The move from the Dark Talon to the Nevermore seemed to symbolize that change in a way that was difficult for me to express.
I powered down the craft and made sure that everything was properly stowed one last time. Soon the robotic arms of the station would be loading this vessel into the launch bay of the Nevermore and she would not fly again until we rendezvoused with the Dragon Claw and her fleet. It would be good to return her to her family; there were still many Dark Knights left who wanted her back. I wondered what new impossible missions she would fly and if I would ever command her again.
“Vydor, just a reminder that you need to contact the fleet soon,” came Kellyn’s sweet voice in my head.
“Yes, you are right. I will go over now. Please meet me on the bridge,” I responded. I took one last look around, then left the Dark Talon and headed towards the lift that would take me to the Nevermore.
This ship was much larger the Dark Talon, and much more intimidating to behold. Its shiny, black saucer-like exterior with almost no external lights would normally make it hard to see in its native arena of interstellar space, but here in the brightly-lit station its lack of color made it stand out. Most of the other craft here were silver and had prominent accent colors and designs showing the pride of each crew. The bold statement made by the lack of color on our ship made it feel almost alien, as if it, and by implication we, did not really belong here.
As I passed the various men and woman working on the station they all tried not to look, but failed. I knew many tales had been spread about us, and there was an uneasy sense of fear in everyone around us. It did not help that most of the time we stayed in our ship studying the books that Mantis had provided, but in the end I do not think that mattered much. We were just freaks of nature to them, very powerful ones, but freaks nonetheless.
In a way I missed my old life, just being a normal officer with normal officer worries. These people who stopped and stared would never know the burden I carried as grandmaster wizard. They would never know what it was like to realize that one mistake could spell the death of millions in the war with the sorcerers. Indeed, the only one of the non-magi that could seem to understand was their Emperor, and he spent most of his time alone.
Even he could not truly understand my position. He warned me against having any close relationships at all, as they would hinder my judgment at a crucial point, but how could I do that when I was in constant contact with my six closest friends via a pure and unfiltered telepathic link? The bond we shared was more than any human could understand. We were wizards, those called out of society to protect it.
Any further philosophical thoughts would have to wait since I had finally reached the bridge of the Nevermore. Kellyn was there waiting for me and beamed a large smile as I entered. That helped to lessen the sadness of the lonely walk there. After a pleasant exchange of greetings we took our positions on the bridge. I sat in the captain’s chair, and as always she took the spot closest to it.
“Okay, Kellyn, I am ready.” I said.
Since we were docked in a secret location, all our communications had to be routed via the station’s systems. This meant that we had to schedule time in advance for any external communications. My position gave me more leeway than most with the times, but in the end we all had to work within the limitations of the system. Eventually the call was put through and the familiar face of the captain of the Dragon Claw appeared on the screen. I had not spoken directly to him since we left the fleet, so I was not sure what to expect from him.
“Hello, Captain,” I said. Because of all the encryption and routing being done there was a slight but noticeable delay in the conversation. It was annoying, but if you learned to take turns talking it was much less noticeable.
“Hi, Vydor. It has been too long since we last spoke.”
“Indeed it has. I hate to skip the pleasantries but we are limited in how long we can use this channel, so I will get right to the point. I know that you are presently heading to investigate a situation developing on the remote base Terathan XV. Based on all the reports that I have access to, it sounds very similar to the situation at Arken IV before we arrived there. We plan to rendezvous with your fleet and join you in this investigation. We should be ready to launch tomorrow, and based on your last reported position it should take us about a week to reach you.”
“A week? Then you have certainly upgraded your ship from the Dark Talon.”
“Yes, Captain, but do not worry. We will be bringing her along to return to the Dark Knights.”
“Very well, I will hold on here and send our exact location to you before you launch. It will be good to have you back for this. What route do you plan to take?”
Since jumps were dependent on missing large gravity wells, they had to be carefully routed well in advance. At one time every trip started with a group of experts poring over maps, trying to plot the best series of jumps to clear various sections of space. Over time that changed and a vast database of all known safe routes was built.
“Now, Captain, I have a full day yet to plan. What makes you think I have any idea yet what route I will take?” I said.
“You’re right, I should know better than to ask you about planning ahead,” he said with a chuckle. “You might want to avoid the Batialan route, as there are reports of an uprising at the prison colony there.”
The colony that he was referring to was a place where the absolute worst of society was kept and put into hard labor in the mines there. While this allowed many to escape the death sentence, life in such places was fairly grim. This meant that they felt they had nothing to lose, so every now and again they would try to rise up and take over the colony. The Empire always dealt with it in the same way; the military was called in and anyone who resisted them was killed. This meant the entire area would be under a tight lockdown, and any ship traveling through it would be delayed and probably searched. Since our ship was not Imperial property or lands, I could refuse such a search, but there was no avoiding the delays that would cause. It was best to take a different route.
“Thank you for that warning. I will definitely choose a different route.” After that we got the warning beep from the station telling us our time was almost up. They would not dare to interrupt one of my communications, but I learned long ago that cooperation with the system tended to get you more goodwill when the time came that you most needed it. “It seems our time is up. It will be good to be off this base and free from these limitations, but now I must go. Thank you, Captain, and we will see you in a week.” With that we both signed off.
“Kellyn, I am going to tour the ship one last time then go to dinner. Would you be available to join me in say, two hours?”
“I would love to. See you then.”
It was customary for a captain to tour the ship, visiting every section before any mission. I was not sure how one did that on a ship as large as the Dragon Claw, but on the Nevermore it was much more feasible.
The bridge was in the center of the ship, so I decided to take the lift to the topmost level to start my tour there. The top level was my favorite level. It contained our entertainment areas, a large, observational lounge and the ship’s mess hall. The observational lounge was a room of my own design. I had had them rip out almost all the walls on the floor and put in couches, recliners, and other comfortable seating. There were several food preparation areas scattered around the deck where anyone could make themselves a full meal or a light snack. The main feature of the room was the extensive view it had of the outside. The ceiling and walls were covered with high-resolution viewscreens that were tied to external cameras, so it gave the impression of standing under a glass ceiling looking at the night sky. In reality what was behind the viewscreens were many layers of extra-thick armor plating, but it was easy to forget that and believe you were out there in this room. Since we were inside a space dock, presently the screens were displaying a view from outside the station instead. So looking up I could see the blue-green ball that was the planet we orbited.
I briefly wondered what it was like to live on a planet, being stuck anchored to a star with scenery that never changes. I thought it must be lonely and claustrophobic to be trapped like that. I much preferred the openness of space and the constant change of travel.
Also on this level was the mostly unused fitness and exercise room. I knew it was important to have one, and my years of service in the Navy ingrained in me a need to use it regularly, but I seemed to be alone in this belief, and that made it too easy to fall out of the habit. Not only did I need to force myself to use the equipment more often, I knew I should encourage the others to use it too. A healthy body was important, even for a Magus.
From there I went down to the next level which contained our library and research areas. The library was filled with all the books that Mantis had given us, which was a lot more than should have been able to fit in the chest they came in. One of the things we had learned about him over the last year was that he enjoyed things that should not work, such as taking very large objects out of very small containers, or in this case a lot of books out of too small a box. Even with all these books, the library shelves were mostly empty. I had big dreams of amassing a great amount of knowledge to store there, and used most of that level for the library. Throughout the library I had a mix of little private reading nooks and large tables to accommodate group research. Most of our time lately had been spent in there studying all that we had, and trying out as much as we could.
Also on this level was the Crystal Room. This was a secure room with no physical doors, and no one other than Mantis and the seven of us had seen it since we had ordered the station’s workers to seal it off. The last they saw of the room, it was completely empty. They thought we were nuts for wasting that space. The room did not stay empty for long, thanks to some donations from Mantis.
Inside the room was a round table made of pure, polished amethyst surrounded by seven thrones. In the center of the table was a diamond sphere that we used to communicate with Mantis. The room was not only sealed physically, it was also sealed with the most powerful magic locks we could muster, and whenever we learned of better spells we upgraded them immediately. This was our official council chamber where we met to make rulings and plans. It was sealed off from the noise of life so that we could focus on the task at hand, and secured so that no one could monitor our discussions.
From there I went down to the next level, which contained the crew’s quarters. This level was mostly empty since the ship was designed to carry one hundred and fifty families, and there were only seven of us. With all this space to spread out, we ended up choosing seven rooms that were all in a cluster together. The rooms were all very similar. They each contained a sleeping section, a bathing section, and an area for eating and working. The ship had a larger room that was typically used for captain’s quarters, but I decided to make it into a guest suite for entertaining official dignitaries. Each of our rooms had a telepathic seal on it so that we each had a place to retreat to, a little bit of solitude to help balance the constant close contact that our powers caused between us. This was something the others insisted on, and I did not understand at first. They had spent most of their lives living with their minds in virtual glass houses, and I had only just begun to experience the openness of it all. For them these rooms were a lifelong dream, and for me it almost seemed like a step back to my previous life. Since it was so important to them, I did not fight them at all on it. Now that I had spent more time in that glass house with them, I was beginning to understand the need for these sanctuaries of peace.
Below that level was the central core of the ship. All the critical ship’s systems were here, including the bridge, central computer core, engine rooms, and medical wing. The medical wing was a bit superfluous for us, since Kellyn’s was far superior to any mundane medical treatment, but Darnath pointed out that someday Kellyn might get hurt and we might need it.
When the council was formed Mantis had said we would all need to learn all forms of magic, but that seemed to be impossible. Each of us knew the basics of all the powers, but could only excel in one or two areas. Any of us could heal basic wounds and sickness, but if it was serious only Kellyn could heal it. The same was true of Gafar’s ability to probe minds. When I questioned Mantis about it he just laughed, and never did answer. Mantis, for all his desire to help, was often a bit hard to make out.
The ship’s machine shop and fabrication rooms were on this level too. There we could make whatever parts or equipment we would need, assuming we had enough raw materials on hand. Everything on the ship was designed to be recyclable so that in a pinch we could rip out nonessential parts and reuse them to make repairs to crucial systems.
The next level was taken up entirely by the ship’s gardens. Here was the source of all of our food and oxygen. A large force of robotic workers maintained most of it, but Kellyn had staked out a plot of her own. It produced no food; she just wanted a place to grow some pretty flowers. Since most of what was grown we could never have begun to eat, giving a small plot to her was a luxury we could afford.
The lowest level on the Nevermore was mostly unused at this time. It was the area designated for teaching and training new wizards. Jerran was often down there practicing his spells. He had a real affinity for explosive and fire magic so he needed a safe place to work where he would not be in danger of destroying anything. In fact, it was during one of his practice sessions we learned just how much Kellyn’s healing power was growing.
Luke, who also had an affinity for elemental magic, often came down here to practice his art too, though his was more centered on electricity than fire.
Andreya had it much easier, as she could practice her powers anywhere. Andreya was undoubtedly the master of illusions, such that even the master wizards of Mantis’s realm were impressed by her skill. According to Mantis there were very few who could match her, and he knew only of one to exceed her, and that wizard was a member of their council!
Kellyn had a lot of opportunity to practice her healing arts during the refitting of the ship, as many workers throughout the station learned to come to her first for treatment of any serious injury. Her skill grew at a phenomenal rate. At one point I personally witnessed her cause a man to grow a new arm that he had lost in a blaster misfire many years before. After a while, we had to set specific hours during which people could come to her for treatment, just to prevent her from getting overworked. The station workers might have feared us, but they were sure to miss her.
Darnath also would come down here to practice his art. We were a little surprised that Darnath turned out to be the one to have an affinity for summoning magic. He could call forth all kinds of creatures to help us in our tasks.
The shuttle bays were on this level, and soon the Dark Talon would be parked in one of them. The Nevermore was too massive to be practical for use in reaching the surface of a planet, so I requested several small ships similar to the Dark Talon to be used for that purpose and for other times when we needed small vessels. The Emperor gave us three such craft, which was less than I wanted, but more than I expected so I guess it worked out for the best.
That completed my tour of the ship so I headed for the mess hall to meet Kellyn. She naturally knew when I was coming, so the fact that I was thirty minutes late was not an issue. As I arrived she was just finishing laying out a nice steak dinner. I smiled as I saw her; she was stunning with her long, dark hair and slender build.
Somewhere along the line we gave up any hope of hiding our growing relationship. At first we both tried to deny it, even to each other, but none of the others believed us. Why should they have? After all, we all had basic telepathic powers.
Because of the pace of life - her clinic, the work necessary to get this ship ready, and the intense study - we had not had a lot of time to spend together over the last year, but we made it a point to meet for dinner like this as often as possible. The others always seemed to find something else to do when we met up, for which we were grateful. Of course, the only time we were truly alone was when we visited each other’s quarters. This was a special dinner, though, and I did everything I could to make sure she did not guess it. That was not easy considering how deeply she knew me, but I believed I had been successful.
Our conversation at first was very casual and wandered around from topic to topic. Then she mentioned how nice it would be for me to see my old shipmates on the Dragon Claw again. That was the opening I was looking for. “That will be nice, especially to see the captain again,” I said.
I paused and reached into my pocket and pulled out a small box. She gasped when she saw it. Before she could say anything, I opened it and showed her a diamond ring. “Kellyn, would you accept me as your husband?”
She broke down in tears; I was not expecting that reaction. Unsure what to do next, I just sat there. Then, speechless, she held out her hand and nodded. I placed the ring on her finger and said, “I would like the captain to marry us when we meet up with the fleet.”
She could not get any words out but the emotions overwhelming our connection were clear, a mixture of shock, joy and love. When she could finally talk she said, “And all this time I thought I could predict your every move!”
After we had talked for some time, Andreya finally lost her patience and barged into the room to congratulate us. Kellyn asked her to be her maid of honor, and Andreya let her know that there was no way she would let Kellyn even think of giving that position to anyone else. From then on all the excited talk was about where and how to have the wedding. Andreya suggested that she should do all the decorations, and Kellyn said she wanted to hold it down in the gardens. After a while I left them to work out the plans. I knew that a man’s place in such affairs was just to smile and nod, so I left to get out of the way.
I headed to the library to read, and was met by Darnath, Gafar and Luke in the lift. After their playful kidding around Gafar spoke up and said, “Okay, Vydor, how did you keep that hidden?” Gafar, being a master telepath was a bit put out by the fact even he had not known.
“Easy, I am the grandmaster wizard, remember?” I said.
“No, seriously. I never even saw you buy the ring. You must let me in on your secret.”
I smiled an evil smile and tried to come up with my best Mantis impression, “That’s simple, because you did not know to look.”
“I guess a bachelor party is out of the question,” commented Luke.
“Yes, I think that would be a horrible idea,” I said as quickly as I could, which brought on more kidding from them about me being henpecked already, until we all heard Kellyn remark how terrible it would be if she just let us suffer the next time we got sick.
Once I finally got away from the jokers, I was able to get to the library to study. The first thing I wanted to do was resync the ship’s database with the station’s database so that we would have the most accurate information possible before we left the next day. That would take several hours, and probably generate a few complaints from the station administrators, but since I would be gone tomorrow I was not too worried about their wrath.
While that worked I started digging through what we already had. I wanted to see if there were any legends or myths that could explain the dark specter. Tomorrow would be the first time we reentered jump space in over a year, and I was not looking forward to another contest with him. In fact, I was worried about it. Sooner or later I knew he would win, the question was when. He seemed so much closer and more powerful the last time I saw him than ever before.
While I searched I felt Kellyn’s familiar touch as she ran her fingers through my hair. She wanted me to grow it out now that we were free from the Imperial requirement of short hair, and I was glad to oblige. “Vydor, you are scared. I can tell.”
“Yes, I cannot hide that from you. Tomorrow we will face him again.”
“I will be with you, and we are much greater than the last time we fought him. We have both grown considerably in power; he does not stand a chance. With your awesome might and my healing, how could he win? You are no longer a helpless mortal; you are the grandmaster of wizards!”
“You are right, of course, thank you. But there is something else I need to tell you, something you should know before we get married.” As I said that I pictured my father on his deathbed, and his father before him, and so on.
To my surprise she just smiled and said, “Oh, Vydor, I know about all that. The reason medical science cannot cure it is because it is not a physical illness.”
“What do you mean?”
“The dark specter that chases you is the cause of it. It is a dark curse on your family line going back more generations than I can imagine. When we beat the dark specter, that will be the end of the disease too, and until then I can keep you healthy. Now, I am off to bed. I hope to get an early start and make one last pass through the hospital before we leave,” she said, then gave me a kiss and left.
If I was the grandmaster wizard, why did I feel like a child playing at being god? I shut off the terminal and headed for bed. I would need my energy for the next day, that was certain.