Fleet of the Mage Read online

  The second government group was flamboyantly dressed. Looking very similar to the inhabitants of Arkken in height and coloring, these bidders wore silks in blinding colors. Wide sashes were fastened around their waists, and curved daggers hung from the sashes. This group was very aggressive both in its bidding and its preservation of space on the bidding floor. They had also exhibited behavior as a group that set off Ruth’s intuitive uneasiness.

  The vague feelings crystalized when the Mage saw the reaction of the group to Jenna, as the bodyguard walked over to check on one of the Marines providing security for the room. The mingled shock and distaste that was evident on their faces in the way that they edged away from the bodyguard told Ruth that they would be a challenge to work with.

  Ruth could feel Pawlik’s curiosity across their bond. His interest seemed to be focused on why this particular group was at their auction. She had no answer for him, but she definitely shared the curiosity. The mage made a mental note to find out more about where this particular group came from and the source of the attitude and posturing that she noticed.

  The final group bidding on the Spectre was a consortium of Rim System traders. Pawlik believed that these traders were looking for a slightly reconfigured use of the spacecraft. Out in the rim, there were fewer passengers and more cargo. This bidding group had arrived by fast courier so that they could bid on the ship. Ruth had seen him in discussions with the group but had not had time to catch up with what he had found out.

  The three groups were very strategic in their bids. It was obvious that the two governments had deeper funding but that the consortium of traders was highly motivated. The bidding dragged on with each of the groups trying to play a delaying game.

  Ruth decided that the winning bidder was going to be the one that made the fewest mistakes on timing and positioning. It turned out she was right. The winning bidder was a grim-faced master trader in eye-blinding orange silks. He timed his bid and raise to be just enough disconcerting that the other groups did not respond in time. His set face did not change when he was awarded the bid, although the three people with him relaxed enough to exchange pleased smiles.

  That left only two ships to auction off. The next one up was a twin to the high-priority cargo hauler that had been sold to Master Trader Perley. While Pawlik was busy talking to another group that looked vaguely military, Ruth watched the bidding. At this point, only two groups were in contention. Both of them were very secretive, going as far as not speaking to anyone but the auditors, except when bidding.

  The auction for this trip was hotly contested. Both groups appeared to have substantial funds and were willing to use those funds to acquire the ship. Ruth changed her mind several times on which group was going to eventually win. The advantage seemed to go back and forth, with first one group and then the other seeming to be more assertive.

  The mage could tell that she was getting tired. She was tired of the bidding, tired of all the people. She found her mind wandering, making up stories about what these two groups did for a living. She was in the middle of a complex fantasy about covert smuggling rings when she realized that the bidding was over.

  Warm hands on the back of her shoulders told her that Pawlik had stepped close to her and could detect her exhaustion. She could feel his concern over their bond and sent a wave of reassurance back to them. Just for a moment, she allowed herself the luxury of leaning back against his chest. The physical contact reenergized her and calmed her down at the same time.

  Positioning his mouth close to her ear, Pawlik whispered, “Smugglers? I can only pick up pieces of that, but it sounded like a very entertaining tale.”

  “Thanks. It was either that or turn everybody into purple toads. If I were a child, I would be whining and demanding to go home.”

  Pawlik added, seriously, “I do wonder if they are smugglers. That spacecraft would be ideal for someone with the lucrative smuggling business.”

  “I wonder also, but I know that it’s really none of our business.”

  Ruth felt more than saw Pawlik’s nod of agreement.

  << <> >>

  There had been a short break before the auction reconvened to dispose of the last ship. Ruth could tell that everybody was wearing out. The stress of the complex arrangements and having to be pleasant to everyone was raising the overall tension of the group and making the Borachlanders all slightly irritable.

  The mage kept telling herself that she just had to get through one more sale, then a few more meetings and after that, she could go home. She thought longingly of the fireplace in their sitting room and being able to get into more comfortable clothes. Laughing to herself, Ruth remembered the same exact situation occurring on Earth after a full day of meetings. The underlying feeling of “I can’t take any more of these people” was just as prevalent now as it had been then.

  Giving herself a shake to recall her wandering attention, Ruth focused on the last auction of the day. The ship that was being sold last was one that she had worried about selling. Agonizing over whether they were going to end up with a pirate attempting to buy the ship, Ruth had seriously considered pulling it out of the auction.

  The Traklow-class Explorer craft carried the name of Stinging Wasp. For its size, it was highly armed and was the ship most capable of landing in diverse environments of any of the ones that have been offered today. According to Harril, Pawlik’s seneschal, it was unheard of for this class of ship to come on the market. Normally, the ships were only built to order and were never resold.

  The ship included two pinnaces and two light cutters, as well as extremely capable communications equipment. When Ruth and Pawlik had talked about the ship before, Pawlik had reassured Ruth that it would not fall into lawless hands. She was depending on him to make sure that her worry did not become a reality.

  Once again two groups were bidding on the ship. Both of the groups had the posture and assurance that seem to label them as military. Their upright posture and forthright manner contributed to that appearance, but Ruth was keying more on their general air of competency and the fact that each member of the groups wore an emblem on what looked like utility uniforms.

  The auction bidding for this ship was totally different than the previous one. Rather than strategic delays and strange bid jumps, the responses of the bidders were straightforward and efficient. In less than five minutes, this last ship had been sold. Once again, the price was higher than Ruth had expected, much higher.

  The mage saw the losing group approached Pawlik. Alert for trouble, Ruth was reassured when Pawlik spoke previous briefly with the men and clasped the forearms of the leader of the group before nodding farewell. Since her mate was still smiling, Ruth relaxed just a little bit more.

  Pawlik had started across the room back toward Ruth when he was intercepted by the winning bidder group. Smiling even more broadly, Pawlik gestured for them to accompany him back to Ruth. Plastering a smile on her face, once more, Ruth thought, Once more onto the breach!

  “Ruth, I’d like to introduce you to another old classmate of mine. This is Corel. He and I were at the Academy together for several years and even served on the same training ship. Corel, I would like to introduce you to my Lady Mage and made, the Archmage Ruth.”

  Ruth nodded her head in greeting while examining the man in front of her carefully. She liked what she saw. The man was a few inches shorter than Pawlik but carried himself in the same controlled and upright posture. He had a strong face and an open smile, with smile lines radiating out from the corners of his eyes and mouth. His handshake was firm without being overpowering, and he met her eyes confidently.

  “I’m very pleased to meet you, Lady Mage. Not only am I happy that Pawlik has finally found someone that he wanted to be with, but the two of you have allowed my mercenary company to acquire a ship that could not be more perfect for what we do.”

  “Then it is going to the right owner,” answered the Mage.

  One of the other men interjected, saying, �
�And it even has medical facilities. That’s one thing that all of our present transport has lacked, and that will make a big difference in troop recovery.”

  Switching her attention back to Corel, Ruth asked, “What sort of assignments do you normally take? And are you currently engaged in one?”

  “We have just completed an extended engagement off-planet. We had planned on a little bit of downtime anyway, but it now works out to be a perfect time to train with new equipment. We are also going to be needing to hire or train personnel to take advantage of some of the capabilities that the Wasp has.”

  The third man in the mercenary group, a grizzled older man, said, “Lady Mage, my name is Hirok, and I am the armor and logistics person for our organization. I understand that we purchased the ship minus the current armaments and missiles, and we will offload those as you desire. However, I understand that there may be an option for further arrangements that would allow us to retain the Wasp’s sting, so to speak.”

  Pawlik laughed out loud. Turning toward Corel, the Lord of Borachland exclaimed, “I should have known that you would talk to Gwillam!”

  Corel smiled as he answered, “Of course, you should have known. Considering that all three of us were thick as thieves through the whole Academy, you cannot imagine that we’ve lost that relationship. He may be retired space Navy, and you are the stubborn noble, but us mercenaries have to really work at gaining any advantage we can.”

  The byplay was amusing, but Ruth had been looking at Hirok’s face and thinking. Turning to her mate, the Mage suggested, “I think that a meeting that includes your two friends and the Peregrine Rovers would be a good idea. Do you agree?”

  Pawlik’s blinding smile was her answer.

  Chapter 15 – After Effects

  Planet – Borachland Hot Barrens

  The Guild was present in full formal array. Although not required to be present at sales of this magnitude, it was a sign of professionalism and competence that Ruth and Pawlik’s team had requested auditor verification of both purchase and sale. It was one way to ensure that all the requirements of taxation were followed. Responding to the Borachland request, the Guild had sent a senior auditor and two juniors to record the sales and purchases. They were kept busy with verification and addressing questions from the bidders.

  Ruth certainly didn’t want to get on the wrong side of more political messes than she had to, although she had a strange wave of shadowed discomfort when that thought passed through her mind. Politics was becoming an uncomfortable area for her. She just hoped that the chill that said goosebumps down her arms and prickled the hair on the back of her neck it was not foresight.

  All of the financial transactions have been completed. The new owners had possession of the ships and were carefully removing them from the landing field with a mixed bag of the crew members that they had brought with them and some “borrowed” from Pawlik.

  Getting supplementary staffing arranged to assist in the removal of the ships had been a fairly extensive effort for Pawlik and the seneschal. Ruth had slowly moved away from the working group, choosing instead to seat herself on one of the chairs against the side of the wall. Jenna, eyes constantly moving, was the Mage’s bodyguard at the moment. Hyper-alert and on edge from the mass of people, Jenna at first didn’t show any recognition of the man who approached her.

  He was a powerfully built man, both taller than Jenna and looking supremely fit. A few small scars on his face gave him a very dangerous look, one that Ruth instantly classified as attractive to many women.

  Although he had glanced quickly at Ruth and dismissed her, the Mage was sure that he was aware of everyone around him. She could almost see the energy radiating off his skin as he maintained his situational awareness. Locked onto Jenna as his objective, he moved determinedly forward. Other people unconsciously moved out of his way, reminding Ruth of the approach of a stalking cat where the gazelles fled in instinctive avoidance.

  “Jenna! What are you doing here?” The man’s voice was the baritone rasp of compressed energy. It sounded like he had spent many hours yelling over loud noises, like weapons fire or engines. It did nothing to detract from his appearance or appeal. Wisely stopping about 15 feet away from the bodyguard, he continued, “Of all the people that I expected to see today, I would not have come up with your name anywhere on that list.”

  As the man had started to get closer, Jenna had tensed up. When he started to speak, her eyes had flown to his face, and she looked a little startled. It had not prevented her from drawing her weapon, however. Even the fact that she apparently knew him was not enough to make Jenna forget that she was on the job. However, processing what he said and noting his stop outside of an encroachment area, Jenna relaxed and responded.

  “David Bruce, as I live and breathe. What has gotten your disreputable body into this august meeting of fancy bidders? Talk about unexpected faces!”

  “I’m part of a group that’s looking for a ship to use for a new exploration group. But I’m really afraid that your ships are going to be both too expensive and too suited for cargo hauling.”

  “Explorer group? I thought you were talking about joining up with a mercenary group. What happened?”

  “It’s a long story, but first-in scouting is what we do best, and a bunch of us want to keep doing that. It’s hard to find anybody who’s been in place to do that and were all tired of not being appreciated. Or even well-funded.”

  “Sounds like we really need to sit down to catch up. Maybe sometime over the next week or so.”

  “That would be great. Let me know the next time you’re in the capital. We can always meet at the Force X Bar.”

  Nodding briefly to the Mage, and smiling at Jenna, David turned lightly on his feet and strode back the way he’d come. Once again, his path seemed to miraculously clear, as people scattered right and left from the sheer force of his personality. He returned to a group of four men who had obviously been waiting for him. Both Jenna and the Mage could hear clearly the combination of ribald comments about Jenna’s attractiveness and inquiries on what he had found out. Although his replies were low-toned enough to not be discernible, the interested glances that were thrown toward the two women indicated that his information was well received.

  Ruth tilted her head toward Jenna and asked in a low voice, “Old friend?”

  Jenna’s reply was, “Old lover and the best first-in scout I ever knew.”

  “Interesting.”

  The logistics work continued as more supplementary crew was summoned from the capital. Margot was acting as the coordinator for Pawlik and the seneschal, leveraging the Force X Bar as a rallying point and communications hub. At one break in the conversations and activity, Margot collected Pawlik and Ruth with a glance and a subtle motion of her hand.

  Standing together and with a pleasant expression pinned to her face, Ruth asked, “Problems or opportunities?”

  Margot replied that it could be both. The Force X Bar owner had passed on some information and some requests. Activity in the capital city had continued to become more strange. The newly appointed goon squad had been very active in both trying to sweep up people and in attempting to cause the bar and its owner trouble. So far, they had not succeeded in really causing any immaterial or material harm. But the bartender thought that it was just a matter of time.

  Another problem was the large number of people that were looking for work. Swelling the substantial unemployment rate in the large city, these were the personnel that had been abruptly put out of a job by the decommissioning of the Arkken Space Navy. Although Pawlik and Ruth had offered to hire as many of the Marines as they possibly could, neither of them had put any thought into the fact that there was going to be an entire support structure dumped without the means to feed their families.

  Ruth looked at Pawlik with a very upset expression on her face. “That many people out of work will trash the economy. The disruptive influence is very serious and will gather momentum quickly. What was t
he council thinking when they slapped together this stupid strategy?!”

  “I do not think that they considered anything but their own agenda. The council members are going to figure out quickly that without the Navy to call on, they do not have a reliable regime force either.”

  “Pawlik, this is going to be very bad. I think we had better sit down and do some major planning.”

  When her mate responded, Ruth had to strain to hear his voice. Grief and concern had dropped the volume low, and he had his eyes closed in pain. “The civil structure will collapse, and brutality and lawlessness will be on the rise. I hope that it will not be as bad as I think, but this frightens me. It echoes with the history of our planet and the darkness from which we emerged only a few hundred years ago.”

  <<<>>>

  The pain and distress that Ruth had heard in Pawlik’s voice matched what she could feel through their bond. Shrugging off her exhaustion, Ruth pulled her key people out of the room into the smaller room where she had had some of her other meetings. She intended to give them a high-level briefing and to see if there was anything that they could put into place now to alleviate some portion of possible damage before more detailed planning could be done.

  There were only nine of them in the room when Ruth began to speak. The seneschal was there, accompanied by Mary. Jenna and Margot were present representing the inner keep. The head of the port protection detail, Major Doray Calandral, was also there representing the spaceport. Ruth had also invited both Master Trader Wentworth and Perley under a promise of confidentiality.

  Ruth was in full Archmage mode when she started the meeting. The room was closed in regards in the outside of the doorway. She stood up in the front of the room and began to speak.

  “We have been informed by several sources that the situation in the capital city is becoming worse. With the abrupt disbanding of the Arkken Space Navy, the Council may have moved their own individual agendas forward, but they have caused a significant problem in the general economy of both the city and the planet.