Fleet of the Mage Read online

  Mary and Ruth had finished eating when a quiet throat clearing claimed their attention. Standing a few feet away from them were the young men that they had spoken to once before. The one clearing his throat for their attention was Sam, the erstwhile leader.

  The boys were part of the space gypsy clan, the Peregrine Group. When they had spoken last, Ruth had promised that she would consider a venture that included them if they came to her with a plan, a reasonable one. Pleased that they had shown up, she settled down a little bit and smiled in welcome. Gesturing toward the seats at the table, she invited the young man and their older companion to sit down.

  “How may help you gentlemen?” she asked.

  “Greetings, Lady Mage,” said Sam. He swallowed nervously, looking around to his companions for support, “I have the plan that you asked for and was hoping that there was still an opportunity for us.”

  Before Ruth could respond, the older gentleman interrupted. Directing a frown of dislike at Sam, he gruffly announced, “I am the boy’s uncle, Franklin Marlex. These boys, barely more than children, have no right to negotiate on behalf of the Peregrine Group. Additionally, I don’t know what sort of scam you may be running, but any attempt to cheat them will bring the full fury of our clan down on you.”

  Ruth's face froze into stone, and she responded to the intemperate speech calmly, “Any arrangement that I might have with Sam and his friends is limited to his group and us. It has no bearing whatsoever on the Peregrine Group as a whole nor has anyone from your group approached us about any of the activities that we are doing.”

  “They should not be attempting anything like this!”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong, Franklin, but Sam and his friends are considered adults in this world. Is that correct?”

  “Yes but…”

  “Then I believe you are not part of this conversation unless Sam informs me differently. Other than that, due to your rudeness and condescending attitude, your presence is not welcome.”

  Taken aback by Ruth’s blunt dismissal, Franklin put his hand up as if to grab Ruth by the shoulder. Instead of connecting with Ruth, the angry man found his hands encased in a moist and sharp-pointed grip. Before he could do anything but draw a deep breath, the catog became visible. Its predatory glare transfixed the man, who began to tremble uncontrollably. An acrid smell betrayed his loss of bladder control and his deep fear.

  When his uncle moved aggressively to grab the Mage’s shoulder, Sam had unconsciously moved into a protective position in front of Ruth. The onrushing bodyguard and Mary both threw him an approving glance before Mary stepped beside him, her back toward Ruth as the bodyguard seized the back of Franklin’s neck.

  Suddenly, Pawlik was there. Looking furious and dangerous, his gaze seemed to burn into their trembling captive. With the same tone that he would have used to describe the removal of garbage, Lord Pawlik commanded the bodyguard to place the man under arrest and to remove him to confinement. When Sam would have spoken, Pawlik raised a hand to cut him off in midsentence.

  The Lord of Borachland stepped next to his mate, moving smoothly with the stance of someone long trained in the martial arts. Touching her softly on the face, he looked into her eyes, and she could feel his touch through their bond. Ruth smiled gently at him in reassurance. She had not been frightened, she been angry. The communication was without words but full of the rapid exchange of query and assurance, a loving reinforcement of care.

  A widening pool of silence alerted both the Mage and anchor to an unexpected situation. Keeping one hand on Ruth’s back, Pawlik turned to look at their crowd of visitors. The audience was not staring at them. Instead, they were staring in horrified apprehension at the catog that was still holding Franklin’s hand in its mouth. The bodyguard was looking a little conflicted because he was afraid to pull the man away from the catog for fear that he would be dealing with an amputated wrist if he did so.

  It was a frozen tableau, with no one moving and everyone staring. Ruth’s sudden peal of laughter startled the audience and drew their eyes from the unknown creature in their midst. The mage addressed the catog, “Hunter, could you please let the poor man’s hand loose? I want him out of my presence, and he definitely needs to be hosed down.”

  Ruth felt approval radiating from the catog in a rapid image of a small kitten being licked and purred to. Glancing sideways at Pawlik, Ruth murmured, “I think I’ve just been issued a ‘good kitten’ commendation.”

  His chuckle was her reward.

  As the catog released the captive’s wrist, the man would have fallen except for the firm grip of the bodyguard on his back. Hauled off in silent disbelief and total shock, the older man went without a sound. The remainder of the traders cleared space for him as he was removed from the room, avoiding any appearance of contact as if the man had a contagious disease.

  The silence of the room was broken as soon as Franklin had been removed by a fascinated voice asking, “What is it? Is it sentiment? Where on earth did you find it?”

  The questioner was Master Trader Quinn. The older gentleman didn’t appear to be frightened, just avidly interested. His voice trailed to a halt when the catog turned and stared at him deliberately. To his bemusement, the cat deliberately and slowly winked his right eye before disappearing. There was a furor in the room as people began to talk excitedly to each other. Ruth’s amusement was plain on her face when she turned to Mary and said, “I may be the first mage in five millennia, but I’ve just been upstaged by a hair-shedding clawed wonder.” Mary grinned her agreement before gently directing Ruth back to the young men.

  Sam and his friends were watching as another of their party finished speaking to someone through a communicator. All of them looked very determined and rather grim. Ruth knew better than to reassure them that there would be no trouble. This type of complex family situation, coupled with the complexity around the spaceships, created a volatile situation. Respecting their right to address it their own way, the Mage waited for them to tell her about it.

  Sam’s low-toned discussion with the rest of his group came to an end, and he visibly drew himself straight and took a deep breath before turning back to Ruth. He offered a chip for the data reader, saying, “Here is our plan, Lady Mage. It identifies what we would like to do, our staffing, or we how we would get the staffing, and some of the thoughts about ongoing revenue generation and how we can split that up. We could not give you as much as we wanted to because we need to be able to have an operating cushion. Coming back to you for ongoing funds too often is not a good idea. We want to be a partner, not a drain.”

  His tumbled rush of words and the slight tremor in the hand that held the chip were the only indications of Sam’s nervousness. Ruth was impressed. Allowing him to regain his own control, she took the chip without further commentary and inserted it into her data reader. Glancing along the plan quickly she found herself raising an eyebrow at a couple of the items. However, the surprise was not at the emergence of a problem but rather in appreciation of the imaginative solution that they had come up to with to handle some of the potential problems.

  Overall, she was pleased and surprised. The mage handed her data reader to Pawlik so that he could also glance at the information. It took him just a moment to scan it and give her his nod of approval. With that concurrence, Ruth was satisfied and once again addressed the young man. “How are you going to handle your family issues now?”

  Sam replied for them all, “We have already taken care to register a complaint against our uncle, Franklin, with the clan council. His behavior violates standards that are set up to avoid the collision of dueling clan factions.”

  The mage replied, “That is fine, but there’s going to be bad blood over this, you know.”

  “We know, Lady Mage, and have already notified the people that are interested in acting as crew to grab their belongings and ours. We will update them with a place to meet as is appropriate. If I have been premature, please let me know, and I will abort the ord
er.”

  “No, you are totally correct. I’m looking forward to our endeavor, and you will find that your copy of the contract has been transmitted to you for your approval. However, without a formal name for your group, we had problems generating the paperwork. As an interim title, which you are free to adopt, of course, we have called you the Peregrine Rovers.”

  Smiles appeared on all five of the young men’s faces. Once again Sam was their voice, stating, “That is perfect. So we are the Peregrine Rovers.”

  “I think we need to celebrate that later today, with drinks. Although, I think you probably want this in the meantime.” The mage handed an archaic-looking carved box to Sam as Pawlik congratulated him.

  Sam simply stood and stared at the box in his hands as if he couldn’t believe that he was holding it. Finally his second in command, his cousin Derek, poked him hard with an elbow. “Well, don’t just stand there, you idiot, open it!”

  Sam was shaking so hard that he was having problems opening the box, so Derek helped raise the lid. In the box was the master activating key for a spaceship. Something that was almost never seen separately from the ship itself. It belonged to the absolute master of a spacecraft and was usually never pulled out of the ship after its commissioning.

  All five of the young men stood in amazed silence, staring at the key to their new life. One of the Marines standing close to them laid a surprisingly gentle hand on Sam’s shoulder, saying, “How about if you guys come with me? I would be honored to take you to your new ship.”

  Amid shocked amazement and burgeoning joy, the five young men followed the Marine toward the door. The trailing youth, Rambad, suddenly stopped, turned around, and ran back to Ruth. In a loud whisper, he asked, “Which one did we get?”

  Ruth’s response startled him into a loud yell of triumph, “Yes!!” Taking off at full speed, the young man caught up with the rest of his party and started talking excitedly. Just before the door closed on them, Ruth and Pawlik saw the beginning of some sort of bizarre leaping dance as the Rambad told his cousins and friend just what ship they had gotten. Even through the closed door, those in the room could hear shouts of celebration and delirious happiness.

  Chapter 12 – Positioning

  Planet – Borachland Hot Barrens

  The room was abuzz with speculation and discussion. No one bothered Pawlik or Ruth, but all the rest of the Borachland Castle party was fair game. People even tried to corner Mary and talk with her. Of course, her avoidance of speech was well known, so if the people questioning her started applying too much pressure one of the attendant Marines or castle staff would quickly intervene.

  The buzzing in the room and the rapid movement of people from group to group reminded Ruth of nothing more than a large swarm of bees. All of them capable of stinging, all of them busy, busy, busy. She’d started out quite amused, but the ongoing noise and maneuvering were starting to fray her nerves just a little bit.

  Pawlik could feel her stress along their bond. Putting a gentle hand under her elbow, he quietly and stealthily maneuvered her toward the door. It was a side door, one that was partially concealed by curtains that draped sections of the wall. Unnoticed and unremarked, the two slipped through the door, closing it in relief. The cessation of noise and the abrupt cutoff of the swirling impact of people all trying to maneuver was a major relief for Ruth.

  Sensitive to Ruth’s moods, Pawlik wrapped his arms around her, holding her as her body started to relax. Too many people, too much effort for all of this. His mage was drained, but he knew what to do for that. Pawlik pulled energy from the comforting harmonics of his homeland. Pushing the power gently into Ruth via a mechanism that he only dimly understood, Pawlik could feel her energy levels rising and her exhaustion starting to dissipate. As she regained her balance, the tension in the back of his neck started to relax also. <> he thought. <>

  <<<>>>

  The captains of the ships that had been brought to land on the Borachland spaceport met with Pawlik, Ruth, and Mary. The interested buyers had been left in the dining chamber to eat and hammer out last-minute deals. Busy eating, drinking, and trying to make new alliances, the groups were also evaluating possible competitors and trying to understand what would be acceptable to Pawlik.

  It was interesting to Ruth and Mary that despite the avowed equality of genders in Arkken society, that no one had bothered to consider Ruth to have any major role in the discussion. While the Mage was quite pleased to be underestimated, was a sore spot in both of the two women’s minds. The blindness that the society had toward the value of its women and their role in society was something that could either be a danger or something to exploit, depending on the viewpoints and approach. Ruth mentally filed this subject away under a category of “consider for later.”

  The discussion with the captains was going well. Most of them were ex-merchants that were more interested in getting back to their home planet than they were with establishing a new venture with the Mage and anchor. Only one of them, an old, grizzled military turned merchant officer seem to have any regrets about the disposal of the ships.

  This one captain, a slender, fragile-looking being from a low gravity planet, showed his sadness in his posture and the drooping of the multicolored feathers that formed a ruff around his neck. One of a race of arboreal mammals, called Borens, Captain Tchek, did not join in the relative celebration. He had the only non-cheerful face in the group, as the rest of the captains traded relaxed banter and discussed projected plans.

  Ruth formally thanked the captains for their assistance and turn the meeting over to Pawlik who was more of a known quantity to the captains and therefore easier to deal with. She sat there quietly, watching each of the speakers in turn. As Pawlik called the meeting to a close and released the captains to well-earned rest and relaxation, Ruth spoke up, “Capt. Tchek, could you stay behind for a moment and speak with me?”

  “Of course, Lady Mage,” came the immediate reply.

  The room cleared quickly, no one wanting to stay around to find out why the Mage needed to talk to one of their group. Although quizzical or sympathetic looks were directed at Captain Tchek as his peers filed out of the room, no one offered any advice. Tchek appeared slightly puzzled, although not concerned about the request to remain.

  The door closed on the last of the departing captains, and Ruth started the conversation.

  “Captain, I can see that you’re not totally pleased with the sale of the ship that you had been commanding. Could you please tell me your thoughts on this?”

  “I would’ve preferred to retain command of my ship, Lady Mage. I think that my crew and I would have stayed together and provided a viable trading partner for you and Lord Pawlik.”

  “How would you have organized it?”

  “Equal shares, if possible. Our ships purser worked out a financial plan and sent it into the seneschal, but we got no response on it. I guess that means that it wasn’t acceptable.”

  “That isn’t exactly true, captain. In fact, your plan was extremely well thought out and articulate. All of our analysis showed that it was realistic and showed good experience.”

  The man straightened in surprise, the feathers of his neck fluffing up with the strength of his emotional reaction. Tilting his head sideways, he stared at the Mage and asked, “Then why was it not accepted?”

  Ruth smiled, and asked him a different question, “Have you checked your incoming message queue?”

  Fumbling his tablet out of his carryall in haste, the captain glanced at his message queue and drew in a sharp breath. Tapping a quick finger on the message from the Mage to open it, Tchek read it swiftly and then read it again.

  The face that he turned up to the Mage was filled with animation now. The expression was much different than what it had been during the meeting. Ruth could see the drive in the man, his desire to
do and achieve. She realized now that he had been buried under crushing disappointment, even though he had maintained a professional manner. But now was a different story.

  His eyes were filled with joy, his face was animated. He smiled at Ruth and immediately marked the contract as accepted. Ruth’s own communicator pinged in response, and she saw that the contract was now registered as formally issued and accepted. Nodding at Pawlik, she smiled in satisfaction.

  Pawlik reached his hand across the table to the captain of their newest trading ship and said, “Welcome aboard Captain. I’m sure that this partnership will be immensely successful for both of us.”

  Shaking Pawlik’s hand before distractedly leaving the room, Ruth could see Captain Tchek talking urgently into his communicator as he half ran down the hall. Ruth smiled and thought, <>

  <<<>>>

  While the majority of the people were eating at a buffet that it set been set up in the major chamber for them, Ruth, Mary, Pawlik, and the rest of their party had chosen to eat separately. Ruth thought it was important for them to have some time apart, to reset and share what they had learned during the early part of the day. All of them knew that a chance to take a break from the intense scrutiny would be helpful in surviving the rest of the negotiations.

  Chapter 13 – Dickering

  Planet – Borachland Hot Barrens

  It seemed like just a few moments before was time to rejoin the main group. Taking a position in the front of the room and upon a slightly raised platform, Ruth and Pawlik easily caught everyone’s attention. The mage had decided to open the talk. With the negotiations just starting, she wanted to make sure that everybody had a clear head. That clarity would prove important to their solutions at the end of the day.

  “I want to make sure that we are all on the same page when it comes to the strategies that we want to employ,” began the Mage. “What Pawlik and I discussed was a plan to sell some of the ships outright. If the offers are not in line with our expectations, we will hold an auction for one or two of them. We also planned to create a couple of collaboration endeavors where we retain ownership of the ships, but the operating crews are responsible for the remainder of the investment. For those, we will share the profits evenly.”