“This starship breaks numerous kingdom codes, Captain,” Elle stated. “If I had the time for an inspection before takeoff, the Stalwart would never have left Bratton’s docks.”

As I heard the knights chuckle around me, my shoulders relaxed. Elle might have still been in the employ of Duke Barnes, but I doubted it. She was just performing her duty as the starship’s newly assigned point clerk.

“I’m thirsty. Deal with this, Commander Reynolds,” Captain Cross instructed before strolling out from the bridge.

Elle gaped at the captain’s back before he vanished around the bend. I stifled a smile as a chuckle brewed in my belly. I already liked the captain, even if I also liked Elle. He seemed like the kind of man who wouldn’t take shit from anyone. From the pirate corpses lying in the bridge, he was also a fine warrior.

“Point clerks are such a pain in the ass,” Olav said as he leaned against a console. “Do you want to know what happened to the last one the kingdom sent us?”

Elle snorted at the berserker. “I have read the report. Unlike the previous clerk, I am not one to be scared off by an uncouth crew.”

“Uncouth?” Olav slapped his knee and barked a laugh. “That’s an interesting compliment.”

“I shouldn’t need to state this, but I’m afraid I must,” Elle continued, ignoring the berserker’s jibes. “This pirate attack might not have killed so many of your crew had you abided by the RTF’s regulations. It is protocol to hand over the Arcane Dust stores to preserve the lives of the crew and the RTF vessel.”

The short-haired commander smirked. “On the contrary, it is only our shirking of regulation that prevented the pirates from taking our ship. Had the Stalwart been without her non-regulation enhancements, you would not be standing here, Point Clerk.”

“And had you obeyed protocol by handing over the Dust, you wouldn’t have been attacked.” Elle held her nose in the air as she spoke. The disdain in her voice was a sharp contrast to her attractive face.

Elle’s forthrightness was making me cringe a little. The conversation had all the allure of a train wreck, and I couldn’t walk away.

Commander Reynolds sighed as if she were addressing a child. “Miss McGrath, you might have learned a few tidbits at the Arcane Institute, but out in the field, we do things differently. Do you know what happens when a ship lets pirates on board so they can steal Dust?” Elle began to speak, but the commander cut her off. “They don’t stop there. They kill your crew, and then they take your ship. A pretty woman like you, they keep. I don’t need to tell you what they do then, do I?”

Elle’s face contorted with disgust. “Even so, it’s not only your defense systems and weaponry that’s a breach of code. When I was on Deck 5, I saw that thing inside your arcane chamber. Humanoid robots above the servitor class are illegal equipment, Commander.”

It sounded to me like Elle was trying to prove herself by asserting her authority, but the commander wasn’t having any of it. From the smile on her thin lips, she seemed to be enjoying the heated exchange.

“Matthias? He’s not equipment, girlie. He’s our senior jump mage,” Olav said.

Elle’s mouth dropped, but she didn’t turn away from the commander. “An android is operating as a jump mage?”

“You obviously didn’t get a good look at him, because Matthias is not merely an android.” The commander pressed her prot-belt. “Matthias, come to the bridge.” Within a second, a portal opened beside Commander Reynolds, and a cloaked figure stepped through.

As he raised his right hand to salute the commander, the cloak slipped free of his arm. His limbs were composed of organic and prosthetic materials, and tubes and microchips showed beneath a transparent synthetic skin. From what little I could see with the heavy cloak covering his body, he appeared to have once been a human male except cybernetics had replaced most of his organic body parts.

“Greetings, Commander,” the cybernetic man said. “I see you and the captain have been busy.”

“You did a fine job closing the portal,” Commander Reynolds replied. “We might not have survived another wave.”

“I was merely doing what is required of me as a jump mage.” Matthias’ electronic voice crackled.

“A machina . . .” Elle covered her mouth with her hand. “This . . .” She paused and rubbed down her uniform as if composing herself. “A violation of the highest order!”

The commander rolled her eyes before turning back to the machina. “I know babysitting isn’t in your list of duties as senior jump mage, Matthias, but can you show this PC how our jump sphere works? She needs assurance that you and the sphere are more than capable of moving us through the universe.”

“Yes, Commander.” The machina’s head jerked toward Elle. “Shall we travel to the arcane chamber?” Matthias extended a hand made of silver pipes and fiber-optic tubes. Elle took it with some trepidation. Together they walked through the portal before it vanished completely.

A short man with a light beard entered the bridge. He was wearing freshly pressed black clothes with blue lines across the seams of his jacket and pants, the regular uniform of RTF Space Knights. His thin black hair was wet, as though he’d just finished showering and hadn’t bothered to dry it properly.

“Space Knight Manzo set course for Tachion,” Reynolds addressed the man. “Then count casualties and ensure the wounded are cared for. Dr. Lenkov will have her work cut out for her, so she’ll need help.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Once that’s taken care of, you’ll issue commands to the servitors to begin clean-up.” The commander tilted her head from side to side audibly cracking the bones in her neck. “It’s time I joined the captain in the galley for a bourbon.”

As the commander exited the bridge, the navigator went to a console and started issuing orders through his headset.

Olav slapped me on the back. “You fixed the detection systems, didn’t you? Good job.” Before I could tell him Elle had been the one to get the computers online, the berserker knight strolled out from the bridge, swinging his two hatchets as if they were toys.

More of the command team filtered into the bridge and sat within the pod chairs by the consoles. Yeomen and servitors also entered to remove the dead bodies and scrub the deck.

“We should probably get some sleep,” Casey said.

“Shouldn’t I be helping with the cleanup?” I questioned as I knew there’d be a hell of a lot to do, and I didn’t want to shirk my duties.

“We have a particular way of doing things here, so it is probably best you stay out of the way. The servitors will do the better part of it.” She looked at her prot-belt. “And it seems most of the casualties are either in the infirmary or on their way there. You look surprised. The Stalwart might have her faults, but she’s a well-oiled machine.”

“Alright then,” I said as suddenly the depths of my exhaustion hit me in the shoulders. Today had been almost as strenuous as the mission on Tyranus, and I was ready to sleep for hours. My stomach rumbled with hunger, but I’d worry about food when I woke up.

I remembered Zac, and how I’d promised myself I would return to him. “I need to tell someone about Zac first. He’s on Deck 5, and he needs medical help ASAP.”

“Artilleryman Zac is already on the mend,” the black-haired knight said to me from over his shoulder. The black-haired man strolled over to us and gave me a broad smile. “Sorry, I have a habit of eavesdropping. I can’t help it. I’m a slayer.”

“Sorry?” I asked. I’d never heard of a slayer, but I guessed it was some kind of specialist Space Knight role.

“Don’t mind Leith Manzo,” Casey said. “He likes to brag about being part of a role the RTF disbanded years ago.”

“They didn’t disband us,” Leith said. “They just couldn’t find any knights worthy enough to join.” He sized me up with a sweep of his eyes, making my skin crawl. “You like killing, Squire? Not like the berserkers, of course. They’re so unrefined and brutish in their methods. Slayers make killing an art form. It is a thing of beauty; to take a man’s soul with a quick and precise flick of a blade.”

“Uhh . . .” I was feeling uncomfortable under the navigator’s gaze. His pupils gleamed with a kind of dark insanity, and there was a nervous twitch in his right eye.

Leith’s smile broadened beneath his mustache. “I can cut a man’s tongue out without him noticing. I once infiltrated a camp of Parthians and pinned their prime minister up by his testicles. You should have seen their faces when they found him in the morning!” He tilted his head back and cackled.

“Sounds like a real laugh,” Casey said to the knight as she pulled me out of the bridge and into the passageway.

“Have a think about it, yeah?” Leith called out.

Casey sighed as we walked. “Phew, we got off easy.”

“Those things Leith said, he was joking, right?”

“Not at all. He’s done every one of them and more. You’re lucky he didn’t decide to act out the assassination of the warlord on Brigantes.”

“Isn’t that the place you told me not to mention?”

“Yeah, forget I said anything. Leith’s exploits are half the reason why no one will talk about it.”

“And the other half?”

Casey shook her head as we walked. “Like I said, you shouldn’t ask about it.”

The enchantress’ bluntness surprised me, but I guessed whatever happened on Brigantes had been bad. Maybe if we became better friends, she’d eventually tell me more. The whole situation sounded like something Duke Barnes might like to know.

I passed a hole in the bulkhead the automation system was already patching up. Servitors zoomed along the metal floor as they cleaned blood and collected broken material. A few hours ago, I would have been surprised to see the primitive robots on board the ship, but almost nothing could surprise me now.

When we entered the elevator, I stared at my reflection in the shining metal wall. Blood covered my armor, and my underclothes were soaked through with sweat despite the body fluid collection systems. I hadn’t showered since before the ceremony, and my garments were starting to feel like a second skin.

“You want to see the arcane chamber tomorrow?” Casey asked me.

“Sure.” After seeing Matthias, I was curious about what the inside of the arcane chamber looked like.

She pressed the button for Deck 2, and the elevator took us there in a second. As the door slid open, Casey gave me a full smile. “Meet me back on Deck 5 at 11:00 CUT?”

I nodded, and she walked toward the workshop while I made my way to the squire quarters. Servitors were working on this deck, too. Crew members carried injured men and women toward the infirmary. I peered at an unconscious man with half his right leg missing. I was impressed with Dr. Lenkov’s abilities earlier, but I doubted even she could grow a leg back. Then again, there’d been a vat of bioliquid in the infirmary, so maybe she could.

When I unlocked the door to the squire quarters and entered, Neville was sitting on his bed as though he hadn’t left the room for the duration of the pirate attack. The two squires I hadn’t met yet were sleeping on their beds.

“Where have you been?” Neville whispered to me as his eyes locked onto my bloody armor. “You fought the pirates?”

“I did what I could to help the crew,” I said after detecting some admiration in the other man’s voice.

“I would have helped, except I was locked inside these quarters. Too bad the crew did a terrible job at defending the ship.” Neville seemed to have grown in confidence since first meeting me. I wasn’t sure I liked it. “Fourteen casualties. The cook among them. Do you know how terrible the food is here? I can assure you it will be much worse now. It would have been better for the pirates to have killed us all! Now we’ll die of food poisoning.”

I sighed as I removed my armor and went over to the wash basin beside my bed. I scrubbed my face with a wet towel and winced when I brushed against a cut on my forehead. It wasn’t deep enough to apply a medkit, and I didn’t feel like I had a concussion, so I sealed it with some medglue and then hit the shower adjacent to the squire quarters.

As I washed, I thought about my first day on the Stalwart and how it had been nothing like I’d thought. In fact, so much of my life since Tyranus hadn’t gone like I planned. The Tyranus mission failed, and I’d graduated with Ludas Barnes as my only classmate. Then, I had chosen the worst starship in the RTF instead of the best one.

In a strange way, it was a win. My father wanted me here, and I was glad to be doing what he desired.

I remembered the sorcerer, Polgar, would be buzzing me at 06:00. I’d already missed one call from him while I was anchored inside the enchantry, so I hurried out of the bathroom.

Neville’s face reddened with guilt as he stood over my bed. I looked down at something he was holding to his chest in an attempt to hide the object from me. The communicator I’d been given gleamed between his fingers.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded in a hoarse whisper. I didn’t want to wake the other squires and bring any attention to what Neville had in his hands.

“Ah, it made a noise, and I wondered what it was. I didn’t mean any harm.” He was cowering before me, and I realized I’d stormed over to him in my rage. Our faces were inches away from each other, and I had to control myself so I wouldn’t slam him onto the bed and tear the device from him.

“Hand it over,” I said with my palm out.

The nobleman dropped the communicator into my open palm and scurried over to his bed like a rodent.

I sat on my bed with my back to Neville and opened the communicator’s metal cover. A red and a blue icon spun on the screen, and I clicked the blue one. Text appeared, saying an unknown contact failed to make a communication link. When I selected the red icon, a holo appeared of Polgar’s face. I quickly shut the comms device so Neville wouldn’t see the sorcerer who had suddenly materialized inside the dark room.

I glanced at the clock beside my bed and realized I’d missed the scheduled call by a few minutes. Neville had probably heard it buzzing and picked it up. I hadn’t seen the time for most of the night, so I couldn’t believe it was already 06:00. Five hours sleep was all I’d get before I met Casey on Deck 5.

Polgar’s threat made me think it was probably more important to deal with the missed call now.

I slipped the comms device beneath my pillow and changed into the plain blue shirt and pants assigned to me as a squire. I took the device with me into the bathroom since I figured this was the only place I could talk without someone overhearing me.

I opened the message on the communicator. The holo of Silvester Polgar’s face started speaking.

“Outlander. You have missed the first contact, and now you have missed my second attempt. I am not an unmerciful man so I will forgive you this once. Do it again, and you will find me a most unyielding instructor.”

When I finished watching the recorded message, the communicator buzzed, and I answered the call by pressing the rune on the front of the device.

“Hello, your eminence,” I said.

“Outlander,” Silvester Polgar croaked.

“I’m sorry I missed your call. We were attacked by pirates and--”

“Yes, I heard about that. It seems we aren’t the only ones searching.”

My ears piqued. “Searching for what?”

The sorcerer cleared his throat. “For the insurrectionists.”

His tone sounded strange, as though he didn’t believe his own words. Why would pirates be searching for insurrectionists?

“We’re headed for Tachion,” I said.

“I already know,” Polgar snapped. “What can you tell me about the crew?”

“They fight like nothing I’ve ever seen. I find it hard to believe such great warriors were assigned to the Stalwart for humanitarian missions. Something definitely isn’t right, but I don’t think it’s insurrection. They’ve shown no signs of rebel activity.”

I hadn’t known the crew for long, hours at most, but I’d fought with them. I’d seen some of them die, and saved the lives of others. They’d also saved mine countless times.

I knew my father wanted me aboard the Stalwart, but could it have been for a reason other than spying on rebels?

“I don’t care what you believe, Outlander. The Stalwart’s crew are certainly insurrectionists, we only need sufficient evidence to bring them to trial. They wish to see the Queen dethroned and chaos to reign over the Caledonian Kingdom. Is that something you wish?”

“Of course not, your eminence.” Although I loved my Queen and the Caledonian Kingdom more than anything, I wasn’t willing to betray the crew without sure proof. If they were indeed insurrectionists, then they must be brought to account, but I would need evidence first.

“Good. I will be observing you carefully for any sign they have infected your mind. Stay faithful to your mission. Now, I want to know whether you’ve seen anything suspicious.”

I thought of the priceless gauntlets Casey had been repairing in the workshop. I couldn’t tell Polgar about them, not until I found more information. I didn’t want the sorcerer and the duke to suspect the enchantress was an insurrectionist without sure proof.

But maybe I could mention Brigantes to the sorcerer.

“I think something might have happened on the crew’s last mission to Brigantes. It seems to be a sore spot among them.”

“Brigantes? Interesting.” The sorcerer paused for a few moments, and I could imagine him stroking his twisted staff like it was a pet. “You will learn more of this previous mission and report back to me everything you hear. When they begin the humanitarian mission, I want you to stay close to the Space Knights. I believe Olav Kjeldsen is the one most likely to reveal information. Do not leave his side for the duration of the mission.”

Even though Olav seemed to like me more now, I doubted the berserker would let me tag along with him and the other knights.

“With respect, your eminence, I don’t think that will be--”

“Do I need to remind you I have the authority to have you ejected from the RTF?”

“No, your eminence. I’ll--” The communicator burst with white noise, and I closed the cover to silence it.

Bringing up Brigantes to Casey might be a little difficult, especially since she’d told me twice not to ask about it. I doubted any of the other crew would be willing to discuss their last mission, but Silvester Polgar had given me direct orders.

When I opened the bathroom door, Neville jumped back from the doorway. I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore that he’d been eavesdropping. I wanted to pound him into oblivion, but I also wanted to sleep.

A metal foot locker lay at the foot of my bed, and I linked it to my palm rune so that only I could open it. If only I’d put the communication device in here before leaving the quarters earlier, I wouldn’t have to worry about Neville’s assumptions.

I tried not to beat myself up too much as I dropped the comms device inside the foot locker and locked it. The bathroom door was probably too thick for Neville to overhear anything of my conversation with Polgar.

Or so I hoped.