Show me what a man wants, and I will show you every sin he is willing to justify.

  – Credited to the Paladin Ersan Vigilos of the First Age

  Commander Adamis watched as the monstrous frigate vanished into fading rainbow particles of light.

  The bridge was silent for almost a full minute while the bridge crew watched the disintegration of the Azure Focus, wreckage drifting apart on the viewscreen.

  “Have the Silver Quarrel check for survivors.” Adamis finally spoke up, slumping back in his chair. “Hillman. What the hell was that? You didn’t tell me those things could move like that!”

  The dwarf was rubbing his beard and mumbling to himself when Adamis snapped at him. With a start, he looked up, then shook his head. “They… well I guess they can, but the crew needed for that…” He snorted aloud. “The Draconis line were a spectacle. Functional, to be sure, but a lot of what they had was too complicated to use fully. It took a full crew training together for months to make the ships pose like dragons, and that was only done to show off. They were a big vanity project, not practical. Never heard of one moving like that in combat… they were always way more stiff.”

  “Sounds like they upgraded more than the reactor!” The growled words came with a clenched fist pounding down on the armrest. “Dammit.”

  He’d been warned they used ‘mass-based weaponry’ but this was a whole different level. The fluid movements, the way it had easily manhandled the corvette to use it as a shield… missiles wouldn’t be safe against this thing. It didn’t follow the standard rules of combat. Adamis could easily imagine a scenario where they’d have been hit by their own missile salvo.

  “They could have left hours ago,” the navigator finally muttered, rubbing his temples in exhaustion. “Why do this? Are they just antagonizing us?”

  Adamis shook his head and groaned softly. He kept it under his breath for morale purposes, but he really needed a hot shower and a good massage or something after this.

  “No,” he said aloud. “This was a message to us, I think. They want us to know they aren’t afraid of us. Or maybe a warning not to interfere with what they’re doing.” The Commander waved his hand. “Not something to worry about. I’ll handle this.”

  He’d definitely need to write a full report on this. The one to his superiors would need to be massaged to excuse the first shots fired, but he was pretty sure Command wouldn’t be too picky about those details after reading the full contents of the report.

  The second report would be more honest. Ramon doesn’t pay him enough for this kind of risk.

  “We were lucky.”

  Naven placed his hands on the table, looking out over the command crew. This was basically just Sallus and Apex, but he was definitely trying to look sternly at the invisible camera.

  “I’m not saying it didn’t need to be done,” he added. “You were right, Sallus. Those Enforcers didn’t follow protocol. They went in guns blazing without requesting identification. The only problem is now we’re an identified threat, and the legit Enforcers will have every right to take us down.”

  Sallus lifted a finger. “Technically they did not identify us.” She unfolded her fingers to hold her palm up to forestall argument. “But I see your concern.”

  A low growl rose from Apex. “I should adjust my tactics and simply take care of them.”

  With a heavy sigh, Naven slumped back in his chair. “No you will not. You brought me on board with the understanding that I could veto any plan that hurt too many innocents. It’s obvious those Enforcers were paid off, and likely some at High Command are as well so they can look the other way. It is not obvious that every Enforcer is working for these people. Some of them are legitimately trying to do their job, and now those are after us for good reason.”

  Apex was about to counter that, but Sallus interrupted him.

  “I agree with Naven.” The elf looked back at the human when he raised an eyebrow. She shrugged and clarified with a cough. “Look, I want to tear down the government, but I’d describe myself as a pseudo-anarchist. I don’t want complete lawlessness either, and the Enforcers do keep the trade routes safe and allow people to live their lives.”

  Even Apex could feel the doubt behind Naven’s stare, but the man dropped it before prying too deep.

  “My point is, you can’t just pick fights with everyone.” Naven sighed and rubbed his hands down his face. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I get the feeling it’s a lot more complicated than what everyone thinks. I’m pretty sure you don’t want the military breathing down your necks, though. That was a military frigate and if it had been with more escorts, the whole thing might have happened differently. More torpedoes or cannons to saturate the area, for example. All it takes is one good hit by something serious and most of your advantages are gone.”

  The dragon growled, but he saw that what Naven said made sense. “If I can close the distance, I am unstoppable. If they detect me from far away… my weapons are limited. I am considering better ways to handle these situations.”

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  Sallus was the one who argued next. “No, you are not unstoppable. Some of the larger ships have a lot of mana cannons. Missiles and torpedoes are useless at close range where you fight, but if you try those tricks against a cruiser or even a well-armed destroyer, you’re pressing your luck. I’ve purposely avoided getting you near anything big for now.”

  Once again Naven scowled, then dropped his hands to the table. “No matter how much you refit this ship, I’m not sure it will ever outclass a modern cruiser or above. Don’t say ‘for now’ like it will ever happen.”

  “Look, it will be fine,” Sallus objected before Apex could say anything. “We aren’t even going to be worrying about the Enforcers now, anyway. The fact that they were there and tried to intercept us means that we’ve succeeded. We’ve kicked the nest and now they’re angry.” She gestured vaguely toward the front of the ship. “We’re headed for a depot to get refueled, I’ll check the damage that we took, and as soon as we’re topped off we’ll head to the trio of worlds we talked about.”

  Finally, Apex rumbled and got a word in. “I have said before I am willing to burn down your entire empire if that is what is needed, Moongale. I am not cruel by nature. Once I have done what I need to do, I will leave your people in peace.”

  The afternoon sun beat down relentlessly upon his body. He felt the heat, his well-muscled frame glistening with sweat. He wasn’t broad-shouldered, but his arms showed the firm ridges of tendons and muscle well-practiced from swordplay. White marks marred his tanned skin, tiny scars from his rigorous training and many battles.

  The man let out a long breath. He steadied the sword in his hands, held with both at once in a firm grip. The hilt showed so many signs of wear – nicks, scratches, even a slight bend in the steel crossguard. But the blade… oh that blade. It was a point of pride. No one could mistake that blade for anything mundane.

  Untarnished gleaming silver, a full meter long, shone in the light of day. Faint hints of blue could be glimpsed along the double-edged sword, though attempting to stare at them directly would show no sign of the ghost of an enchantment. No dirt or grime clung to the blade, and even an amateur could tell it was a result of powerful magics and arcane forging.

  He braced himself with one foot, angling the sword again. One, two steps forward, and the stone pillar before him lost another three centimeters in height. The blade flashed through in a perfectly even cut, almost invisible to the naked eye. The man pressed his palm to the top of the column, easing the stone disc – a full half meter in diameter – off of the top to thud to the ground with the others.

  A magic sword could carve through stone with enough strength behind it. The right technique could make the slice clean. It was the precision of doing so in a perfectly level manner, at exactly the same intervals, that made this man incredible. For the last four days, he’d successfully done so every time he’d tried.

  It was time to move on to the next level.

  “Ramon.”

  He paused. A voice behind him, calling his-

  No, that wasn’t his name. He knew this. He knew what was about to happen. This was the moment that changed everything. He was-

  “Ramon!”

  Ramon opened his eyes, blinking in confusion. The near-blackness of his bedroom greeted him, and he grasped at the familiarity behind it. His bed, his sheets, the smell of them. Secure and normal, already pushing away the scent of grass, stone, and sweat from the strangely vivid dream.

  What had that been?

  A warm hand on his shoulder shook again, and he grunted softly. “I’m awake… I’m awake.” He grumbled quietly, then immediately regretted his tone. His eyes were adjusting to the dim illumination, and he could start to make out his wife beside him. It was too dark to see the details of her face, but he could almost feel the concern emanating from his half-elven bride.

  Then he heard the beep.

  He reached up and grasped her hand in a gentle squeeze. “I’ll take it outside.”

  Quietly, Ramon slid from the bed, letting his beloved settle back into the pillows. He’d worry about the odd dream later. The communicator he kept next to his bed was for emergencies only, and the insistent beeping must have awakened Leyra well before him. He’d apologize to her later, after handling business.

  This had better be important… Ramon thought to himself as he grabbed his robe from the bedside.

  A moment later, and he’d shrugged into the robe and slippers, quietly opening the door to the balcony outside. The moon was only a thin sliver tonight, so only the stars and the lights of the city below, at the base of the mountain, illuminated the white stone of the palace. The air was chill at this hour, and Ramon tugged his robe about himself and grumbled again, then held the communicator up to his ear. His wife was fully aware of his business and the dealings he did, but no reason to ruin her sleep tonight as well as his own.

  “Ramon.” He spoke in a clipped, even tone, the chill of the air having banished the last mists of sleep from his head. It was a tone he reserved for situations like these. He’d only had an emergency call a half dozen times since setting up the line.

  “It’s Karkus. We may have more of a problem than we thought.”

  That made Ramon frown. Karkus would know when to use this line. This must be serious indeed.

  “What’s happened?” He asked.

  “High-speed courier just arrived.” Karkus jumped right to the point, and Ramon could understand why. That was already a money pit. “Adamis encountered our little problem and lost a corvette. He says it was a literal dragon in space tearing apart the ships. It’s put all of the Enforcers on alert in the entire sector. They’re hunting it now.”

  Ramon groaned. They’d have to suspend operations for a while, if the place was crawling with Enforcers. They couldn’t pay off all of them, and it only took one honest cop to complicate matters. “Just draw them back to the refineries, for now. We can use the extra security there. This could have waited for morning.”

  It wasn’t an accusation. Ramon knew there was more to it than that.

  “Adamis didn’t send the courier. One of our agents did. Adamis went dark a few hours after he filed his report with High Command. Our source says he was reassigned, along with his entire crew.”

  A crawling tingle ran up Ramon’s spine. Someone had acted fast after hearing about this… someone high up. He’d have to read the report that Adamis sent, but swift action like that meant that the whole situation had caught the eye of someone bigger than him.

  Ramon didn’t like admitting there were people bigger than him.

  He grit his teeth. “What about Gristlemaw? Is he active yet? We might want to tell him to stand down.”

  “That’s the other problem…” Karkus muttered. “He accepted the job, then told us not to get in his way. Then, well…”

  There was a long pause.

  “We don’t know where he is.”

  The Hunter

  Discord