The Coalition has, for centuries, boasted a powerful military that dwarfs the size of any minor power. At any moment, it could easily sweep over and subjugate all of known space. Yet, aside from the occasional border skirmish and carefully-arbitrated conflicts between Principalities, it has never been deployed. Even those events only utilize a small fraction of the available might of the Coalition. In thousands of years, we have never encountered any indication of an alien species, and rebellions have been few and small. One must ask: what purpose does this vast ongoing expenditure serve?

  – Our Rulers Today: The Past and Future of the Coalition (RESTRICTED CONTENT)

  Naven was not a man given to feeling sorry for himself, and this situation was no different.

  His assignment on the Vibrant Blade had been seen as a punishment by some, but for Naven it had been apology. He still pulled in the same salary, and the protocol was much more relaxed than the largely performative work in the inner systems. It was a relatively easy job, and it did keep pirates from bothering the merchants of the Commonwealth, so he was content. He had helped people, and it hadn’t been difficult.

  The idea had been to rotate through a few of those kinds of positions, then retire with pension. A good duty served, a comfortable life after, and the experience of seeing multiple worlds in his lifetime. Admittedly, some of those worlds had been far more boring than he’d have liked, but it was always a roll of the dice, wasn’t it? And it was better than being stuck in a hospital bed while his spine was healing.

  So this captivity he was in was another experience. He’d survived, and his captain and crew had not. He laid the blame of that at the feet of Sallus more than Apex, but he only had to wait for the right moment to turn things around. If not, well… they’d be stopped eventually, he’d be rescued, and then debriefed. Probably.

  Unless Apex was blown up with him on it, but if that’s what it took to stop these people, he’d accept that. It was no less than he expected.

  But these people had a way of defying expectations.

  “You want me to what?”

  Naven stared at Sallus as she sat across from him. The elf regarded him calmly, fingers knit together with hands on the table.

  She repeated her statement. “I want you to help us. I will make it worth your while.”

  He looked down at his stew, stirring it slowly. It wasn’t the most appetizing stew to look at, and he wouldn’t call it a gourmet meal, but it was much better than prepackaged rations. Evidently Sallus knew that a good galley cook was essential for shipboard morale.

  “Not to be rude, Sallus, but you’re a cultist devoted to overthrowing the government I’ve sworn to protect.” Naven took another spoonful, swallowed, and settled back in his chair. “If I help you, even for money, I’d be a traitor. A literal death sentence. That’s how these things work.”

  The elf smiled back, unmoved by his argument. “I did not become a Priestess of the Cult of Renewal without learning how to make an offer irresistible. I’m not offering you money, Lieutenant Moongale. Nor any material reward, even. I’ve spoken to you a few times, and I know you are an upright, moral person. What they call ‘a good man’ even. You wouldn’t accept money just on principle. I’m offering you what you really want.”

  That language just made Naven more wary of what she wanted. A cult leader always dangled enticement, didn’t they? He wasn’t an expert on cults, but he’d heard stories.

  “And what is it you think that I want? I won’t join you.” He probed verbally while his spoon probed into the stew, uneasy about where the former was going. At least the latter could distract him.

  Now the smile widened, and Sallus gestured toward the door. “I asked for your help, not for you to join me. Our new cook is not a member of the cult. Neither is the ship’s doctor, by the way, if it makes you more relaxed.”

  She raised her hands and threaded the fingers together under her chin, leaning on the table now to stare directly at Naven. “You are, to be blunt, a waste and a liability so long as you are in here. I know that Apex is using you for a perspective aside from my own, but that is not my concern. He and I have our goals aligned. Even if I should die, I suspect he will do what I want because he wants it even more than I do. It would be much better if you were allowed to walk the ship when we are not ashore, and help us in our campaign.”

  “I just said, I’m not going to overthrow-” Naven started to repeat his denial, but Sallus cut him off.

  “I do not mean our end goals, I mean the immediate problem, of course.” She talked over Naven and continued as if he hadn’t protested. “As I said, you are a good man. You may not believe my claims about the Coalition’s use of kaleidoscope, but surely you know of the addiction problem it is currently undergoing? Our activities will attract the attention of Enforcers who are on the take, and your help in avoiding or even punishing them for their corruption would be useful.”

  That silenced him for long enough for her to continue speaking.

  “My goal is to end this as efficiently as possible. That may require sacrifices that you are uncomfortable with.” Sallus maintained eye contact throughout the blunt statement. “If you wish to mitigate these, you can make yourself worth more than the efficiency loss I would get from doing it my way. I have no particular desire to harm anyone uninvolved, so if you can provide me another way, I will take it. In return, I trust you will not do something stupid if we let you out of the room and onto the bridge.”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Naven took a breath and concentrated on the stew for a few bites, giving himself time to think.

  “I can’t help but notice that you did not tell me exactly what your goal is.” Naven set down his spoon. “You are offering me the chance to reign in some of your excesses, in exchange for a limited amount of freedom?”

  “No,” Sallus replied, separating her fingers so she could lean her head on one hand, with the other resting upon the table now. The pose made her appear relaxed and casual… something Naven didn’t miss. She was attempting to control the conversation in simple ways, and he hated it. He could recognize it, but wasn’t sure how to counter it.

  The smile returned to her lips. “The chance to mitigate is the reward. You are a good man, Lieutenant Moongale. I think that is already reward enough. And once we are done, if you should find your way back to the Coalition, think of all the information on us you would have.”

  The elven woman scoot her chair back. “As for our goals… the only one that matters is the one that we are attempting here, right now. I am here to find and stop the source of not just kaleidoscope, but all of the drugs that are based upon the compound it uses. The deletion of certain corrupt elements that are allowing its spread is merely a bonus, for me. Surely that is a goal you can agree is worth doing?”

  Naven grimaced, but didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t mind what she said, but the methods mattered. Then again, what she was offering was some input into how to limit those methods to something more in line with his own values. The offer made sense.

  “Afterwards, we can reconsider your situation.” Sallus gestured toward the place that Naven now knew held the camera Apex saw through. “Apex will likely want to keep you alive so long as you are useful, so you have that as leverage. And speaking of our oh-so-pleasant ship… do try to avoid any attempted hijacking. I’m well aware that Apex has stolen the controls from the bridge, and can override my instructions if need be.”

  That caught Naven off-guard. “You mean you aren’t steering the ship?”

  “She is at the moment, because I have allowed her to do so.” The deep and throaty voice issued from the speaker again, confirming Naven’s suspicions that the so-called dragon was lisening. “I dislike being forced to do anything, a sentiment that you Lesser Folk seem to share. I am not surprised she already noticed.”

  “I expected it would happen sooner or later.” The elf didn’t so much as blink at the interjection her statement had prompted. “You cannot blame me for trying, can you? I knew when I summoned a legendary dragon that they would likely find a way out of any shackles, so I relied on our mutual desires.”

  “You seem pretty sure that he shares your goals.” Naven frowned and glanced at the Apex camera again. “You care about drug runners that much? That seems oddly specific for a dragon from thousands of years ago.”

  “I care not at all. This is but a step toward what I want. The problems your people have should be your own, not mine.”

  Sallus chuckled at what Apex said, but it had no mirth to it. “I am certain he shares those goals because if he did not, we could not have summoned him at all. My only question was his competence… I was unsure how he would be able to adapt to being a starship. Unfortunately, reconstructing an actual flesh body was beyond our abilities.”

  Naven rubbed at his temples with a heavy sigh. “I see. Well, this is getting beyond what I’d like to know. Necromancy makes me ill, and I’d rather not learn any more about it than I have to. I’m also not thrilled at the idea of helping one out, no matter the motives and goals.”

  “I am not a necromancer.” Sallus frowned at the implication. “I have quite a few skills, but that isn’t one of them. I know the basics, but summoning a long-dead dragon’s soul into something is way beyond me. Don’t speak like I did all of this by myself.”

  A good point, though it raised even more questions in Naven’s mind. He nodded and settled back. “Look. I’ll think about it, okay?”

  Again, the elf smiled. “That is all I ask.”

  Another shipment lifted up from the spaceport, marking a white streak across the sky as it burned toward the orbiting station far above the atmosphere.

  Dion watched it go up, hands behind his back. The pale, thin elf traced the path upward with his eyes, contemplating the motion. Each of those shipments had numerous goods in the cargo, but only a few hundred kilograms of it mattered. Five small barrels – a larger amount than a normal week’s production – could produce enough refined product to pay for the entire rest of the shipment one hundred times over or more.

  It was the heart of his entire business empire.

  Staring off into the sky, Dion enjoyed a moment of peace. His son was doing well in taking over the family business, and he had given over most of the day to day operations. His near-retirement had been pleasant, thus far, with only occasional high-importance interruptions to mar the quiet days.

  Naturally, just as he was pondering this, the rapid footsteps of Karkus, his top aide, approached him.

  He knew it would not be good news. The balcony was his private place, and only major interruptions justified anyone bothering him here. He knew those footsteps weren’t just a foolish new employee in the palace, learning their way around the mostly-archaic structure. Karkus knew better.

  “What is it?” His tone was cold and annoyed, but the short, bespectacled goblin didn’t flinch. Karkus was an industrious worker and knew that Dion, despite a threatening reputation, was not the sort to shoot the messenger.

  “Sir,” the goblin murmured. “There has been a development. Rapid courier sends word that the Mount Fang spaceport at Lariat IV cannot take freighters at this time. Full reports are still being assembled, but apparently an old starship docked there did a full burn from the docks and the damage has crippled their ability to accept anything of size.”

  “Hmn.” Dion frowned, but did not turn around. “Projected losses?”

  Karkus sighed. “Secondary products only, but that was the last port before entering Coalition space for at least three variations of stimulants and two low-level boosters. We’ve already proposed several temporary adjustments, but for the next few weeks there will be delays. It was only flagged because there appear to have been several deaths unrelated to the dock incident just before. It could be related.”

  Dion felt another, stronger flash of annoyance. He had a number of Heads below him that should handle something like this. If he was being informed of it, the others must be bickering amongst themselves over how to approach the problem. Which meant Karkus was simply informing him that he would have to ‘meet’ with them soon.

  He didn’t feel like it. Not for secondary products. That should be beneath his notice.

  Yet… wrangling subordinates was part of the job.

  “Tell my son, and inform him that I wish for him to solve this as he likes.” Dion shrugged, dismissing the issue from his mind. “This will be good practice for when he takes over. Just leave me a report on his decision later, and I will read it when I have the time.”

  Karkus nodded and scurried away to leave the powerful elf alone once more.

  Perhaps his son would learn the value of restraint from this.

  Lord of the Skies

  - FROM RUNNING THE BLOCK TO OWNING IT -

  - [SURVIVE] - [BUILD] - [CONQUER] -