Vaeris had to admit: when the Drifting Ember took a hit, it took a hit. The ship shuddered with the violence of the impact, panels spasming along the corridor wall, and a spray of blue sparks rained from the magitech relay above her head. She felt every jolt, every surge of overloaded mana, little aftershocks detonating in her nervous system.

  Ironbelly’s voice thundered over the tactical channel, thick with that wet, animal growl he saved for actual emergencies.

  A light panel exploded near her face. She bit back a curse—then swore anyway, in three languages. She dove sideways, nearly losing her footing as Ember’s inertial compensators stuttered under the stress of a roll. The lights flickered and died, leaving the corridor lit only by the blood-red emergency strips and the phosphorescent tattoos on her hands.

  She skidded to the end of the hallway, palmed the hatch to the Mage Chamber, and slipped inside.

  She raced to the chair, and it leaned back and spun into position automatically. The door hissed closed, sealing her in absolute blackness. The only sound was her own ragged breathing, and the faint, familiar hum of the crystal array. She moved by touch, tracing runes carved into cold obsidian of the focusing sphere. Her heart hammered, but the fear was small and far away.

  The chamber vanished, replaced by the stars. She was outside of Ember now, or maybe the ship was inside her. Its wounds registered as sharp, localized pain. She could feel the mana arteries pulsing through the hull, the way the gravity array stuttered every time the ship’s mass shunted sideways to dodge a missile. She reached out with will and poured power into the failing systems. The ship responded, eager and grateful, the flow smoothing, the pain subsiding. Everywhere she touched, those systems executed faster.

  Ironbelly’s voice tore through the static: “Shields are holding, but not for long! Get me a vector!”

  Thimble piped into her channel. “Vaeris, if you can boost the sensory array, I can paint targets through the dust.”

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  Vaeris didn’t bother replying. She swung a perception gate wide open and dumped mana into the sensor core, feeling the feedback burn her fingertips. The ship’s perception sharpened, every grain of asteroid dust illuminated in perfect, spectral clarity.

  “Got ‘em!” Thimble crowed. “Sending targeting data now!”

  Vaeris opened arcane directly. Mana tore through her—a supernova behind her eyes—but she held it and forced it into the relay and watched as the ship’s core fill up to full charge. The heat built, and she channeled it, refusing to let the system trip its own safeties. It wasn’t enough to burn her out, at least, not yet. She could hold on little longer.

  Ironbelly’s next words rang through everyone's chest. “Firing!”

  The Ember’s spinal lance spat a beam of pure, eldritch light, slicing a chunk of asteroid off with several missile batteries in one impossible stroke. Vaeris felt the recoil like a punch in the gut, but the pain was good. It meant they were still alive.

  Two more missiles tracked in, but Ember was ready now and putting distance behind them by the second. Vaeris shunted energy to the shields, timing it perfectly. The first missile hit, detonating harmlessly against the reinforced field. The second was intercepted by one of the laser drones.

  She let herself drift, just for a second, in the afterglow. The ship’s systems sang with efficiency, every line of mana flowing perfectly. She could keep this up forever. Or at least until something exploded.

  The comm crackled. “Mage, you with us?” Ironbelly sounded almost gentle.

  Vaeris opened her eyes. The room was still dark, but she could see everything. “I’m still alive, you old fool.”

  He grunted without a growl. Which the closest thing he had to saying “good job”.

  “Rack out. Rest. Ember, guide her, please,” Ironbelly said right before he cut the channel.

  Vaeris had almost forgotten how abrupt he could be.

  Ember spoke up, “Hello, Vaeris. Thank you for bolstering my systems. It’s been ages since a mage has been in here. It hasn’t been easy making it on my own.”

  “A bit overwhelming getting shot at, eh?” She pushed herself up from the chair and exited into the hall.

  “Yes! Thank you. I’m the one out in space, after all. I’ve been bugging him to hire a new mage for years. But it’s the captain, and he does what he wants.”

  Vaeris snorted, “Yeah, he sure does. Pushes everyone away.”

  “I know, dear, but he has to mature all on his own.”

  “He’s had over two hundred years,” she said with a flat voice.

  “Yes, and he should be coming around any day now. Just follow the yellow lights to your quarters and please speak up if you need anything.”