Starship's Mage: Episode 3 Read Online Free Page A

for the return to reach them as well.
    Hunts relaxed, slightly, from her iron-locked position when they received the transmission and one of her officers gave her a thumbs-up. She made an almost concealed hand gesture, and the Broadsword ’s acceleration cut by three quarters - back to a more reasonable single gravity, but still heading towards the Jay .
    “ We don’t see a lot of unscheduled jumpships, Captain,” Hunts finally said. “You’re a long way from your last port of call, too – what brings you all the way here from Corinthian?”
    “ I was asked to come directly here as a favor for a friend,” David told him. “He told me that a contact of his needed a jumpship transport as soon as possible.”
    Seconds ticked by, and the gunship commander nodded slowly.
    “Understandable,” she answered. “You’ll forgive me, I hope, if I require you to tell me who you were supposed to meet?
    Her tone suggested that whether or not they forgave her was utterly irrelevant.
    “ I was asked to meet a man named Bryan Ricket,” David replied.
    This time, Damien recognized the exact moment when Commander Hunts received David’s reply. The Legatan officer physically twitched when she heard the name. Damien wasn’t sure anyone else saw it, but the woman clearly recognized the name.
    “Mr. Ricket may indeed be able to use your services,” Hunts answered, leaning back slightly in her chair. “You are aware, Captain Rice, of the regulations in this system with regards to Mages and runic artifacts?”
    “Yes, Commander.”
    “An updated version of the regulations is being sent to you regardless,” she continued. “Make certain your crew – and especially your Mages – obeys it.”
    The tone of voice in which the officer said the words ‘ Mages’ made Damien very glad he wasn’t openly on the call.

#
    Legatus’ orbit was busy. Of the almost two thousand thermal contacts that the Blue Jay had picked up in the inner system, each representing a spaceship under engine power, almost eight hundred were in orbit around the system’s main habitable planet.
    The ships were the least of it, though. The sheer scale of the orbital infrastructure dwarfed the surrounding vessels. No less than fifty space stations, each a rival for Sherwood’s Prime station or the Corinthian Spindle, were scattered in various orbits, servicing the ships that filled the system. The two largest, originally captured asteroids, anchored the immense tethers of two space elevators.
    David had seen bigger and more impressive infrastructure twice in his life – around Earth, and around Mars. Each of the Sol system’s two main worlds outclassed Legatus, and combined the system out-produced almost the entire rest of the Protectorate combined.
    “ Wait; are those what I think they are?” Jenna asked out loud, distracted for a moment from the delicate process of inserting the Blue Jay into the whirling maelstrom of a Core World’s orbital traffic.
    David followed her questioning gaze and swallowed at the sight she pointed out. Orbiting in neat ranks, just above one of the two massive counterweight stations, was over sixty gunships similar to the one they’d encountered in the outer system.
    “ I see,” he paused, checking the system count, “sixty four gunships. Looks like the other Counterweight has a similar flotilla playing guard dog too.”
    Jenna whistled. “That’s a lot of gunships, boss.”
    “Mars has almost as many Navy destroyers in orbit,” David pointed out. “Plus the only full squadron of battleships in the galaxy.”
    “But that’s Mars .”
    “And to these people, Legatus is just as important,” the Captain said quietly. “Do we have docking clearance yet?”
    Jenna checked her instruments.
    “ We just received a course from the automated traffic system – we’re cleared through to Interface Station,” the stocky officer adjusted some of the controls on her screen and David felt a slight pull as the ship